Date: 27-Aug-17

Sequence: 1

Encounter Number: 67

Enc Start Time: 10:25/17:11

Enc End Time: 10:49/18:20

Vessel: Mike 1

Observers: Mark and Hanna Malleson, Michael, Aza and Talvi Malleson Mathers

Pods or ecotype: Transients

Location: South of Discovery/South of Race Rocks

Begin Lat/Long: 48 19.7/123 15.1 48 16.0/123 33.0

End Lat/Long: 48 19.2/123 13.0 48 19.2/123 32.4

 

Encounter Summary:

We started the day by taking out family members in hoped of encounter some whales. Mark left Victoria Harbour at 08:30 with his brother and youngest niece. While searching the waters around Chatham/Discovery Island they received a report of Killer Whales south east bound south of Trial Island. They got on scene after several boats had arrived and confirmed that they were the T060's. T060E & T060F were trailing behind the others and started porpoising towards the rest of the group. Once they realized there was no predation occurring by the lead group Mike 1 left the scene. The whales later turned south and west and Ken Balcomb had a brief encounter with them off of Port Angeles as he was transiting through from San Juan Island to PA. When the whales were reported to be north of Race Rocks early that evening, Mark, Hanna and Mark's oldest niece Aza headed out again. We arrived as the last commercial whale watcher left the scene. We followed them as they slowly headed north towards Race Rocks. When within half a mile of the western edge of Race Rocks Ecological Reserve the T060's picked up speed high speed porpoised for about a minute. They then exited the reserve without any predation and transited across Race Passage to Bentick Island. We followed them north east bound through the pass between Vancouver Island and Bentick Island. It looked as though they flushed a seal out of the middle of the channel and killed it at the eastern entrance. The sprouter male T060D breached in celebration after the kill and we left shortly after that as they were tracking south along the easter shoreline of Bentick Island back towards Race Pass.