Sunday, June 10th

L pod is back! With whales only a short distance out of the harbour, we had a fantastic trip. We met up with the whales near a navigational buoy known as Victor Hotel, and found the whales spread out and travelling in small family groups. The wet weather did not dampen the spirits of our guests who had a whale of a time (forgive the pun). Knowing that the whales were visiting would be there for a while we travelled to Race Rocks for a wonderful wildlife experience. Steller sea lions, California sea lions and harbour seals were out in abundance, and the dramatic lighting made for some excellent photographs. After showing our guests the historic lighthouse, we travelled back towards Victoria where we found the whales near William Head. We watched the whales as they travelled southwest at high speed and we were treated to an amazing breach. We watched a mother and calf travelling in unison and had a great visit from Faith (L57)!

With L Pod rapidly heading west, we headed east for our 1 pm trip to find J-pod heading northbound near Stuart Island in Haro Strait. Arriving on scene with the 25 member pod, we found Granny and Ruffles apparently leading the way north. It is always a pleasure to see these whales, who are the among the oldest whales in the southern resident community. Travelling north with the whales, we watched as the whales travelled northbound in a determined manner with a few whales stopping briefly for a bit of foraging. We also watched a group of whales that included J16 and her new calf J42, who is now a little more than a month old but looking very well. We ended our encounter with some wonderful viewing of a wonderful "sprouter" male, most likely Mike (J26). It was a nice way to end another fantastic afternoon on the Salish Sea.