Whale Watching Report

J-pod swam northward last night so most of the whale watching boats, including us, went northward this morning searching for them in Georgia Strait. We all covered the area pretty well but couldn't find them so we went to plan B, and headed south to look in other areas near Salmon Bank. We couldn't find any whales, but we did see lots of harbor seals, harbor porpoises, and bald eagles. Just as we were returning to the dock we got word that J-pod was finally found way up in Canada. We convinced many of our morning passengers to cash in on their free trip by coming back out in the afternoon. Many of them did and they were rewarded with a spectacular trip. We found J-pod in Canada at East Point. They were very active as soon as we arrived. We spotted Ruffles, J1 right off the bat. Next we saw several cartwheels and breaches in a row. Some of the orcas, including ruffles, slowed down and played in the kelp right at the point. They were all lifting up their tail flukes with bull kelp draped off them. One of the orcas spyhopped right next to Ruffles. After all of them passed the point they became active again with multiple breaches by adults and youngsters alike. We got some great views of Ruffles swimming alone as we paralleled him. It was hard to say goodbye to J-pod, but they gave us a few more breaches just before we left as a great finale. Naturalist Bart Rulon