Lpod, Sept 27th 2007.

We set out this morning on our 9.00am tour and headed east towards San Juan Island in search of the resident Orcas. Once we arrived off San Juan we realised our search was going to be difficult due to thick fog, but we were determined to find the Orcas. Just as we thought we were going to be out of luck our Naturalist Marie, spotted Orcas and she became the hero of the day! Despite the fog and chilly weather we had a great time watching several of Lpod including L73 "Flash", a large male born in 1986.

In the afternoon we headed back towards Salmon bank and found Lpod spread out over a very wide area. We observed a research vessel following one of the Lpod males trying to catch samples as the animal exhaled.

On the way over to Salmon Bank we saw a Minke Whale pop up near a Bait Ball. Then we spotted a large group of Dalls Porpoise and were ecstatic when the Dalls popped up in our bow wake and put on an amazing show.

When we left the Orcas near Heine Bank we headed over to the Chain Islands and saw several Harbor Seals, Cormorants and Harlequin Ducks.

As if all this exciting encounters had not been enough, when we arrived back in the Harbor we were greeted by a Heron sitting on the dock!

J, K and Lpod plus 5 Humpback Whales!! Sept 26th, 2007.

Very early on today we heard reports of both Humpback Whales and the Southern Resident Orca Pods, J, K and Lpod, moving through the Juan De Fuca Strait!

During our afternoon tour we caught up with the Orcas spread out well over 3 miles off the West Coast of San Juan Island. Not long after arriving we identified members of Jpod moving towards Lime Kiln Whale Park and members of Kpod including L7, the oldest member of the Southern Resident Pods, who is believed to have been born in 1910! L12 also was seen swimming nearby and we also watched the research vessel following L57 "Faith", trying to collect fecal samples. During our time with the Orcas we saw a lot of foraging for Salmon and other interaction.

On our way home we stopped near Clover Point where up to 5 different Humpback Whales had been spotted in the vicinity of the point. We observed 2 Humpback Whales in particular for a while and saw a couple of nice tail flukes.

Please note all photos are taken with a powerful zoom lens.

It was another stunning day on the water!

Transient Orcas and Humpback Whales!!! Sept 25th 2007.

September has been an incredible month for Whale and Wildlife viewing and today was one of the best days of the month so far. We had up to 25 Transient Orcas and 5 humpback Whales not far from Victoria Harbor!

In the morning we first picked up a couple of Humpback Whales travelling together not far from Race Rocks. We watched these two impressive Baleen Whales for a while before heading to Race Rocks. Whilst at Race we received a report of Transient Orcas just a little to the East of our position so off we went. When we arrived on scene we could see the Transients were foraging and had possibly just made a kill.

In the afternoon we headed out again in search of the Transients Orcas and the 2 Humpbacks, and first came across the Transients. The Orcas were being very vocal, which is unusual for Transient Orcas, and were breaching numerous times, an even rarer occurrence.

As we were watching the Transients, our Captain Scottie, noticed a splash in the distance and then realized he had seen another Humpback, this one being a very large animal with huge Tailflukes. The Humpback came right towards the Transients and was Trumpeting loudly as it surfaced, it was breathtaking to watch.

We finished the day at Race Rocks watching from a distance as the Transients passed through the Ecological reserve and also showed our passengers some of the many Sealions at Race.

What a day to be on the water!!!

Transient Orcas, Sept 24th 2007.

We set out towards Race Rocks this morning during our 9.00am trip after receiving reports of Orcas sighted near Albert Head at 7.30am. We picked up the Transient Orcas a little to the South West of Race Rocks. The transients were soon identified as the T12's, and consisted of about 7 Orcas. We had one incredible spyhop very close to the rear of the boat (about 100m away), which left everyone speechless.

In the afternoon we headed back out West looking for the T12's but ended up finding a second group of 8 Orcas close to Otter Point. We observed a lot of foraging in kelp beds and many spyhops.

During our 2 trips today we also had another amazing encounter with Dalls Porpoises Bow riding!