Whale Watching Report

People Watching Orcas

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Shachi Rising

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

Shaw Island Eagles

Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes

"Our guests enjoyed a beautiful scenic tour through the San Juan Islands on our way to visit with the Orcas of J Pod. We entered into Canadian waters today to visit with the sleeping Resident whales. It was incredible seeing the entire pod in close proximity to one another slowly cruising northward as the sound of their exhalations carried due to the calm conditions. We were enjoying their peaceful slumber when all of a sudden without warning they awoke and turned abruptly towards the Island Explorer 3. All we could do was pull the boat out of gear and just sit still in the water. At the mercy of the whales we sat and watched in awe as they swam right off the stern on either side causing hearts on board to race, tears to flow, cameras could be heard clicking away hoping to capture the beauty of the moment. It was breath taking seeing not only the oldest female (Granny J2), the oldest male (Ruffles J1), but also to get a close glimpse of the newest member of the pod little J45 as Samish (J14) was seemingly showing her newest calf off. It was an incredible gift that won't soon be forgotten by those who experienced it today." - Naturalist Kate Janes