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!