I've wanted to see whales for a long time, but things have never lined up quite right to do a whale watching tour. Until now. Victoria is known for it's whale watching and is home to several Orca pods. They have three resident pods and several transient pods that move through. There are so many whale watching companies, so I found one online and booked a trip. Whale Watching is a 3 hour venture on a covered boat. They have small, zodiac crafts available too, but that looked cold and Mitch and I are wimps. So covered boat it is. Right choice!
We boarded the boat and secured a seat up top, in the captain's area. Our captain has been doing this for 25 years and sits on the board of a conservation organization and is clearly passionate about the whales and the area. We took off from the harbor, passing the cruise ships docked for the day, most on their way to Alaska, and a cute little area of floating houses (think Sleepless in Seattle), as well as the world's only International SeaPlane Airport, and got to watch a couple of seaplanes take off.
Then we journeyed out to the bay. We passed a few areas that often have whales; the captain and crew looking hard for any signs, and a few minutes later- success! They spotted a pod in the distance, so we headed over. As we got closer it became clear there were 6-8 Orcas in the pod, including one large male and a very young calf. The male was identified as T103. He's typically a solo male, nearly 50 years old, but seems to have joined up with the pod of young females- possibly for companionship, possibly to find a mate. Either way, he was large and majestic and beautiful to watch.
We watched the pod swim up the shore line, coming up to breath frequently, their dorsal fins breaking the surface in a smooth and fluid manner. The calf stuck close to his mama, and is likely just a few months old- probably born in late winter. The male tended to be at the back of the pod- they are a matriarchal species, and males will stay with their mothers until they die. Since this male is so old, his mother died many years ago and he has been solo ever since.
All of a sudden the graceful motions of the pod turned into a more frenzied splashing and circling. They found food! Likely a seal- their primary prey. The group worked together and enjoyed their meal underwater, out of sight. But this led to an impressive display of tail splashes and breaching! The male breached twice- once coming halfway out of the water, and the second time coming completely out of the water, his belly reaching at least 10 feet above water as he splashed back, dorsal fin down, either to celebrate his tasty lunch or just to show off to his young companions. Orca's are incredibly social and many of their behaviors are social in nature and draw attention from their peers.
The pod then calmed down and resumed the hunt, always on the look out for the next meal. They went up to the shore line, just 8-10 feet from shore at one point, then headed a bit further out into the water. Canadian regulations require all boats remain 100 meters away from whales at all times. However if a whale gets closer to the boat, the captain needs to kill the engine and wait, to ensure no harm comes to the animals. The whales are completely unbothered by the boats- they're just another thing on the water and they're not blocking the way to a meal, so they don't matter.
While we watched the whales swim, staying a solid 115 meters away (based on the captains report- I won't pretend I'm that good at eye measurements), the whales made a turn. Directly towards us. He killed the engine and we sat and watched. And they came closer! At one point the male was 15-20 meters from the boat, twisting and coming up for air, and just enjoying the water. The females also got close, completely unbothered by the people snapping photos like mad. It was fantastic and I was totally awe struck.
As they swam a bit further out we continued to follow them, spending a solid 2 hours just watching the pod look for their next meal. All of it was simply beautiful.
On the way back to the harbor we stopped for some kelp- the captain snacked on it, and pieces were passed around for everyone to try. It was salty, but not terrible. The captain and crew remarked on what a spectacular trip we had and how truly rare it is to see the whales breach, especially to the height we did, and to have them get that close to the boat. Mitch and I were completely blown away by the entire trip and I'm so glad we went!
Glad you had such an awesome encounter...
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