Sunday, September 14

This afternoon, the Orca Spirit took off into the mirror-calm straight of Juan de Fuca in search for whales. Captain Brad, naturalists Sean and Cassie, and guests headed Southeast toward Hein Bank, searching for some of the humpback and transient killer whales that have been in the area recently. Today we arrived on scene to see two groups of Transient (mammal-eating) killer whales, the T46s and the T30As, swimming in the middle of the straight. The groups split up and we had whales on either side of the vessel. With beautiful sunny weather and no wind, it was prime time for guests to take pictures. With water that calm, it was noticeable to us all how perfectly adapted these whales are for their environment, just breaking the surface as they come up for air. The fan favourite today was the new month-and-a-half-old calf, tiny and still pink from being in the womb for 16 months, and surfacing with little half-jumps every time. All in all a great afternoon, and couldn't have had a nicer day to watch whales in their natural habitat.