June 20th AM - Morning with Transient Orcas & a Humpback!

June 20th AM – Morning with Transient Orcas and a Humpback Whale!

Posted on July 4, 2015 by Andrew

Transient Orcas

TO63 “Chainsaw”

This morning we headed out west and had a wonderful morning encounter with a large group of Transient Orcas including an old friend, TO63 “Chainsaw”! TO63 was born in 1978 and earned the nickname “Chainsaw” due to his unique dorsal fin. Other Orcas identified in the group included TO49C, TO65, TO65B and several other Orcas! We also encountered a Humpback Whale west of Race Rocks, which was a real bonus for our passengers today. It was a great way to start the day, sun, calm seas and lots of Whales  At Race Rocks we also saw a large amount of nervous looking Harbor Seals and who can blame them for looking nervous with so many Transient Orcas nearby!

You can see more images from today’s tours at the link below;

June 20th AM – Morning with Transient Orcas and a Humpback

June 18th - Transient Orca

June 18th – Transient Orca near Gordon Head!

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Andrew

Transient Orca

This afternoon we had a lovely encounter with T49C near Gordon Head. T49C was hugging the shoreline of Cordova Bay just north of Ten Mile Point looking for Harbor Seals. TO49C has been seen in the area quite a lot over the last few weeks either on his own or with a few friends  We saw some very nervous looking Seal at the Chain Islets on our way home and it is a good possibility that TO49C had been through there recently. Harbor Seals are the favourite food of Transient Orcas in our local waters.

To see more images from this encounter please click on the link below;

June 18th – Transient Orca

June 15th & 16th – J & Kpod off San Juan!

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Andrew

J & Kpod

For the second straight day we had members of J & Kpod off the west side of San Juan Island  We got to spend some quality time with many of the 2 pods including K33 “Tika”, J27 “Blackberry”, J28 “Polaris” and J46 “Star”. At one stage we had 15 Orcas all to ourselves near False Bay  Apart from the Orcas we also had a rare encounter with a Tufted Puffin near False Bay, just a little off shore from the Orcas. It was a wonderful day on the water!

To see more images from this wonderful tour please click on the link below;

June 16th – J & Kpod off San Juan

June 13th - Afternoon with Lpod & a Humpback!

June 13th PM – Afternoon with Lpod & a Humpback!

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Andrew

Humpback – Victoria Whale Watching!

Lpod – Whale Watching in BC!

L121 & Lpod

We had another wonderful encounter this afternoon with a Humpback Whale east of Race Rocks and then all of Lpod coming in from the west past Victoria waterfront! The Orcas were in resting formation as they passed the waterfront a few miles south of Victoria. It was great to see some of our old friends including L25 “Ocean Sun”, L41 “Mega” and his sisters (L77 & L94) plus L121, the brand new Lpod Calf  Today was the first time L121 had been seen in the Salish Sea and not only was it exciting for our guests but also for the Center For Whale Research Team. The CWR had a boat on scene in the afternoon taking lots of pictures of Lpod but especially L121!

To see more images from this special encounter please click on the link below;

June 13th PM – Afternoon with Lpod & a Humpback

June 13th – Morning encounter with Lpod & a Humpback!

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Andrew

Lpod 

Humpback – Whale Watching in Victoria!

This morning we encountered Lpod and a Humpback! We headed out west this morning and encountered members of Lpod near Beachey Head traveling west. We got to see lots of tail slaps, cart wheels, breaching and other more intimate interactions  The Orcas were being very playful this morning and delighted our guests with their acrobatic displays! We also got to see a large Humpback near Race Rocks and it tail fluked a number of times, to the delight of our passengers.  We also got to see the Sea Otter at Race Rocks and a large number of Harbor Seals. What a wonderful start to the day 

You can see more images from this trip by clicking on the link below;

June 13 – Morning with Lpod & a Humpback

June 12th – Humpback Whale, Transient Orca & Lpod today!

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Andrew

Lpod

Transient Orca

Humpback Whale

It was a triple header day for Five Star Whale Watching with encounters with a Humpback Whale, Transient Orca & Lpod! This is what makes Victoria one of the best destinations for Whale Watching in BC and the world. We found the 1st whale of the day, a Humpback Whale near William Head  Then we found out about a lone & rare Transient Orca (U39) NE of Port Angeles. Late this afternoon we heard Resident Orcas had been spotted and sure enough we had Lpod inbound at Race Rocks! What an awesome day  We also go to see Seal’s & Sea Lions at Race Rocks as well as a Sea Otter!

To see more images from today’s encounters click on the link below;

June 12 – Humpback Whale, Transient Orca & Lpod

June 11th – J & Kpod near Lime Kiln.

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Andrew

J & Kpod

Today we encounter J & Kpod near Lime Kiln! This was the first time we had encountered members of Kpod this season and it was great to see old friends  We got to see several members of both J & Kpod including K 21 “Cappuccino”, J28 “Polaris”, J46 “Star”, J34 “Doublestuf”, J22 “Oreo”, K26 Lobo & K33 “Tika” amongst others. The Orcas were in a playful mood with breaching, spy hops and tail slaps observed. We later heard confirmation from the Center for Whale Research that all of Kpod had been accounted for, which was great news.

Apart from the Orcas we also got to see lots of Seals and Porpoise today as well as Bald Eagles.

To see more images from today’s tour please click on the link below;

June 11th – J & Kpod near Lime Kiln

June 8th – Humpback Whales & a Minke Whale

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Andrew

Today we had a lovely encounter with a Minke Whale near Oak Bay Flats and two Humpback Whales near Salmon Bank! We also got to see Eagles, Harbor Porpoise, Dall’s Porpoise and Harbor Seals during our tours today.

You can see more images from today’s tours at the following link;
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152976226952194.1073742260.83152127193&type=3

June 6th PM – Incredible evening with Lpod!

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Andrew

Lpod

This evening we had an incredible encounter with a very playful group of Lpod off the west side of San Juan Island. One particular group with some youngsters was being especially playful with lots of cartwheels, tail slaps and inverted tail lobs! As if that was not enough on our way home we also found the Humpback Whale that we had first found during our afternoon tour This time the Humpback was near Discovery Island and was doing lots of surface feeding. As we entered the harbour we were treated to a breathtaking west coast sunset, which was the perfect way to end an unforgettable day!
You can see more images from this incredible evening encounter by clicking on the link below;
June 6th – Incredible evening with Lpod

June 6th afternoon – Afternoon with a Humpback & Lpod!

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Andrew

Lpod

Humpback

This afternoon we had another memorable encounter with both a Humpback Whale & members of Lpod! We were on our way towards the south end of San Juan Island when we came across a lone Humpback Whale west of Hein Bank. After watching the Humpback for a while, including a number of tail flukes as it went on deep dives, we continued on our way to Salmon Bank. At the Salmon Bank marker we spotted two Sea Lions resting on the marker soaking up the heat of the day  We then moved towards Cattle Point where we encountered several members of Lpod! The pod split as part of them moved west towards Hein and part moved north up San Juan Island. It was great to see members of Lpod once again!
You can see more images from this tour at the following link;
June 6th – Afternoon with a Humpback and Lpod

June 6th AM – Morning with Transient Orcas!

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Andrew

Transient Orcas

This morning we had a lovely encounter with two male Transients, near Moresby Island! The two Orcas were identified as TO49C (born in 1998) and TO124C (born in 1992). These two young male Transient Orcas have been hanging around the Salish Sea for a few days now. However, the first time we encountered TO49C a few weeks ago he was traveling on his own, which is not unusual for Transients, especially Males. Apart from the Orcas we got to see Seals & Porpoise during our trip and experienced some wonderful scenery!
You can see more images from this encounter by clicking on the link below;
June 6th AM – Morning with Transients

June 5th – Jpod & a Minke Whale

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Andrew

Jpod

Today we had wonderful encounters with Jpod and a Minke Whale. During the morning all of Jpod was encountered near Middle Bank and they were milling around and looking like they could not decide which direction to travel. Then in the afternoon they had returned to the West side of San Juan Island and were traveling north close to shore. We also saw a Minke Whale lunge feeding on our way home in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day!
To see more images from today’s encounter please click on the link below;
June 5th – Jpod & a Minke Whale

June 2nd - Humpback Whales!

Humpback Whales

Today we had a wonderful encounter with two Humpback Whales North East of Port Angeles! We had encountered these two Humpbacks a few days ago in Boundary Passage, so it was a little surprising to see them off PA. We got to see lots of tail flukes and tail waves as we watched these two travel very close together. The one Humpback seemed to be being very playful and was touching the sides of the other one and then doing head stands as it brought its tail flukes out of the water.

We also got to see Porpoise and Seals.
You can see more images from today's encounter at the following link;
June 2 - Humpback Whales

June 1st – Jpod & Transient Orcas!

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Andrew

Transient Orcas off Victoria

Jpod

What a cracking way to start off Orca awareness month, with both Jpod & Transient Orcas, the TO60’s, south of Trial Island! June is Orca Awareness month in Washington State and we could have not asked for a great example to our guests of what it means to be aware and to protect the Orcas of the Salish Sea We started out with a wonderful encounter with Jpod north of Lime Kiln and got to see most of Jpod including the new babies plus old friends like J2 “Granny”, J34 “Doublestuf” and J28 “Polaris”.

Then as we were heading for home we heard that a pod of Transient Orcas had been reported south of Trial Island. No boat was on scene when we arrived south of Trial but our Eagle Eyed Captain Trev, soon spotted them a little to the south west We soon identified these Orcas as the TO60’s, a group that had been seen a few days earlier. What a nice bonus for our guests as these Transient Orcas moved swiftly west, closer and closer to Victoria. It was as if they were escorting us to our home port!
To see more images from this wonderful day please click on the link below;
June 1st – Jpod & Transient Orcas