Monday, July 30

Today was a humpback day as passengers aboard the Orca Spirit were fortunate to see these magnificent animals on all three trips. This morning, we spent time with a humpback whale out in Juan De Fuca Strait a few miles offshore of Port Angeles, Washington. As mentioned in previous blogs, we have had a mother and calf pair hanging out in this area for quite some time now. We were fortunate to get several nice views of the young humpback whale, which was a thrill for both passengers and crew. After viewing the humpback whale, we travelled to Race Rocks for some truly amazing wildlife viewing. When we arrived at Race Rocks, we found several Steller sea lions swimming in the strong currents. A close look at the rocks revealed several harbour seals, including a few pups! An elephant seal was found swimming near the boat ramp near the lighthouse. All in all, it was an excellent trip.

The afternoon trip was very similar to the morning trip, as we travelled south to spend time with the young humpback calf. As we arrived on scene with the young humpback whale, some astute passengers noticed another blow off our starboard side. It was the mother humpback! This afternoon was truly amazing as the large female gave us a spectacular show, highlighted by some great passes and an even more amazing cartwheel! The unpredictable nature of humpback whales makes viewing them thrilling to watch. After watching the humpback whale, we again travelled to Race Rocks, where we again found sea lions and harbour seals along with other wonderful wildlife.

For the evening trip, we travelled further east to a location several miles south of Discovery Island where we spent time with yet another humpback whale! It was a great trip. When diving this whale was not hesitant at all to show us its massive flukes, which made for some spectacular photographic opportunities. The highlight of the trip was a spectacular pass by the whale to conclude our time with him (or her), as it swam by our boat right before fluking! The wildlife stop for this trip was a scenic trip through the Chain Islets to look at harbour seals, cormorants and other wonderful bird life. We concluded our tour by educating our guests about the wonderful bull kelp forests that help sustain and support much of our local marine life.