Tuesday, May 29th

Our morning was great, by a shining sun and very calm waters. We had word that orcas may have been spotted off Esquimalt so after our departure, we decided to head west out of Victoria Harbour and cruise along the shoreline. Along the trip we were fortunate enough to see a few Harbour Porpoises coming up for breaths. After heading as far west as Metchosin and not spotting any whales, we decided to check out Race Rocks to see what sort of wildlife would be there. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the rocks were covered with Harbour Seals, California Sea Lions and Stellar Sea Lions. Many were tanning themselves on the rocks but a few heads were poking out of the water and a few barks could be heard from the sea lions. We then proceeded east to the Chain Islands where we saw a magnificent Bald Eagle scanning the horizon on top of a Cormorant nest.

The afternoon tour was also welcomed with beautiful sunny weather. We decided to travel 20 miles west, where the whales were spotted along the San Juan Islands. Upon arrival we were pleasantly greeted by the J-pod. We saw Slick pass by with her newborn calf and the sprouting male orca, Mike. We then observed Ruffles, the large male, as he put on an excellent display with some flipper and tail slaps. After our orca experience, on our trip home, we were surprised to discover a Minke whale, the smallest of the baleen whales. The Minke surfaced a number of times for some deep breaths and then made a deeper dive. Surrounding the Minke were numerous Harbour Seals swimming around searching for food.

Another beautiful day on the water!