Thursday brought blue skies and calm seas. However, there were no reports of anyone seeing any Orcas in the Salish Sea. So we took the best lead we had and headed towards Victoria to try and find the elusive Humpback Whale.
On the way out we encountered lots of harbor seals bobbing in the tide and even a couple bald eagles soaring above the south end of the island. After those encounters we motored across Haro Strait toward Victoria. The last reports we heard were of two animals that had just 'fluked up' and gone for a deeper dive. So we slowly moved into the area, turned off the engines, and waited.
After only a few short minutes we had two mature Humpbacks surface not far from the boat side by side. We watched as they each took a few breathes, spouting about 15 feet in the air, and then getting great shots of a double fluke as the dove again. We repositioned the boat and waited for the next surfacing. As we scanned all the around, I heard passengers from another boat gasp in excitement and I turned just in time to see both Humpbacks completely breach out of the water!! Our other boat, the Sea Lion, was between us and the whales, but one of the Humpbacks got so much air that I could see it over the top of the other boat. It was Incredible! Humpbacks are some of my favorite whales in the world.
After all that excitement we headed towards home and found a giant male Steller Sea Lion hauled out on the rocks. Every day is different, and every day is a Safari!
Mike
Captain - San Juan Safaris