Wednesday, August 6

Wow! What an incredible day of whale watching! Passengers on the Orca Spirit were able to see whales all three trips.

The first tour took us west well past Sooke off of Point no Point. It was a gem of a trip as we travelled along the rugged yet beautiful coastline of the south-western edge of Vancouver Island. We spent time with a group of L-pod whales, mostly members of the L2 matriline. The matriarch of this particular subpod is also the grandmother of one of the more famous L-pod whales L98 (Luna). On this tour, we had an excellent visit with L78 (Gaia). We watched L88 (Wave Walker) and spent some time with a few other L-pod whales. To conclude our time with the whales, we had a spectacular pass from Gaia and another whale whom I was not able to identify. It was another wondrous adventure.

On the afternoon trip we travelled to San Juan Island, where we encountered some J-pod whales and a few L-pod whales near False Bay. Our trip started with a visit with Faith (L57). Since Faith is the only male left in his immediate family, he sometimes travels away from the rest of his podmates and is often seen with J-pod. Next we were treated to a fabulous show by the youngest whale in J-pod, J42 as we visited with the J16 matriline. A short distance from the J16 matriline was Ruffles (J1) whose slow surfacing behaviour was allowed our guests some excellent photo opportunities. Our visit with Ruffles was followed by one of the most remarkable passes of the year from J8 (Speiden), J22 (Oreo) and J38 (Cookie). A truly magnificent spyhop from J38 was the highlight of the day for me - enjoy the photos! We also saw Tucker, the whales’ feces sniffing dog in action. Passengers were interesting in hearing how this dog can help find whale feces which in turn can provide critical information about whale feeding habitats, DNA studies and toxin exposure. It is fascinating research.

The evening trip rocked - literally! The wind had come up somewhat, but that did not deter our passengers or crew from enjoying the trip of a lifetime for many of our guests. Our trip started with some fantastic viewing of the J16 matriline and some incredible behaviour from J42, the youngest whale in J-pod and one of the cutest, most endearing animals on our coast. This evening seemed to be a bit of a breachfeast with J42 breaching numerous times followed by some tremendous breaching from Mike (J26) inshore! As we moved offshore, we encountered a large group of whales porpoising south. Passengers were treated to a tremendous double breach from Faith (L57) and Ruffles (J1). I, however, was looking the other way. More breaching ensued, as well as spyhops, cartwheels and tail slaps. It seemed as though they were going through the checklist of whale behaviour. What a fabulous evening

Tuesday, August 5

It was an absolutely stellar day on the water today. With calm seas, beautiful sunny skies and abundance of whales it was a spectacular day in the Salish Sea.

Our morning tour travelled to San Juan Island where we spent some time with J-pod and a few L-pod whales. To start the experience we spent some time with Ruffles and Granny, (J1 and J2 )as they travelled slowly northbound. Travelling with them was the J14 (Samish) matriline. It was a beautiful way to start the day in the waters near Lime Kiln lighthouse. Passengers and crew were thrilled with our wildlife experience, the finale of which was a wonderful cruise around the Chain Islets to view harbour seals.

Our afternoon tour was also spent in beautiful calm seas off of San Juan Island where we spent time with the same group of whales. We had some wonderful passes and were treated to some fantastic whale behaviour. A whale even through in a fantastic spyhop for us! On our return to Victoria, Captain Brad spotted an eagle on a navigation marker - it was definitely a nice catch on his part, as our passengers are always thrilled to see these majestic raptors!

For the evening trip, we did not have to journey far as L-pod had been located travelling inbound! We travelled south of Victoria, catching up to the whales east of Race Passage. A brief visit with the whales was followed by a quick visit to Race Rocks, knowing that we could catch up to the whales later on. A couple of northern (Steller) sea lions, some elephant seals and lots of harbour seals added up to an awesome wildlife experience. Satisfied, we travelled back to L-pod where we met up with southeast of Discovery Island. It turned out to be a bit of a breachfest this evening! Known for their aerial displays our southern residents did not disappoint. It was another great day on the water.