Captain’s Blog

J-Pod Southern Resident Orcas

August 18, 2018

We set out this morning with high hopes of finding whales and discovering other surprises in the process. We received a report that one of the Southern Resident pods known as J-pod was inbound from the open Pacific! It was a long run, but worth it because we came across ALL of J-pod near Sooke! […]

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 […]

June 10, 2017 – Humpback Whales & Transient Orcas

June 10, 2017

Weekend Whale Watching Warriors! On this beautiful Saturday morning, we left Victoria and aimed southwest in search of the Salish Sea’s marine mammals and birds. It did not take us too long to spot the blows of a humpback whale! We slowly cruised over to this gentle giant and watching as it took deep breaths […]

May 7, 2017 – JPod Southern Resident Orcas Return

May 7, 2017

This morning was a special treat in the Victoria whale watching world as we welcomed one of our Southern Resident Killer Whale pods back! Our morning trip didn’t have to go too far out of the harbour before encountering the J16 family group of J pod heading east towards their favorite foraging grounds. The J16s […]

A Record Breaking 2016

December 18, 2016

Here at Orca Spirit, we can’t believe another whale watching season has come and gone. The flurry of activity from spring until winter makes the time fly by, but every season is unique and memorable no matter how busy we get. The 2016 season was full of surprises, from unexpected visitors, record setting sightings of […]

August 29, 2016 – J, K and L Superpod!

August 29, 2016

Our morning trip raced out west to Sheringham Point in order to catch up with our Southern Resident Orca. When we arrived we realized that all three of our resident pods were spread out over a large area. Our captain took us to see several groups of orca with members of all pods represented. At […]

Southern Resident Orcas & Humpback Whales

August 13, 2016

Saturday morning was spectacular, with sunny skies and really calm waters as we made our way west on the Juan de Fuca Strait. We passed by beautiful and rugged landscapes of Vancouver Island, then something else caught our attention. Triangular black dorsal fins started popping up! We found members of both J and L pod […]