New Calf In J-Pod! Wed Nov 11th, 2009.

GREAT NEWS - J pod has a new calf! J46 was first observed off San Juan Island today by Jeanne Hyde & Monika Wieland, then they headed to Victoria, to swim by for Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research so he could see the new calf and confirm it! The calf was seen with 16 year old J28 - it always takes a few sightings to confirm the mother, but if it is J28's, it will be her first calf.

Five Star 2009 Season Highlights!

The crazy Five Star staff:)

Here are a few images showing just a few of the highlights of the 2009 Season. It was tough to choose from all the incredible images but here are some I chose as a sample of one of the most incredible whale watching seasons on record.

On behalf of every one at Five Star Whale Watching I would like to thank all our many passengers who came out on the water with Five Star this season, we hope to see you again in the future.

I would also like to thank all the Five Star crew for the incredible job they did this season!

Enjoy your winter and we will see everyone again soon at the start of the next season in March 2010:)

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2009, More Photos from Last Cruise of the 2009 Season

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2009, More Photos from Last Cruise of the 2009 Season

...And WHAT A CRUISE IT WAS!!!

Dall's Porpoise playfully bow-riding, Steller's and California Sea Lions massed on every conceivable outcropping of Race Rocks Marine Protected Area, and Transient "Marine-Mammal-Eating" Killer Whales doing what "Marine-Mammal-Eating" creatures do. i.e. Eating Marine Mammals, in this case a Steller Sea Lion!

Look at these photos closely and you will see a Pectoral Flipper of a Steller Sea Lion reaching up out of the water, directly in front of a charging Transient Killer Whale. You can even see the claws of the Sea Lion above the water!

And to think that two hours prior to heading out we did not know for certain if we would be able to head out because of the strong winds and relatively challenging sea conditions.

What a remarkable way to end our 2009 Sesaon!!

Final trip of the season with the T49's and T103! Oct 31st, 2009.

Ron Bates, MMRG, and our crazy naturalists:) Ron is known as the "Whale Guru" or "Commodore Ron". He is responsible for organizing the spotting network for the Pacific Whale Watching fleet and does an incredible job. Thanks Ron for all your hard work this year!

Calf with prey in its mouth!

Above & below, are pictures of Ron Bates, an award winning Marine mammal Researcher that comes out with Five Star on almost every trip and we are lucky to have him! Ron is also responsible for many of the pictures found on this blog and does an amazing job:)

Here are more pictures from our final tour of the 2009 season. We were lucky to find the T49's and T103 near Race Rocks this afternoon and we had an incredible experience as can be seen from the pictures above. What a way to finish the season!

Happy Halloween brings Transient Orcas! Final trip of the Season today:) Oct 31, 2009

Delighted passengers at the end of our wonderful final tour of 2009!

An almost full moon on Halloween, spooky:0

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!


We set out this afternoon at 2.00pm on the final tour of the 2009 season, not knowing what an adventure awaited! No reports of any whale sightings had been made so far, despite other boats being out on the water. However, we headed out confident that we would find our passengers some spectacular Marine Life and we did just that.

Our first encounter not long after leaving the harbour, was with a young Harbor Seal Pup feeding on a large bait ball. We could see the large ball of schooling fish glittering near the surface as it went by the boat and hundreds of sea birds gorging themselves. Nearby we saw another bait ball and here we encountered a young Steller Sealion, a nice start to the trip.

Our next encounter was with Dall's Porpoise that were eager to play in the bow wave of our boat, much to the delight of our passengers. It is amazing to look down to your feet whilst stood on the bow of our High Speed Catamarans and see these amazing Cetaceans swimming directly below:)

We then ventured over to Race Rocks Marine Protected Area and just as we got there we spotted a number of blows and dorsal fins including a very large dorsal fin. Amazingly we had found the T49's along with a large male Transient Orca, T103:) We watched in awe as these apex predator made a kill and then began to feed. A young calf could actually be seen with the remains of the kill in the mouth, breathtaking! We continued to sit with our engines off as the T49's and T103 went back and forth around Race Rocks.

After watching the Transient Orcas head West we then headed to Race Rocks to show our guests the Harbor Seals, plus Steller and California Sealions that stay here throughout the winter. The noise of undreds of Pinnipeds was almost deafening and the smell over powering and something you need to experience to understand.

And so ended our final trip of the 2009 season and what a way to end another incredible season with one of the best trips of the year. As I went back through my records I realized my first Orca encounter of the season was with the T49's so how fitting that the final one of the season would also be with the T49's. Proof once again that Nature is both marvelous and intoxicating! For me, there could not have been a better Halloween treat:)

More pictures from todays Humpback Encounter taken by Ron Bates. Oct 22nd, 2009.

Here are more images from todays tour taken by Ron Bates, MMRG.

Humpback Whales, Porpoise and Sealions! Oct 22nd, 2009.

Here are a few images from an incredible Humpback Whale encounter off Victoria on Oct 22nd, 2009. We headed out this morning at 9.30am and shortly after departing the harbour came across over 200 Harbor Porpoise feeding at Constance Bank. We then traveled a little furher into the Strait and our Eagle Eyed Captain, Trev, sighted the first Humpback about 3 miles East of Race Rocks. This is the full grown adult female Humpback Whale we believe is the mother of the 3 year old known as "Split Fin" or Bart". After watching the Humpback for a while we left to go towards Race Rocks as anoter boat arrived on scene.

At Race Rocks we saw several hundred California and Steller Sealions both in the water and on the rocks. We then headed back towards Constance Bank and came across a large group of very playful Dall's Porpoise who immediately started playing in the bow wave of our boat. The Dall's Porpoise seem to really enjoy playing in the bow wave created by the twin hulls of our Expedition Catamarans. After another boat came over we left the Dall's and continued on our way.

We spotted a number of Steller Sealions playing in the water and stopped to investigate. As we were watching the Sealions check out our boat suddenly the Humpback we had found earlier surfaced nearby and this time "Split Fin" was also there. The 2 Humpback Whales were trumpeting and splashing the water with their tales at two Sealions that were following closely. We then saw a terrific Cartwheel by the large Humpback Whale. "Split Fin" was also being very playful and was seen waving his large Pectoral Fin in the air. We were just south west of Constance Bank when we encountered these two Humpback Whales and it is amazing these wonderful encounters happen so close to Victoria!

The weather was cool and crisp, but the rain held off this morning and provided another unforgettable experience for our passenger and crew:)

River Otters, Pelicans & Humpback Whale Picture by Ron Bates. Oct 15th, 2009.

Here are more images from todays incredible tour taken by Ron Bates, MMRG.

Humpback Whales, Dall's Porpoise, Pelican, River Otters and more! Oct 15th, 2009.

We headed out this afternoon and came across 3 Humpback Whales between Race Rocks and Constance Bank. Two large female Humpback Whales were encountered 2 miles South East of Race Rocks and were being harassed by a Steller Sealion. One of the Humpback made a very dramatic Cartwheel as the Humpback tried to shake off the Sealion. We also saw a number of tail splashing and tail flicks as these large Baleen Whales tried to get rid of their pesky tormentor! We then moved on towards Constance bank where we encountered the 3 year old Humpback that has been given various nicknames, "Split Fin", "Bart", "Cleaver". One of the Humpback Whales we had encountered earlier is the Mother of "Split Fin" and it is so nice to see that these mothers are imprinting on their young that the Strait of Juan De Fuca is a great place to find food. "Split Fin" obviously knows this and has been hanging in the water off Victoria for almost two months now and has provided some very dramatic encounters!

Earlier in our tour we had also come across 2 Pelican's at Church Rock, a rare but impressive sight. During our tour we also saw River Otters right at the dock, a pair of Bald Eagles, several Harbor Seals both on rocks and in the water, Hundreds of Steller & California Sealions at Race Rocks and another amazing Dall's Porpoise encounter. It was a wonderful day to be on the water and marvel at the diversity of wildlife that can be found so close to Victoria:)

New Calf in L-pod, L113!

http://www.whaleresearch.com/encounter_pages/New_calf_L113.html


Visit the link above to see the full story on the exciting news that there is a new calf in L-pod, L113! The Center for Whale Research confirmed that a new Calf has been spotted in L-pod on Oct 10th, 2009. This is excellent news and reason to celebrate for everyone following the fortunes of the Southern Resident Orcas. Each new birth is reason to be optimistic about the fate of the Resident Orcas but we still need to increase the amount of Salmon in the local waters to ensure their continued health and survival.

Breathtaking Dall's Porpoise Encounter! Oct 10th, 2009.

Here are some breathtaking pictures of a an encounter with Dall's Porpoise on Oct 10th on our way home from watching Humpback Whales. This encounter left both the passengers and crew spell bound!

Happy Thanksgiving & Columbus Day from Everyone at Five Star Whale Watching!

Five Star Whale Watching would like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving and Columbus Day to all our passengers and friends!

We have a lot to be thankful for this year.

More images from todays stunning encounter with Humpback Whales and Dall's Porpoise! Oct 10th, 2009.

Here are just a few more images from today's stunning encounter with at least 4 Humpback Whales, including an intimate encounter with "Split Fin" and mother.

Our Capt, Trev, spotted "Split Fin" off in the distance near Constance Bank and as we made our way over we realized there was another Humpback there as well. Just before we arrived on seen with these two Humpbacks, many of the passengers and crew also sighted two more Humpback Whales in the distance. This October has been one of the best months on record for Humpback Whale sightings off Victoria!

We also had probably the most incredible Dall's porpoise encounter of the season with several Dall's playing in our bow wake on our way back to Victoria. The Dall's were in a really playful mood and would not leave our boat even when another arrived on scene and we tried to leave:) Dall's Porpoise love our double hulled Catamarans and our vessels provide the best Dall's Porpoise experience by far! It was the perfect end to another wonderful day on the water:)

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our passengers competing in the Victoria Marathon, good luck and congratulations!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2009, Some of the most amazing Dall's Porpoise Photos! Plus Humpbacks and Sea Lions at Race Rocks MPA

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2009, Some of the most amazing Dall's Porpoise Photos! Plus Humpbacks and Sea Lions at Race Rocks Marine Protected Area (MPA)

One of the advantages of keeping an open and grateful mind is that you are often rewarded with events that you could not have imagined...Like seeing Dall's Porpoise through flat calm seas that are almost completely translucent.

Add Humpback Whales and hundreds of Steller's and California Sea Lions at Race Rocks under Sunny Skies in October and we have an awful lot for which to be thankful.