Whale Watching.

This past weekend was Victoria Day holiday weekend. We had a friend visit us from Chicago and on Saturday we went whale watching with Sooke Coastal Explorations (250-642-2343). We were out on the boat, a Hurricane high speed zodiac, for about three hours and we saw a transient pod of killer whales with maybe 8-12 members, one of which was a huge male. We spotted them just off Victoria, actually closer to Washington, I think, and we watched them for about an hour. It was a very cool experience and I would completely recommend Sooke Coastal Explorations for a great trip. Russ, our guide, was very knowledgeable and didn't dump one of us overboard. HA! The water was smooth as glass on our way out and we were traveling at a very high rate of speed, which was a blast! When we met up with the pod of Orca we drifted a bit and observed and Russ was just full of fantastic information about the whales and the area. On the way back to Sooke Harbor we stopped briefly at Race Rocks and learned about the lighthouse and the migrating Sea Lions and Seals that had taken up temporary residence on some of the rocky islands. We didn't get too close and that probably was a good thing because when we drifted downwind of them we were treated firsthand to the intense stench that these marine mammals create. YIKES!!! The ride back to Sooke Harbor was rough because the wind had picked up but I was laughing so much at riding the waves and occasionally getting launched off my seat. I usually get very bad motion sickness but on this trip I was fine and had a great time!! Maybe it was the two Dramamine I took about an hour before we left? Hmmmm....Motoring past a dock in Sooke Basin.

The fearless explorers!!


Race Rocks in the distance.

Orca!!

Watch out!!!

Mountains of Washington State.

Lighthouse at Race Rocks.

Migrating Sea Lions and Seals.

Lounging at Race Rocks.