Captain Pete, Kayak Guide Jordan, and had a great trip on the M/V Sea lion to kick off the month of April. As we left the harbor we had overcast skies that soon turned into blue sky trying to peek out. We headed north towards a report of orcas just south of Vancouver, and at the edge of our range. Leaving the dock it was our best bet to show our guests whales.
We had about an hour and a half worth of motoring to get up to where the whales had been reported. There is no “usual” travel time to get to whales; it’s different every day! Sometimes there are whales right outside Friday Harbor, other days we have to go all the way up into Canadian waters!
We motored up into the Strait of Georgia and were lucky enough to encounter some Transient (Bigg’s) killer whales who were socializing and hunting. Transient orcas are marine mammal eaters, hunting seals, sea lions, and even other species of cetaceans. We encountered three families: the T036As, the T099s, and the T123s, for a total of about twelve whales in the area. We sat with our engines off for most of the trip, only turning them on to adjust slightly every ten to fifteen minutes. The whales were active, frequently spyhopping and breaching as they celebrated their kills and participated in food sharing behaviors.
On the way home after our fantastic encounter we were lucky enough to have sunny skies and encounters with more wildlife. We spotted harbor seals, Steller’s sea lions, and bald eagles. We were also fortunate to spot harbor porpoises as we traveled past Waldron Island. We had a fantastic day on the water, bring on the rest of April!
