New Calf In J-Pod! Wed Nov 11th, 2009.

GREAT NEWS - J pod has a new calf! J46 was first observed off San Juan Island today by Jeanne Hyde & Monika Wieland, then they headed to Victoria, to swim by for Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research so he could see the new calf and confirm it! The calf was seen with 16 year old J28 - it always takes a few sightings to confirm the mother, but if it is J28's, it will be her first calf.

Five Star 2009 Season Highlights!

The crazy Five Star staff:)

Here are a few images showing just a few of the highlights of the 2009 Season. It was tough to choose from all the incredible images but here are some I chose as a sample of one of the most incredible whale watching seasons on record.

On behalf of every one at Five Star Whale Watching I would like to thank all our many passengers who came out on the water with Five Star this season, we hope to see you again in the future.

I would also like to thank all the Five Star crew for the incredible job they did this season!

Enjoy your winter and we will see everyone again soon at the start of the next season in March 2010:)

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2009, More Photos from Last Cruise of the 2009 Season

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2009, More Photos from Last Cruise of the 2009 Season

...And WHAT A CRUISE IT WAS!!!

Dall's Porpoise playfully bow-riding, Steller's and California Sea Lions massed on every conceivable outcropping of Race Rocks Marine Protected Area, and Transient "Marine-Mammal-Eating" Killer Whales doing what "Marine-Mammal-Eating" creatures do. i.e. Eating Marine Mammals, in this case a Steller Sea Lion!

Look at these photos closely and you will see a Pectoral Flipper of a Steller Sea Lion reaching up out of the water, directly in front of a charging Transient Killer Whale. You can even see the claws of the Sea Lion above the water!

And to think that two hours prior to heading out we did not know for certain if we would be able to head out because of the strong winds and relatively challenging sea conditions.

What a remarkable way to end our 2009 Sesaon!!

Final trip of the season with the T49's and T103! Oct 31st, 2009.

Ron Bates, MMRG, and our crazy naturalists:) Ron is known as the "Whale Guru" or "Commodore Ron". He is responsible for organizing the spotting network for the Pacific Whale Watching fleet and does an incredible job. Thanks Ron for all your hard work this year!

Calf with prey in its mouth!

Above & below, are pictures of Ron Bates, an award winning Marine mammal Researcher that comes out with Five Star on almost every trip and we are lucky to have him! Ron is also responsible for many of the pictures found on this blog and does an amazing job:)

Here are more pictures from our final tour of the 2009 season. We were lucky to find the T49's and T103 near Race Rocks this afternoon and we had an incredible experience as can be seen from the pictures above. What a way to finish the season!