Guests aboard M/V Kestrel today got suited up in our exposure suits and eagerly boarded for our Adventure Whale and Wildlife Watching Trip. Upon departure Captain Gabe let guests know that reports of whales were all quite a substantial distance away, but as always our goal was to get everyone to them so that we can get some awesome looks at orcas in the Salish Sea.
We started heading out- the report we had that was closest was all the way West past Victoria! In fact we were even past Sooke! This was the furthest I’d been, and it was such an awesome adventure to know that we made it over there! As we were passing Race Rocks we started to see the outlines of other boats in the distance, and we excitedly approached. We were incredibly lucky in that the Biggs or Transient Orcas ended up hanging out by our boat for most of this encounter, we got some incredible looks at massive dorsal fins on some males swimming by us, as well as clear glances at their saddle patches! In addition we were pretty confident we got to watch them as they hunted a harbor seal- there was a lot of surface commotion, and behaviors that would be consistent of what we expect to see as they are sharing a kill.
After spending a nice chunk of time with these massive and incredible Transient Orcas, it was time to begin the trek back down. We made sure to stop at Whale Rocks so that everyone could get some awesome views of Harbor Seals, and Stellar Sea Lions (who had just recently returned to our waters after being in Alaska all summer!)
As we returned to Friday Harbor it sounded like everyone had gotten some awesome pictures and views from our encounters today, and while it was a bit of a trek to make it out there it just added to the adventure of being out on the water in the beautiful Salish Sea!
So glad we went the distance today to ensure that all of our guests had an amazing time!
Here is a picture illustrating just how far we went today- leaving from Friday Harbor on San Juan Island (see star), and journeying all the way west over to those orcas (see red pin), making us one of the only boats from the United States today who saw orcas!