13.03.21
Well, well, well… our old friend the Bremer Canyon delivers again. Today was a beautiful day to be on the water… Spectacular light making all the moody ocean blues pop, a gentle breeze, warmth of the sun, and of course our favourite apex predators cutting effortlessly through the swell. They look us on a ride, but it was worth it. We went on a journey, going way east of the hotpot and covering 100 nautical miles for our love of orcas.
They popped up first thing in the day, as soon as we arrived at the hotspot, with our patrons celebrating with smiles and cheers all round. We were so lucky, some lovely sights as they cruised out in front and to the side of our boat for the morning… Today they were on a mission, to where we weren’t entirely sure… But as with other calmer days out at the canyon, their behaviour and motivations were different to the rough and heightened craze seen yesterday. Today it looked like a bit of Orca R&R. They travelled and rested, together as a pod heading to the east… And so we chilled too, joining them as they cruised, seeing the beautiful strength and power of Nani’s pod, where Alki, Slater, Dot, Neo, Billy and Nicki made their way to somewhere unknown. The beauty of these creatures just cant be overstated – they are mighty special.
The weather was grand out there… 8 knot winds in the morning SSE changing to SE later in the day, 2.2m swell. It made for lovely boating, and even more special than that. THE ALBYS LOVED IT!! Turns out these were prime Albatross conditions. Our resident bird guru Nathan spotted not one, not three, but FIVE species of Albatross. We really got the Royal Treatment… Some where a little Shy, others came closer then gave us the cold shoulder and the Black Brow… Another was just Wandering way out there… Enough of my terrible puns! We saw… an Indian Yellow- Nosed, a Shy, a couple of Black-browed, the BIIIGGGG Wandering and wait for it… A Southern Royal Albatross (wow! big wow!)!!!
And to top it all off – because we had ventured east, our return journey was slightly different than usual, we came back via the Doubtful Islands, with granite cliffs and steep rocky ledges lit up with the late afternoon sun. Again, the bait fish were out in force, rippling all around as we headed back to the Marina. Another really spectacular day out at the canyon seeing nature at its finest. Thanks to all who joined us on the journey.
