One Never Knows Where Orcas Will Turn Up!!
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The Big Boy (Mega L41) Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes
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Orca Under BakerPhoto by Naturalist Kate Janes
AM: "This morning the Island Explorer 3 made waves out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and far into Canadian waters to find all 3 pods of Orcas!! With the picturesque backdrop of the city of Victoria the whales were quite spread out heading east towards the San Juans. Our first encounter was with Marina's (L47) subpod with her oldest daughter Moonlight (L83) attempting to keep tabs on a very active Midnight (L110), her 2 year old son! The very spunky whale bounced back and fourth between his grandmother & mom all the while taillobing and playing in the bull kelp! We also got quite the surprise when a huge group of whales showed up close to the boat after a long down time. Mixed in with the over 15 whales was Mega (L41), Alexis (L12), Matia (L77), Calypso (L94), Racer (L72), Fluke (L105) and Nigel (L95). One of the little ones even did a nice breach creating quite the splash! Captain Carl positioned us not once but TWICE with whales right under Mt. Baker! After sadly having to leave the Orcas our day didn't end there we also found a Minke Whale allowing our guests the opportunity to see the difference between a toothed & baleen whale!"
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Close Quarter's Breach!Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes
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Headstand Kelping
Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes
PM: "This afternoon we were expecting to find the Orcas in a completely different place than the morning trip, for Orcas can travel about 1oo miles in a 24 hour period making each trip and each day different, but we would have never guessed where they would end up! We found a large group of whales inside Cattle Pass, a very narrow channel between San Juan Island & Lopez Island that is known for having strong current! The whales were having so much fun playing in the bull kelp, rolling about, breaching, spyhopping, taillobing, backdiving and then got quite the workout as they SLOWLY made their way towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca fighting the current. For roughly 15 minutes we held position in the channel while the whales kept swimming against the water all while not gaining any position. Finally they drifted back and more towards the middle of the channel before attempting again, this time making it beyond Deadman Island. Definitely a trip not to be forgotten nor duplicated any time soon!" - Naturalist Kate Janes
posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 10:25 PM
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