July 24th - Three pods of killer whales traveling together

Orcas, orcas, and guess what? More orcas! (and a few camera hogging seagulls) But we aren't complaining, we are so excited to have the chance to see three different pods of orcas coming together in the Salish Sea. Our guests travelled through the Southern Gulf Islands all the way into the San Juan Islands where we caught up with the transients just north of Gull Rock in the morning and around Turn Point in the afternoon. But first, we took a quick break to see the harbour seals on their rock.

Our spotted friends, the harbour seals enjoying a morning nap. Photo by Val Watson.

With a collection of tail slaps, breaching, and fluke waves, our guests enjoyed the active orcas putting on a show. The white underside of the fluke is a lovely centrepiece against the bright blue waters!

Orca giving the guests a wave by showing its fluke! Photo by Val Watson.

Check out the nick on the dorsal fin in the back! Photo by Val Watson.

We enjoyed three pods of orcas, the T99's, T37's, and T36's. All three pods are fronted by their respective mothers, with T36 around 48 years old, T37 is 39 years old, and T99 is 34 years old. Some female orcas have been known to live up to 80-90 years! 

I spy 5 orcas, how about you? Photo by Val Watson.

Going for a deep dive means we get to see more of the tail end of the orca. Photo by Val Watson.

The seagulls got a little jealous of all the attention and had to find a way to sneak into our camera shots, just take a look at the little goofy birds below.

Hey you! Quit hogging the screen time. Seagull about to land on the water just in front of T99B. Photo by Val Watson.

Mine! Mine! Mine! Photo by Val Watson.

A seagull scrambling to fly off as an orca surfaces. Photo by Val Watson.

Our tours are departing daily at 10:30 am and 3:30 pm, give us a call or book online so you too can have a WHALE of a time! ;) hehe...okay I'll stop, but you should check out more awesome photos below!

Uno, dos, tres: three orcas surfacing one after another almost in unison! Photo by Val Watson.

Eyespots, blowhole, and dorsal fin all in one shot! Unlike humpbacks, orcas only have one blowhole. Photo by Val Watson.

T99B's dorsal fin is unmistakable with the interesting pattern of nicks. Photo by Val Watson.

Breathtaking shot of a surface with the San Juan Islands in the background. Photo by Val Watson.