Tuesday, July 31st

This morning, passengers and crew on our 9 am trip headed out into Juan De Fuca Strait in search of humpback and killer whales. The calm waters and sunny skies made for an excellent day on the water, as we kept our eyes peeled for any blows. Despite our massive search, we did not find any whales this morning but we were still thrilled when we encountered a nuclear submarine! The shear size of the vessel was absolutely amazing. As we continued our search, we travelled towards Race Rocks where we found some steller sea lions entertaining us with there playful antics as they swam through the water. We also noticed two very large elephant seals near the boat ramp. It was a great tour!

By the afternoon trip, we had received word that a humpback whale had indeed been found out in the strait. The large baleen thrilled us with some nice passes and we were able to get some nice fluke shots as the whale travelled. We left the whale to search for other wildlife and headed for Race Rocks. This time, we were able to find 3 elephant seals, including one seal who was blowing bubbles near the boat ramp! We also noticed several sea lions and, as with the first trip, saw several harbour seals. Race Rocks was absolutely spectacular today!

On the evening trip, we headed about 4 miles south of Hein Bank where we found two humpback whales! We had some great passes with both animals, including some excellent fluking behaviour. After several minutes with the whales, we travelled to a large bay west of Dungeness Spit, where a gray whale had been located. We spent several minutes with the whale, which appeared to be feeding in the bay. Our passengers had some great looks at this remarkable animal. With three large cetacean sightings in one trip, it was an amazing evening aboard the Orca Spirit!