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Ocean Magic Adventure April 2 2011
The Ocean Magic set out at 12:15 with lots of eager passengers in search of killer whales. As there have been transient (meat eating) killer whales sighted in the area over the past few days, we were certain we’d find more today however we were one of only a handful of whale watching boats out there so we were pretty much on our own to find them out in that vast ocean of ours. With captain Anthony at the helm along with whale “manifester” Mallard (who made a guest appearance), naturalist Liz and Biologist Mika, along with bloggers Orca Wizard and Orca Magic, we headed east through thick clouds into open sun as we went north in Haro Strait. Along our travels passengers were delighted to see a variety of other wild life such as harbour seals, California Sealions, a pair of bald eagles and other sea birds. Just after an hour into our travels as we were nearing Active Pass, we heard that Jpod, our resident killer whale pod had been sighted just minutes from us! So we did a u turn and only minutes later found Jpod members spread apart traveling south west in Swanson Channel just South of Pender Island. We were a very happy Ocean Magic to have had the opportunity to see Jpod! Please enjoy photos and video clip of that sighting. While on route home, passengers were treated to a thrill seeking ride as we had some big waters off of Victoria’s waterfront. The Ocean Magic is a pleasure to ride in such water, actually making it fun rather then scary. Please see the bonus video below for a fun clip of that experience which was shot on an HD GoPro video camera strapped to my head (was sped up to 200 times). The following excerpt was written by blog contributor and bird expert “Orca Magic” who was also on board with us during that trip;
We had the J 16 family group, Mom J 16 ‘Slick’, J 26 ‘Mike ‘ and little ‘Echo ‘J 42. Interestingly J 36, who is 12 yrs old, their sister wasn’t swimming with this family group…guess she was off with another friend. J 33, their other brother died last year. I have sent you two pics of Mandarte Island, a breeding bird colony for Pelagic and Double-crested Cormorants as well as Pigeon Guillemots and the ubiquitous Glaucous-winged Gull.
Please note: all photos were shot with a telephoto zoom lens are also cropped for internet viewing.
. It was a rather zen viewing of the pod today and it was nice. We don’t always need to be with high energy orcas to feel such a positive energy vibe. The pod remained in their groups, all moving about but not really going in any direction. We left them doing just that – doing their own thing – whatever that is. It was a nice trip out there – on a wet west coast day. It’s another one of those signature experiences that remains with you long after it’s gone.
A write up from Orca Magic;
Ocean Magic Adventure, 12.15pm. Sept 15th.
It was indeed one of those westcoast days where the fog and the threat of rain materialized for the whole trip. However, the Orca were to be found near East Point and beyond and our Capt. Anna and crew members Mika and Derrek knew exactly where to find these mysterious creatures. The researchers were out in their boat too which made for interesting viewing as the Orca seemed to know who was who and made directional changes in their traveling to investigate. It was so peaceful and calm so our guests on board were given a somewhat ethereal experience while visiting the Southern Resident population of Orca. Members of all three pods, J , K and L were seen. Other cetaceans, such as Harbour Porpoise, marine birds and boat traffic added interest to our wildlife adventure this afternoon.
Marie, Orca-Magic