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Tuesday, July 14th

Our tour left this morning heading northeast not knowing the exact location of the whales that were sighted. We started our scans at False Bay on San Juan Island. When we got Pender Island, the action really started. Members of both J and L pod were foraging, spread out as individuals or small groups. Comet was excited and porpoising out of the water with Spock in tow. Skana, Echo, Slick and Mike trailed behind, travelling close to shore. Someone was breaching in the distance on either side of the boat and a delightful pectoral flipper was spotted from a male right on the bow.

This afternoon, we headed towards Hein Bank. On the way, we stopped at Trial to check out our pinniped pals, the harbour seals. Once we got to Hein bank we were informed that the one Minke in the area was being elusive, but after a few minutes of watching, he became less shy. After some great viewings of the Minke we decided to wave goodbye and head for Trial Island. We saw more seals and got a closer look at the cormorants and oyster catchers.

Monday, July 13th

The Orca Spirit with naturalist Captain John and naturalist Corey headed out with an intrepid group of guests headed into Juan De Fuca Strait. Shortly after leaving the harbour, we received a report of orcas near Beacher Bay. We arrived on scene shortly after receiving the report to find members of K and L-pods travelling east towards Race Rocks. We had the good fortunate of observing resting whales - an awesome behaviour as the whales group up. We saw several whales, including K21 (Cappucino), K40 (Raggedy) and the L2 matriliine with L78 (|Gaia), L88 (Wavewalker) and L2 (Grace). Being so close to Race Rocks, we also stopped there for a great wildlife experience as we saw 4 bald eagles and several harbour seals.

Our afternoon trip caught up with the resident orcas as they continued to make their way east across the waterfront in resting formation about 4 miles east of Race Rocks. Still resting, we enjoyed the company of the majestic animals. Near the end of our encounter, and with the tide working more in their favour our guests got to experience the power of the whales as a few of them started porpoising eastward. After our incredible orca encounter, we travelled to Trial Island where several harbour seals and many young pups were hauled out with a majestic bald eagle overlooking the scene! We finished our wildlife encounter with a visit to the Great Chain Island cormorant colony.

Sunday, July 12th

This morning, we headed east to Haro Strait in search of our resident pods. It was an adventurous trip that took us into the San Juan Islands. We stopped north of Speiden Island to view some harbour seals and a even a few pups and enjoyed travelling along the picturesque south coast of the island in search of the diverse exotic game such as fallow deer and moufflon sheep. Unfortunately, the exotic animals must have been taking shelter in the forest today. Our trip continued around the north coast of Sidney Island and the lovely Sidney Spit. We travelled along the southeast coast of Vancouver Island back to the harbour. Although we did not see whales today, it was an adventurous ride that our guests will not soon forget.

Saturday, July 11th

This morning, we headed out to Hein Bank where a group of L-pod whales had been spotted earlier in the morning. We arrived on scene with the orcas to find a group of about 7 whales working their way northward towards San Juan Island. We spent some time with a small group of orcas that included the large bull Cappucino (K21) and a few females, including Raggedy (K40). We watched these whales surfacing and diving in near unison, with their distinctive black and white markings clearly visible for all to see. As we were about to leave the scene to see some other wildlife, we were surprised to see a few more whales approaching. It was the L2 matriline, with L2 (Grace), L88 (Wavewalker) and L78 (Gaia). We had an exhilarating pass to end a wonderful orca experience. This was not the end of our wildlife tour, as we saw two bald eagles near Chatham Island and several harbour seals (with a few pups) in the Chain Islets. The many seal pups in the area, will undoubtedly bring an abundance of transient orca sightings beginning in mid to late August!

Our afternoon trip travelled to south of False Bay on San Juan Island. We spent some time with a group of J-pod whales, but our guests were especially thrilled with an encounter from the J14 matriline. We witnessed porpoising (high-speed swimming), breaches, and an incredibly awesome spyhop! Riptide (J30), a young adolescent male who has been going through an incredible growth spurt was appreciated by all, and we saw the cute new calf (J45) travelling alongside his mother Samish (J14). We also saw some tail-slaps, an important communication behaviour, that may also serve a purpose in stunning prey. Satisfied with another great trip, we headed back to the harbour.

Our evening trip was another super experience as we encountered members L-pod, the L2 matriline travelling north just northeast of Kelp Reef. We were thrilled to see Gaia (L78) and Grace (L2) travelling with another female or young male. Almost immediately upon arrival, we saw an incredible breach! Wavewalker, was initially nowhere to be found, however, we would see him later. We spent most of our time with the L2's and witnessed some social behaviour, including tail slaps and pectoral slaps. The most amazing behaviour occurred near the end of our experience as some orcas were definitely in predatory mode. We surface lunges, some high speed porpoising and even another breach! Gaia and his matriline mates thrilled is with an amazing pass to end another great trip.

Friday, July 10th

It was another incredible day on the water at Orca Spirit Adventures. With sunny skies and calm seas this morning, we headed out into Juan de Fuca Strait in search of any and all types of marine wildlife common to our area. Of course, the focus of most of our tours is on the ever popular killer whale or orca and this morning did not disappoint. We travelled almost due of Victoria this morning and encountered a large group of whales coming inbound! The whales were spread out and travelling eastward. Captain Brad was able to find some whales off on on their own to the south of the main group, which made for an awesome whale experience. We spent some time with Georgia (K11) and an as of yet unidentified male. As we were watching these whales, we spotted another whale swimming at high-speed in the opposite direction. It turned out to be L88 (Wavewalker) who was rushing to join up his mother Grace (L2) and his older brother Gaia (L78). We had a marvelous viewing experience with these 3 whales who were off on their own a few miles behind the rest of the group. Gaia was sporting some new rake marks, the result of an interaction with another whale or whales. We concluded this amazing adventure with a tour of Race Rocks, where we saw harbour seals and even a couple of mature bald eagles. It was a great way to start the day.

I am running out of superlatives to describe the whale watching this past month, but our afternoon trip proved to be another fantastic experience. We headed east towards San Juan Island to find most of L-pod all grouped and travelling towards San Juan Island in tight formation. It was a truly awesome experience, to have so many whales travelling together. We saw Mega (L41), Skana (L79) and so many others travelling towards the island. As the whales approached the island, we were treated to an incredible double breach! It was an excellent way to leave the orcas after a near private whale watching experience. As we were close to Hein Bank, we made the quick journey over to find a lunge-feeding minke whale! We quickly noticed that there were in fact at least two minke whales foraging - yet another excellent day on the Salish Sea.

Thursday, July 9th

This morning, we headed out on the Pacific Explorer to Hein Bank in search of orcas, minke whales, and other marine mammals. On the way there, we stopped to view a rather strange-looking porpoise. It proved to be a hybrid porpoise, strikingly marked with white on its dorsal surface. What was truly surprising was that the hybrid porpoise had a calf. Often hybrids are infertile, but not in this case. At the nutrient rich waters of the bank, we were thrilled to find at least two minke whales lunge feeding and had an absolutely mind-blowing pass from one of the large baleen whales. We drifted by the north Hein Bank marker and nesting double-crested cormorants. After our whale encounter, we travelled to the Chain Islets, where we had some excellent viewing of many harbour seals and a variety of interesting bird life including cormorants and black oystercatchers.

Our afternoon trip aboard the Orca Spirit headed back to Hein Bank for more minke whale excitement. This afternoon, the whales were being a little more elusive, however, we were able to get some amazing views of the spectacular cetaceans. Also on our afternoon trip, we visited the Trial Islands, where we encountered harbour seals and a magnificent bald eagle. It was another wondrous wildlife encounter on the Salish Sea.

With no sightings of orcas today, our 4 pm trips aboard both the Pacific Explorer and Orca Spirit headed back to Hein Bank for yet more sightings of minke whales. Minke whales have been incredibly abundant and active this year and we were thrilled yet again to have some great passes with the speedy minke whales. By looking for the often abundant bird life, we were able to spot the minke whales, doing what they do best - lunge feeding! It was a great experience on the water today, one that proved in the very occasional absence of orcas, there is still lots to see in the Salish Sea.

Tuesday, July 7th

This morning we took off on the Orca Spirit under cloud cover. We knew that a super pod had been in the area, headed west yesterday, but was probably gone by now. So we decided to look for Minkes at Hein Bank instead, but before we got there we saw a mighty breach off of San Juan. We headed towards the island and were suddenly surrounded by orcas. We traveled with J-pod, Ruffles leading the pack, and were privy to multiple breaches further inshore. A delightful tour of whale acrobats and a few close encounters and we headed west towards Victoria, stopping on the way. Chain Islands were aloft with seals and pups hauled out on the rocks. Awesome trip!

The weather for this afternoon’s trip was a little cloudy; however, luckily whales do not have a preference! Captain John and Naturalist Jenna headed out to Kellet bluff to take a look superpod! We got some great views of the J-pod whales, with lots of tail slapping and a few breaches and cart wheels! We got to see a few porpoises on the way back, and we stopped at the Chain Islet to take a look at the harbour seals and cormorant colony. The wildlife definitely cooperated with us even if the weather did not!

Monday, July 6th

This morning we headed east towards San Juan Island in search of orcas, minke whales and other marine mammals. Our first stop was Hein Bank, an offshore area south of San Juan Island where marine mammals of all types often feed. There we found at least two minke whales foraging along with harbour seals, cormorants, rhinoceros auklets and gulls. We had a great experience watching these whales lunging near the surface, feeding on small schooling fish such as herring, sandlance or krill. Next we travelled back towards Victoria, stopping near Seabird Point to look at some harbour porpoise. We next toured the Chain Islets, where we saw probably close to a hundred harbour seals hauled out at low tide, including a few young harbour seal pups. Although we did not see orcas this trip, it was a tour that truly highlighted the diverse marine life of the Salish Sea.

By the afternoon we had received word of a large group of orcas that had been discovered several miles west of Sooke and travelling inbound. Captain John and I (naturalist Corey) headed west with an intrepid group of passengers and encountered southern resident orcas near Otter Point. We encountered all three pods moving slowly inbound with the flooding tide. The whales were in resting formation; first we spent time with L-pod, and we noticed the large dorsal fins of Mega (L41), and Saanich (L74) amongst the 40+ whales that were surfacing and diving in unison. After L-pod passed, we spent time with J and K-pods and watched as they passed right near shore also in resting formation. The large dorsal fin of Ruffles was clearly evident - it is always a pleasure to see the old guy! After our amazing encounter, we had a quick stop at Race Rocks to view harbour seals near the historic landmark before heading back to the harbour.

Sunday, July 5th

With no reports, we headed east to San Juan Island in search of orcas, minke whales and other marine mammals in the Salish Sea. Along the way, we spotted several harbour porpoise foraging south of Discovery Island. We arrived near Eagle Point and sure enough Captain Brad and I spotted some blows. It turned out to be a small group of L-pod whales. As the first boat on scene, we were in for a wonderful fairly private viewing experience as the whales milled near False Bay. We had a great pass from Skana (L79) and his mother Spirit (L22). While drifting quietly we enjoyed listening to the exhalations of the world's most spectacular animal (I am more than a little biased). We watched a bald eagle diving and foraging in the bay. On our way back to Victoria, we stopped near Chatham Island to view several harbour seals hauled out at low tide. There even appeared to be a few young pups!

On our afternoon trip, we headed to the waters of Boundary Pass where we encountered K-pod moving inbound against an opposing tide. The whales were in resting formation, with at least 10 orcas surfacing and diving in unison. This is one of the most spectacular behaviours to witness. It is a great spectacle to behold, seeing so many whales in tight formation. We saw several whales, including the adolescent but large male K26 (Lobo), Sequim (K12) and the newest K-pod calf, K42. Our return journey took us past the scenic lighthouse at Turn Point with Mount Baker in the background.

Saturday, July 4th

Our morning trip started with a stop at Hein Bank where we had initial reports of orcas. While scanning the area, Captain Brad noticed some bird activity near the south Hein Bank - sure sign that a minke whale was most likely present. Heading over to investigate we did find at least two minke whales. We travelled next to False Bay, where we spent some time with Ruffles (J1), Sequim (K12) and several other whales who were travelling slowly up the island. On our way back to Victoria, we were able to catch up again with Ruffles (J1) and Granny (J2) who had turned south and headed offshore. It was an excellent way to end the encounter, spending time with J2, our oldest southern resident orca.

This afternoon we had an excellent trip aboard the Orca Spirit, as we headed east to Haro Strait in search of orcas and other marine life. Our first stop of the tour was at Beaumont Shoals, where harbour porpoise were two numerous to count. It was an amazing experience as we drifted in the current, watching these normally shy cetaceans surface around the boat. After this wonderful experience, we travelled to San Juan Island, where we encountered members of J and K-pods north of Lime Kiln State Park. The orca experience started with a visit with Georgia (K11), the oldest whale in K-pod at approximately 76 years of age. We also had an exhilarating pass from the K14 matriline, consisting of K14 (Lea), K26 (Lobo) and K36 (Yoda), along with the newest calf K42 who was tucked right beside his mother.

Friday, July 3rd

Today's tours were spent in the company of L-pod, the largest pod of southern resident orcas. We had an exceedingly pleasant afternoon, which we spent with L86 (Surprise) and her new calf L112 (not yet nicknamed). It was a great experience in which our guests observed the orcas doing what they do best - foraging. Both mother and calf appeared to be in hot pursuit of a salmon - not surprising as these magnificent predators have to eat about 3 to 5 percent of their body weight per day. We also spent some time with L82 (Kasatka) with her two young siblings Lapis (L103) and Takoda (L109). We concluded our trip with a stop at the Trial Islands where we saw a mature bald eagle and several harbour seals. All in all, it was another excellent adventure on the Salish Sea.

This evening turned out to be a remarkable natural event as L-pod made their way west across the waterfront. We encountered them near Constance Bank. Although we didn't know it at the time, we were in for an incredible whale experience. While stopped and waiting for the large cetaceans to arrive, we noticed a couple of breaches - foreshadowing for what was to come. As they got closer, the action continued to heat up. We had an absolutely incredible show with breaches, spyhops, and cartwheels.

Thursday, July 2nd

It was with great anticipation this morning that we headed out of the harbour aboard the Pacific Explorer. We had already received reports of orcas before we even left the dock. We headed west to find K and L-pods headed inbound off the Sooke Bluffs. It would prove to be yet another remarkable trip as we witnessed high-speed swimming (or porpoising) from large groups of orcas. The highlight of trip for many of our guests was the antics of one our younger orcas, tentatively identified as Comet (K38), who breached repeatedly!

On our afternoon tour, we did not have to travel far as we encountered the inbound southern resident orcas about 20 minutes from the harbour east of Race Rocks. Almost immediately upon arrival, we were able to identify Mega (L41), the largest resident male orca. We travelled with the whales east past Trial Island and were treated to some amazing behaviour, including breaches and porpoising. We had a thrilling pass by two young male orcas and ended our encounter visiting with Nugget (L55) and her two offspring, L103 (Lapis) and L109 (Takoda). We concluded our tour with a sighting of a majestic mature bald eagle on Trial Island.

For the 4 pm trip, we travelled east to Haro Strait where we encountered whales, whales and more whales! All three pods were together off San Juan Island. The evening would prove to be a spectacular spyhop extravaganza, and we were able to spend some time with arguably the star attraction of our southern resident orcas, Ruffles (J1). Ruffles was travelling with a large group of whales, including Canuck (L7), who at times seems to be an honorary J-pod member. The calm seas and abundance of orcas made for a magnificent viewing experience, capping another wondrous day on the Salish Sea.

Wednesday, July 1st

This afternoon our covered boat departed at 1:00 pm on a beautiful Canada Day. In search of J pod, in which we had just seen the day before, we headed north toward Bedwell Harbour at Pender Island. At Bedwell, we were delighted to see Ruffles, Polaris, Granny and a few others breaching, tail lobbing and spy hopping. After this spectacular show, we headed back to the Harbour with a great start to Canada Day under our belts!

Here are Captain John's photos from the tour. Including a great sea lion encounter!