May 30th - 2 Humpback Whales!

May 30th – Two Humpback Whales encountered!

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Andrew

Humpback Whales

Today we were lucky enough to encounter two Humpback Whales in Boundary Pass near Skipjack Island:) The Humpbacks had been first reported by a local fishing charter company and luckily we were close by when the report came in. As we arrived on scene the two Humpbacks were bringing up their enormous tail flukes as they went on a deep dive. After a short while they both appeared at the surface side by side and then surfaced several times before tail fluking before another deep dive. We watched as they repeated this behavior for most of our time with them.
Apart from the 2 Humpbacks we also saw Seals, Porpoise and Bald Eagles today.
For more images from today’s tours please click on the link below;
May 30th – 2 Humpback Whales

May 29th – Humpback Whale & a Sea Otter!

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Andrew

Humpback Whale

Sea Otter

Today we had a wonderful encounter with a Humpback Whale “Big Mama” and a Sea Otter! Our adventure began in the morning with “Big Mama” near Blunden Island in Boundary Passage. She did numerous tail flukes whilst we were on scene, much to the delight of our excited passengers who were thrilled to see this famous large Humpback Whale We also got to spend some time at Race Rocks where we encountered a very relaxed Sea Otter!
To see more images from today’s encounters click on the link below;
May 29th – Humpback Whale & Sea Otter

May 28th – Afternoon with Jpod near Discovery!

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Andrew

This afternoon we had an incredible encounter with Jpod near Discovery Island! The Orcas had moved steadily west since we had left them off the west side of San Juan Island in the morning. As we watched Jpod move towards Discovery Island the pod was split into various Matralines and were in a very playful mood. We got to see several breaches, cartwheels, lots of tail slaps and the most Spy hops many of us had ever seen The Orcas were also playing in the kelp beds at the southern end of Discovery and we saw a lot of them with kelp wrapped around their bodies. We also got to see the three new Jpod babies, which is always a thrill!
You can see more images at the following link;
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152949484077194.1073742250.83152127193&type=1

May 28 - Morning with Jpod & Transient Orcas!

May 28th – Morning with Jpod & Transient Orcas!

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Andrew

What an incredible morning trip where we encountered Jpod near BattleShip Island heading south, plus two Transient Orcas (TO77A & T124C) off Ogden Point Jpod was spread out and doing lots of porpoising (high speed swimming) and foraging (hunting for Salmon). We had some nice views of several members including J27 “Blackberry”, J26 “Mike”, J28 “Polaris”, J46 “Star” and L87 “Onyx” who performed several spectacular breaches We then got word that two Transient Orcas had been spotted near Victoria Harbour and when we arrived on scene they were right by Ogden Point breakwater! We soon identified the two male Transients as TO77A and TO124C, the same two Orcas we encountered by Saltspring Island the day before. Once again this shows the great distances Orcas can travel in less than 24 hours! Resident Orcas & Transient Orcas during the same trip, what a way to start the day
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152945715227194.1073742249.83152127193&type=1

May 27th - Transient Orcas near Saltspring

May 27th – Transient Orcas near Saltspring Island!

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Andrew

Transient Orcas

Today we encountered 2 male Transient Orcas, TO77A & T124C near Saltspring Island These two large males had been hanging out in the area for the past couple of days as they travelled together looking for Harbor Seals & Harbor Porpoise! Not only did we enjoy the 2 Transient Orcas, we also enjoyed the incredible scenery around Saltspring Island
You can see more images from today at the following link;
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152939728112194.1073742248.83152127193&type=1

May 19th – Jpod near Blunden Island!

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Andrew

Here is an image by Naturalist Kayla of Jpod near Blunden Island on May 19th.

May 18th - Jpod off San Juan Island!

May 18th – Jpod off San Juan Island all day!

Posted on June 7, 2015 by Andrew

Jpod

Today we encountered Jpod off the west side of San Juan Island during both our tours. In the morning they were down near Pile Point and in the afternoon they were off Andrew’s Bay. Orcas can travel up to 100 miles in 24 hours and are constantly on the move looking for food. We go to see all lot of breaching, foraging, spy hops and some wonderful tail slaps by the old girl, J2 “Granny”
You can see more images from today at the following link;
May 18 – Jpod off San Juan Island

May 17th – Jpod all day:)

Posted on June 7, 2015 by Andrew

Jpod

Today we had wonderful encounters all day with Jpod including J16 “Slick” and her new baby J50 J50 seems to be a very happy & healthy baby! In the morning we encountered Jpod off the west side of San Juan Island doing a lot of foraging (hunting for Salmon) and in the afternoon we caught up with the Pod south of Lopez Island.
You can see more images from today’s tours at the following link;
May 17th – Jpod all day!

May 15th – Minke Whale & Jpod!

Posted on June 7, 2015 by Andrew

Today we encountered Minke Whales and Jpod! Here are a few pictures from today’s adventures in the Salish Sea
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152918950077194.1073742245.83152127193&type=1

May 13th – Two Transient Orcas!

Posted on June 7, 2015 by Andrew

Transient Orcas

Today we encountered 2 Transient Orcas near 10 Mile Point! The Orcas were identified as T77A & T124C, which are two male Transient Orcas.

May 11th & 12th - Humpback Whales

May 12th – Humpback Whale

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Andrew

May 12th – Today we encountered a Humpback Whale once again and we also saw several Sea Lions. Here are a couple of images taken by Naturalist Kayla

May 9th - Transient Orcas TO49C near Victoria!

May 9th – Transient Orca TO49C near Victoria

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Andrew

Transient Orca TO49C

Today we encountered a lone male Transient Orca TO49C near Constance Bank. This is the second time this season we have encountered this young male on his own and it is not unusual to see males travel alone. TO49C was born in 1998 and his sister is TO49B who has two offspring, TO49B1 & TO49B2. Sometimes we will see T49C with the T49B’s or with other Transient Orcas.
Apart from TO49C we also had chance to visit Race Rocks and see lots of Sea Lions, Harbor Seals and Northern Elephant Seals!
You can see more images from today’s tour by clicking on the following link;
May 9 – Transient Orcas TO49C

May 7th – Breaching Humpback Whale!

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Andrew

Today we had an incredible encounter with a breaching Humpback Whale! The Humpback Whale was identified as “Windy” a well known and loved Humpback that has been thrilling guests for several years:) The images of the Humpback breaching with our boat in the background were taken by James Mead Maya and the other images were taken from our boat of the breach by Naturalist Kayla! As you can see from Kayla’s images, the Humpback was no where near as close as it looked like in Jim’s photos

May 6th – Transient Orcas encountered plus ‘Big Mama’!

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Andrew

Today we had a lovely encounter with Transient Orcas near Mandarte Island and also ‘Big Mama’. These images are by Naturalist Kayla and she also took some video that is on our Facebook Page It was another gorgeous day on the water:)