September 11, 2006
Another amazing day on the water was highlighted by a spectacular Humpback whale sighting this morning and an absolutely awe-inspiring transient show this afternoon! Both trips had us heading west in search of inbound resident orcas. Although we were unsuccessful in our search for residents this morning we were thrilled to see both Harbour and Dall's porpoise on the way to the Humpback whale. The Humpback was fantastic as it was foraging near the boat. Our passengers watched as the amazing whale fluked on a couple of occasions, providing excellent photographic opportunities of the diving whale. We finished the trip with a customer favourite as we drifted through Race Rocks to watch the
Carnage was the order of the day for the afternoon trip when we encountered a group of four transient orcas west of Sooke. The group included one large mature male and a very cute mother and calf pair (cute unless you're a Harbour seal :-) ). This encounter with the transients was absolutely incredible as we got to see the whales make a kill, or at least the aftermath. Although we were unable to identify what was taken, the attack was quick, and like many attacks most likely happened under water. We watched the whales feeding and could see the blood in the water. After the attack, we watched as the male spyhopped with half of his body out of the water. Shortly thereafter we left the orcas to their meal and journeyed to Race Rocks to finish another spectacular day of whale watching aboard the Orca Spirit.
