Monday, July 7th
This morning, we headed east towards San Juan Island in search of orcas and other cetaceans. We had heard that J-pod had headed north towards the Fraser River last night and were hoping to meet up with the whales as they made their way back towards San Juan Island through Rosario Strait. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be this morning, as it turned out that J-pod was a little out of reach. However, we still had an excellent tour. We stopped at Whale Rocks, where we found 3 bald eagles (one adult and two juveniles). Harbour seals were found in abundance both swimming in the calm seas and hauled out on the rocks. It was a wonderful wildlife experience. On the return to Victoria, as we travelled up Haro Strait, we encountered a large group of Dall's porpoise. Soon these lovely little whales were playing with our boat, thrilling us with their bowriding behaviour. What a great way to end a magnificent wildlife adventure!
This afternoon's tour was a long one but thoroughly worth the time and effort. Our travels took us east into the far eastern reaches of Rosario Strait near Anacortes where we encountered J-pod travelling southbound. It is relatively rare to have them travel along the eastern shore of Rosario, so it was a treat for both the crew and our passengers. The first pair of whales to pass us by were a couple of the true icons of the Salish Sea, Granny (J2) and Ruffles (J1). We had a great pass from a group that included Blackberry (J27) and most likely his younger sibling Mako (J40). The whales generally appeared to be travelling, and were surfacing regularly giving our guests some wonderful looks!
The evening trip proved to be one of the highlights for the season for this naturalist Corey. We headed east, thinking we might have to travel all the way to Whidbey Island, but were relieved to hear as we reached the south end of Lopez Island that the whales had in fact turned and were headed in our direction at a high rate of speed. Porpoising ranks high on my list of things to see, and both passengers and crew were excited when a large group of J-pod whales gave us a great pass. On this fantastic trip, passengers witnessed spyhops, breaching, porpoising, tail slaps and even a rare behaviour known as a cartwheel, when a whale "throws" its tail flukes through the air. It is hard to describe the exhilaration and amazement one feels when you witness these magnificent creatures in their natural environment. After four years of whale watching, it is still an incredible thrill to share these experiences with our guests.
