Saturday, July 5

This morning, we headed south into Juan De Fuca Strait in search of orcas, humpback whales and whatever else we could find in the calm waters of the Salish Sea. Although it was somewhat foggy, the calm waters and wonderful lighting made for a surreal west coast experience. We stopped first at the historic Race Rocks lighthouse. Here we found a juvenile bald eagle, and were pleased to see a couple of mature male Steller sea lions hanging out on the northwest rock. It is always a thrill to see these large pinnipeds and somewhat unusual this time of year. After showing our guests some harbour seals, and getting some close views of the beautiful lighthouse, we continued our journey into the strait. Several miles south of Beechy Head, we encountered a large humpback whale and were thrilled we it gave us an incredible pass off the stern of the Orca Spirit. It showed us its massive flukes and it was a wonderful way to conclude another whale experience.

Wow, what an afternoon! This afternoon, we went out into Juan De Fuca Strait, again in search of orcas and humpback whales. It would prove to be an excellent trip once again. After a long search, both the Orca Spirit and our zodiac vessel, the Aquatic Dancer, encountered 3 humpback whales near Otter Point. What we saw when we got there was a thrill to both passengers and crew. One of the humpback whales breached at least three times, followed by a spectacular cartwheel off the stern of our covered vessel, the Orca Spirit! This is not an every day occurrence and it is always amazing when humpback whales thrill us with there acrobatic behaviour. This was an absolutely incredible trip that left both passengers and crew of these amazing whales.

Our evening charter headed out into Juan De Fuca Strait for yet another outstanding adventure. In the waters off Sooke, the Orca Spirit crew of Captain Brad, and naturalists Sean and Corey were privileged to be able to show our guests the wondrous animal that is the humpback whale. We watched two different animals this evening, both entertaining our guests with some lunge-feeding behaviour and some excellent fluke shots. As always, it was awesome to see these amazing cetaceans. At least one of the whales was positively ID'd as a whale we found in these waters last year, another sign that humpbacks are utilizing the rich feeding areas of Juan De Fuca Strait with increasing frequency. Once again, both our passengers and crew went home happy, satisfied after yet another wonderful wildlife experience.