Jordan | M/V Osprey | 08/20/2021 5:30pm
Everyone on board this evening was incredibly lucky as we were blessed with one of the best whale watches of the season to commemorate our last sunset tour of the season!
Captain Gabe, Olivia, Solan and I headed out to sea on m/v Osprey. As soon as we made it out of the harbor, one of the other captains from the Pacific Whale Watching Association (PWWA) let us know that they found orca whales! It turned out that there were whales just a few minutes away!
We excitedly boated towards the action. Just off the southern shore of Shaw Island, we spotted them! Gorgeous and massive dorsal fins broke the surface of the water as they swam throughout the waters. It seemed like they were searching for seals or other prey like porpoises. We counted 6 whales in total! Looking at the dorsal fins, we identified them as whales from two different families: the T18s and the T60s with 4 huge males in total! Then suddenly, they all started getting very excited as a few of them lept out of the air and started "porpoising." It seemed like they were chasing something!
Circling within one small area, they took turns diving and surfacing as the frenzy continued. We saw more splashing and a spy hop as they excitedly fed. Flopping around, they helped each other tear apart pieces and swallow them whole. We turned off the engines and we sat watching them in silent awe as they came close to the boat still relaxing, feeding and playing with one another. We felt so lucky that the whales seemed incredibly comfortable and content sharing this experience with us. It seemed like every time they surfaced, they did something even more amazing than the last.
Then, they decided to come say hi to the boat! And the whales passed close to our stern as they carried on with their socializing. Everyone was beyond excited.
The sun began to set as we headed down south to find other species to watch. Down by Cattle Pass we found Steller sea lions! These huge animals are always fun to watch.
Finally, we headed back home. What a great sunset trip!!