Photos from July 23rd trip by Marine Naturalist, Kyla.

Seals at Race Rocks.

Young passenger looking cute in one of our cruiser jackets.

The 4 pictures above are of the Humpback that was sighted during out tours today.

Stellar Sealions at Race Rocks.

These pictures from our July 23rd tours were taken by one of our most experienced Marine Naturalists, Kyla. They are a little late because Kyla has been working very hard, just like the rest of our crew, but better late than never. Please enjoy these pictures.

Humpbacks, Elephant Seals and Seals, July 30th 2007.

Mother and Pup Harbor Seals at Chain Islands.

Pseengers enjoying another incredible trip.





The pictures above are of the Humpback Whale we observed near the Papa Alpha Buoy.

Supercat heading out on another adventure.

Passengers enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of Race Rocks:)

Passengers watching the Humpback about to dive.

Elephant Seals at Race Rocks.


This picture shows why Humpbacks get their name.
The pictures above are of the first Humpback we sighted in during our morning trip.

During our morning trip today we set out towards the Papa Alpha Buoy near Port Angeles as a Humpback had been sighted in that area. As we approached the scene we found out that the other boats had lost track of the animal and so an extensive search began. We covered over 40 miles in a search pattern of the Juan De Fuca Strait and eventually stopped at Race Rocks where we found a couple of Elephant Seals fighting. Then as we were sitting at Race we heard about another Humpback that had been found East of the Papa Alpha Buoy so off we went with fingers crossed that the boats would not lose track of this animal. Just as we were getting on scene two of our passengers thought they had seen another Whale close by and sure enough they had indeed found another Humpback. We spent several minutes watching these two amazing large Marine Mammals before heading back to Victoria.

In the afternoon we headed once again to the Papa Alpha Buoy to view another Humpback and had a thrilling experience. As we were watching this Humpback we suddenly saw a breach in the distance that was either another Humpback or possibly a Minke Whale, but it was breathtaking to see such a large animal breach right out of the water. I was so in awe of the spectacle I forgot to take a picture:(

On the way home we stopped by the Chain Islands and saw a number of Seals and Seal pups, and observed some of them were playing in the kelp beds including a pup playing on the surface. It was the perfect end to another incredible day in the Salish Sea!

July 29th, 2007.

Cormorants & Seals at Chain Islands.

Common Murre stretchs its wings.

Harbor Porpoise
Hybrid Porpoise

The 5 pictures above show the Bait Ball we found near Turn Point and the Seals we saw feeding on the bait ball.

Up to 8' swells in the Juan De Fuca Strait made it a very unpleasant place to be this afternoon so we ventured East into the much calmer Haro Strait and had a fantastic Wildlife adventure. Near turn point we briefly spotted a Hybrid Porpoise, the result of male Harbor Porpoises mating with female Dalls Porpoises. We also saw this little mammal again later in the trip.

Next we sighted in the distance a large number of Gulls and diving birds such as Rhinoceros Auklets and Common Murres. This is often the sign of a bait ball (a large congregation of small fish milling together) and sure enough as we got closer we could see that was exactly what we had found. The Gulls could clearly be seen picking off the small fish and then suddenly we saw a splash and sighted at least 3-4 Harbor Seals also feeding on the bait ball! Our passengers were thrilled to see the action right before their eyes as several of the seals attacked the bait ball.

On the return to Victoria we also saw a number of Harbor Porpoises moving swiftly through the Strait. We then stopped at the Chain Islands and saw a large number of Seals and Seal Pups, plus a large gathering of Cormorants. It was another memorable day on the water.

Humpback Whales and Minke Whales, July 28th 2007.

Today was one of the busiest days in Five Stars extensive history of Whale Watching. We had a total of 11 boats take almost 400 passengers out whale watching and it was an incredible day to be on the water.

Our first tour at 8.30 am found a Minke Whale near Heine Bank. In the afternoon and evening number of Humpback Whales were once again sighted in the Juan De Fuca Strait and wowed our passengers. In fact one lady commented to me tonight that the trip she had just taken was the highlight of her vacation and an incredible experience she would remember forever.

More pictures will be posted from this trip shortly.

Friday July 27th 2007.

K25 "Scoter", a juvenile male born in 1991.

K20 "Spock", a female born in 1986.

The 2 pictures above are of K16 "Opus", a female born in 1984.

The picture above and two below are of K21 "Cappuccino", the large male in Kpod who was born in 1986 and is the oldest male in Kpod.

This morning our boat headed to Turn Point were it was reported members of the Southern Resident pods were sighted. The Orcas were spread out over a wide area but still thrilled our passengers. We saw several members of Kpod including K21, K16, K20, and k25.

During the evening cruise our passengers got to see several members of Kpod just west of the San Juan Islands. The Moonrise tonight was incredible as can be seen from the pictures above.

Please note that these pictures were taken by Marine Naturalist, Kyla.

Thursday July 26th, 2007.

Moonrise.

The breakwater with the Olympic Mtns in the background.

The pictures above show passengers relaxing after another successful trip.

Mt. Baker & San Juan Island.

K21 "Cappuccino"

L41 "Mega"

L79 "Skana" and L22 "Spirit"

L83 "Moonlight"

All our tours today and this evening, observed the Southern Resident Orcas off San Juan Islands. Earlier in the day we watched K21 and the rest of Kpod. In the evening our boats spent time with part of Lpod and in particular L41 and his sisters L77 and L94 plus L83, L79 & L22.

Another spectacular sunset marked the end of another incredible day on the water. Please note that these pictures were taken by Marine Naturalist, Kyla.