Olivia | July 24th, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 3:00pm
Starting out our second trip of the day, Captain Brian and I knew the group of Bigg’s Killer Whales we saw earlier today moved further north, pushing our range to stay between the 3 to 4 hour timeframe. We discussed this with our passengers and came to a group decision that even though there was a possibility we wouldn’t see these whales with the rate they were traveling, we were going to attempt the long trek anyway in hopes of an Orca experience. Afterall, this is a part of the adventure, right? With all 10 passengers on board with this plan, we headed north into Canadian waters.
On our route north, we stopped briefly at Spieden Island to view Harbor Seals, Bald Eagles, and heaps of Mouflon Sheep grazing along the open southern side. This allowed me the chance to discuss the unique history of this former “Safari Island” before we set out into rougher swells.
We eventually made our way through Satellite Channel and into the Saanich Inlet. Not only was this an area that we haven’t been, it was incredibly calm and gorgeous back there! The Killer Whale family groups of T65A’s (minus their teenage male, T65A2) and T65B’s also agreed because they were completely at ease slowly milling along the coast. For an Orca, this is the perfect place to take their small calves and calm down for the afternoon out of the rougher seas in the surrounding Straits.
During this calming visit, we were able to see Jellyfish and hear Captain Brian’s insight on the area with his 20 years of experience. Only spending a short amount of time with these whales, we started our long stretch back south towards Friday Harbor, completely humbled by our graceful and content Killer Whale experience, passing plenty of Harbor Porpoises along the way.