Friday, July 13th
This morning we travelled to the waters near Salmon Bank off of San Juan Island, where we found K-pod in a playful mood. We saw several members of K-pod and had some good views of one of our favourite whales K21 (Cappucino). This large mature male is always a magnificent sight. We were privileged to see several breaches as the whales made their way north towards Eagle Point. Our whale experience was capped off by a visit from K7 (Lummi), the possibly 97 year old matriarch of K-pod. We finished our trip with a scenic tour of the Chain Islets, where we saw several harbour seals.
This afternoon, we headed to Kellet Bluff, where we found an energetic and playful group of southern residents heading northward along the bluff. Within minutes, we knew we were in for a special trip as the whales were spyhopping and breaching frequently. We identified the whales as K-pod, a group of about 20 whales, and we were pleased to see Cappuccino (K21) among others. Our hydrophone only added to the experience, as we heard lots of vocalizations and echolocation. We also saw lots of what is called percussive behaviour, in which whales use their flukes and/or pectoral fins to slap the surface of the water. The acrobatics continued throughout the trip, as we drifted in the current with the whales as they travelled northbound, before turning south. It was another wonderful experience aboard the Orca Spirit.
For the evening trip, we again met up with K-pod, but this time, we met up with them near False Bay on San Juan Island. It was evident that the whales were doing some foraging, as we heard the whales echolocate and at first there was no definite direction. We were again fortunate to spend some time with K21, the 21 year old male. As we travelled north with Cappuccino, Captain John noticed some blows from the north. K-pod was coming together! We saw several breaches and heard some tremendous vocalizations. They seemed quite happy to see each other. When the whales met up, they continued travelling southbound along the shore, and we had some great passes with many members of the pod. When our time with the whales ended, we travelled back towards Victoria and Great Chain Island, where we saw the spectacular double-crested cormorant colony.