Captain’s Blog

Transient Killer Whales & Race Rocks Ecological Reserve

December 7, 2017

On a grey, wavy November afternoon we left the harbour and headed west towards Race Rocks because we had been having success finding whales in that area quite recently. Before we could even get to Race Rocks, a sharp black dorsal fin cut through air. At first glance the captain was not sure what he […]

Humpback Whales, Transient Orcas, Seals & Sea Lions

October 20, 2017

Today’s trip was the perfect mix of baleen whales and toothed whales. The first half of the trip we went out around Race Rocks Ecological Reserve to spend time with the humpback whales who are feeding as much as they can before their great winter migration. Some of these whales won’t eat again for 6 […]

October 11, 2017 – Transient & Resident Killer Whales

October 11, 2017

We left the harbour on the Orca Mist on a beautiful October day. The sun was shining but the wind was chilly as we headed south west out on the Juan de Fuca Strait. We had a bit of a distance to go this morning because the giant group of Transient Orcas were moving away […]

October 10, 2017 – Breaching Humpback Whale!

October 10, 2017

Today’s humpback encounter took our breath away. For the last month we have had a small male humpback whale feeding close to the same area every day. We’ve nicknamed this humpback Rockstar, and today we got to see Rockstar come flying out of the water in a spectacular show of breaches. There were 5-6 other […]

Transient Killer Whales, Seals & Sea Lions

September 15, 2017

Today was what we call a T-PARTY! T of course representing Transient Killer Whale, and party referring to many group all coming together. We first caught up with the T10 and T46Bs travelling out in the strait close to one another, and then before we knew it the two groups came together within the boundaries […]

Port Renfrew Tour, A Whale Extravaganza

September 14, 2017

The last tour of the season brought us more whales than we could count! Cruising up to Carmanah lighthouse. Taking in the epic beauty of the ocean carved shorelines we soon spotted a few blows in the distance. A group of killer whales appeared. Quickly ID as members of J-pod of the southern resident. After […]

September 12, 2017 – Southern Resident Orcas

September 12, 2017

Welcome back Southern Resident Killer Whales! Today was a little foggy, but that didn’t stop us from having an awesome day. The L22 matriline was foraging off of San Juan Island, so off to the east we headed in search of these amazing animals. Two huge dorsal fins greeted us out of the fog as […]

September 6, 2017 – Transient & Resident Orca Pods

September 6, 2017

Today was the perfect example of the amazing differences between Transient and Resident Orca. This morning we spent the tour with two groups of Transients travelling together – the T10s and T109As. These orca were hunting harbour seals close to the shoreline, and we got some looks at the big male swimming sideways along a […]

September 3, 2017 – Humpback Whales, Seals & Sea Lions

September 3, 2017

10am Tour Glass-like waters met the Pacific Explorer as we headed out past Ogden Point and on to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We started our search to the west, looking for any signs of blows, splashes or fins breaking the surface. Whale watching boats spread out across the water in directions, working together […]