Saturday, September 6th
On our morning tour, we headed east into the calm seas and sunny skies on the lookout for orcas. Transient orcas are seen on a regular basis in September, as are the majestic humpback whales as well. With a high probability of seeing resident orcas, September whale watching is the favourite month for experienced whale watchers. Our tour this morning towards San Juan Island, on the lookout for orcas. Despite our best efforts, we were unable to locate them but enjoyed a fantastic tour around D'arcy Island and along the east coast of Discovery Island to view harbour seals and a turkey vulture! We enjoyed many sightings of harbour porpoise but were intent on showing our customers something bigger. That was when we heard the news that orcas had been sighted near Race Rocks and we made our way there to find the T30's and the T46B's. It was a brief encounter but a truly spectacular one as we found them in the process of making a kill! It looked like the whales were in the process of attacking a sea lion!. During our brief encounter we saw a breach, several tail slaps (perhaps used to stun the prey) and even had a great look at a new transient orca calf.
On the afternoon tour, we were able to head directly to the orcas and started our tour by visiting with the T30's, a group of orcas that seem to have made the Victoria area their late summer home over the last few years. This group of orcas epitomizes the power and beauty of the orca and have given me some of my most memorable orca encounters. This afternoon, we travelled mainly with the large male T30A. It was just an excellent day to be on the water. We could hear the blows clearly and were able watch as the animal surfaced slowly, with the dorsal fin piercing the water. With occasional bouts of high speed swimming mixed it, it was a magnificent experience. Later in the trip, he joined up with his mom, T30 and his younger sibling T30C. As the finale to the trip, we spent time with a humpback whale. It was a wonderful way to conclude another great day on the Salish sea!
