Prince Of Whales
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Victoria | Vancouver | Seattle
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Tag Archives: orca

Ocean Magic Wildlife Adventure June 17 3:30

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As the tug boat with its load left the harbour, and the cruise ships headed into Victoria, the 3.30pm Ocean Magic 2 vessel turned east on route to find the Transient killer whales that had been seen on an earlier trip. We were traveling north up Haro Strait when word came in that many Orca were heading in from the west. Capt Gord, and crew members Mika, and Dan turned the boat around and we headed south to try to find the Southern Residents. We came across them, porpoising and traveling fast on the incoming tide. Whitecaps were beginning to form with the strong westerly wind which made for a thrilling ride while watching these magnificent whales plying the waves. Members of all three pods, J, K , L were identified as they swam by. Two of the oldest females in J Pod were seen, J 2, Granny, and J 8 Spieden as well as other members of K Pod, Raggedy, K 40, and K 21 Cappuccino. There is nothing so exciting as seeing these charismatic marine mammals all heading our way in what we call a Superpod! What a special trip this afternoon provided for our guests and we even had glimpses of a Harbour Porpoise. A fantastic trip with Prince of Whales once again. Marie, Orca-Magic. Most of the images on the blog are shot with a 400 mm telephoto lens. Because of our restrictions around wildlife (100+ meters), we use powerful lenses to better share orca activity that passengers see on their trips. Keep in mind this also heavily compresses space between objects. We also crop images for best blog viewing.

Ocean Magic Wildlife Adventure May 29

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Capt. Scott took the Ocean Magic from Victoria picturesque inner harbour out past the breakwater at Ogden Point and headed us west. We went past Race Rocks Ecological Reserve and along the west side of Vancouver Island. We reached Beecher Bay, here we caught up with T20 and T21. These Transient Killer Whales were deep in the bay, working the rugged shore line for their favorite food, Harbour Seals. With a large group of gulls following their every move it was soon apparent that they were feeding. Our Capt. Scott held the Ocean magic in the strong winds and kept us in perfect position to view these Orca. We then took a tour of the coast line, stopping to view Bald Eagles, Eagles nests and a trip through Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. Here we saw Seal Lions, Seals, Cormorants, Oyster Catchers and Race Rocks Light House. Once again our passengers were all smiles as we docked back in Victoria’s Inner Harbour! Clint “Orcawizard”

Ocean Magic Wlidlife Adventure May 21 3:30pm

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The 3.30pm Ocean Magic with Capt. Scott in the wheel-house, headed us out of the harbour and turned east then north to find those ‘ Orca ‘ again. J Pod had traveled past Friday Harbour, San Juan Island, and were heading further north up San Juan Channel. We had taken a different route this trip to meet up with J Pod. We found the whales hugging the shoreline, traveling slowly. J 2, ‘ Granny ‘ the Matriarch of J Pod, was swimming with her family. It is always special to see members of the Southern Resident pods. We look forward to seeing K and L Pod swimming in these waters again very soon. Our expert crew members, Mika and Liz, gave an informative talk to our guests on board. It was a great trip once again with ‘Prince of Whales’. Marie, Orca-Magic

Ocean Magic Wildlife Adventure May 13

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It was a picture perfect afternoon as Capt. Gord of the 12.15pm Ocean Magic vessel, headed our boat full of guests out of the harbour and toward a south east direction toward Hein Bank. It was here that reports of Transient killer whales were to be found. Transient ‘Orca ‘ are true apex hunters, feeding on marine mammals. On our way to find these fascinating animals we passed the ‘Pacific Swift’ a Tall Ship of the S.A.L.T. organization as well as a pair of Tufted Puffins in their spectacular breeding plumage. The lack of wind made for calm water with stunning views of the Olympic Mountains and Mt. Baker in Washington State. We found the Transient Orca traveling slowly south west. We observed two big male Orca with their large dorsal fins, as they came to the surface.They were members of the T 75 family group. The research vessel from the ‘Centre for Whale Research’ on San Juan Island was out this afternoon, indentifying the whales. Following our views of the Orca we headed west to visit Race Rocks Ecological Reserve where we saw many Steller and California Sea Lions. Harbour and Elephant seals were also evident. Five different age Bald Eagles in various plumages were seen on a single rock. The ‘ MIGHTY ‘ cruise ship season has begun with an attractive vessel securely moored as we entered the harbour on our return to Victoria. It was another thrilling Wildlife adventure once again with Prince of Whales. Marie, Orca-Magic.

Ocean Magic Adventure May 7

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Captain Gord slipped the Ocean Magic from Victoria’s inner harbour and headed us west past Race Rocks and out past Sooke to Otter Point. Here we caught up with T124C a Transient Orca. We watched this solo Killer Whale as it would surface in typical random Transient Orca fashion. The weather closed in on us, but with our large main covered deck we all could still take in this majestic animal. Our trip then took us back to Race Rocks Ecological reserve, where the Light House towers over the Steller and California Sea lions, Elephant and Harbour Seals. Mika, Liz and Dan filled our passengers with information and answered the many questions. As our skipper gently brought the Ocean Magic back to the dock our passengers were all smiles after another great trip with Prince of Whales! Clint “Orcawizard” , Marie “Orca-Magic”