FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2009, FAR & AWAY IN THE A.M. TO PENDER ISLAND TO SEE J, K & L pods, then P.M. to see some L-pod & Humpback Whales!

FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2009, FAR & AWAY IN THE A.M. TO PENDER ISLAND TO SEE J, K & L pods, then P.M. to see some L-pod & Humpback Whales!

Well, we hope that our passengers on the "Five Star Supercat" enjoyed their morning cruise as we nearly set a record for distance traveled to get to see Killer Whales on that vessel...Our planned 3-hour cruise morphed into a trip of almost 4 hours in length as the only report of Orcas that we had was of whales near Kellett Bluff at 7:30am, headed North.

By the time we left the dock at 09:50am (We were able to get off the dock early as all of our passengers checked in nice and early), we knew three things:
(1) There were whales in this group from J. K and L pods, meaning that there was a chance that these might be the only whales that we would see all day;
(2) The leaders were already at Turn Point moving away from us; and
(3) There was a Flood Tide pushing them faster than usual.

The seas conditions were good and by the time we got "on scene" we were in and amongst some of the beautiful islands and reefs that make up B.C.'s Southern Gulf Islands. There we witnessed up to 70 Killer Whales as they swam into Active Pass.

By the time we returned to Victoria, a second, smaller group of whales had been found. These 7 to 10 animals were the focus of a large part of our trip. And, as a bonus, we encountered two Humpback Whales. All-in-all, a pretty sweet day.