
Humpback Whales, J-Pod Orcas & Race Rocks Reserve
July 27, 2018
Our tours on Friday spent time with humpback whiles right off the Victoria waterfront near an important feeding area known as Constance Bank. The number of humpback whales in the Salish Sea continues to increase as the summer progresses. Several different humpback whales were spotted and guests aboard the Pacific Explorer on our 4:30 trip were thrilled to witness an incredible display from a breaching humpback whale! Our 6:30 pm Orca Mist tour had an incredible tour with an inquisitive young humpback whale that was repeatedly coming out the water head first! With all the humpback whales near Victoria, we also visited Race Rocks, where we had great viewing of 4 different pinniped species and the resident sea otter “Ollie”. A highlight of Friday’s tours though was an incredible 7:30 pm evening tour aboard the Catalina Adventure.
A small group of orcas had been picked up offshore of False Bay on San Juan Island, so we headed off to investigate. We soon arrived to find a small group of J-pod orcas. It was a great encounter watching orcas in the light of the setting sun. We even saw a few breaches from a couple of young orcas! It was a great way to conclude another spectacular day of whale watching on the Salish Sea!