Olivia | July 29th, 2019 | M/V Sea Hawk | 2:00pm
Captain Erick and I started off our trip with the best group we could have asked for on board. We had 7 passengers who were incredibly humble and excited to be on the water with this gorgeous sunny day. We had a reported Orca sighting that had started off down by Lopez Island earlier that morning, the T65A’s (minus T65A2), that were now just south of Saturna Island heading north towards East Point and into the Strait of Georgia. We knew right away it would be a long trip to see one of our favorite family groups, and with whales that can travel 35-40mph and over 100 miles a day, it could also leave the potential to not see them. Despite all that, between all 9 of us, we decided it was worth it to try and see what we could stumble upon along the way.
We headed north past Spieden Island and through John’s Pass where our three kiddos on board counted 9 Bald Eagles and had fun scoping out Harbor Seals with the binoculars we keep in the cabin. From there we ventured into Boundary Pass, north between Saturna and Patos Islands, and finally set off into the open stretch of water towards Vancouver. An hour and 40 minutes later, we reached our whales near White Rock, B.C. where they happened to stop and start a very colorful feeding frenzy. Right when we began slowing down to under 7kts in our Go Slow Zone, we saw many Harbor Porpoises fleeing the scene as fast as they could. Our kiddos decided it was better to call them Porcupines which made us all laugh.
From there, all the whale watching vessels on scene shut off their motors as we listened to their breathing and watched them teach that young calf how to hunt and feed on a Harbor Porpoise; this was nature at its best! Our folks from the UK and Tennessee have never seen wild Killer Whales before and with this long haul of smiling faces, they deserved one of the best shows yet. Come join us on our small and personal M/V Sea Hawk as we do our best to involve you in these captivating wild moments here in the Salish Sea!