(dramatic music)
- That one's coming right at us.
- [Man] This one's coming right at us man
- Right there, right there, right there.
Oh wow, we got orcas right here.
- [Man] There's the breach
- Wow
(dramatic music)
(serene music)
- Killer whale.
Black fish.
Orca.
No matter how you address this animal,
it's name commands respect.
My entire life I have had a fascination
with this majestic creature
and I would often picture myself
one day having the chance to see them in the wild.
This is my account to that vision take and shake
and coming true.
Alright guys, this is it.
The moment that we've been waiting for.
The gears loaded up, it's time to hop onboard
and head out on the water to search for orcas.
(dramatic music)
Hop on.
- Alright.
Here we go.
- Cool, let's head on out.
- [Man] Let's do it. We launching?
Oh wow, that fast huh.
- We're launching. Oh yeah.
- [Man] Here we go.
- We gotta find the whales.
- [Man] He said they're fast and they're far away,
so we got to get to them.
- So, how far are we going?
- [Beau] We're going away as we come close to 40 miles.
- Alright, Papa Beau says we're heading out about 40 miles
to search for the orcas.
Now you may notice that the entire crew is wearing red caps,
that's because they love the Wes Anderson movie,
Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,
which is also one of my favorite movies.
So, today we got kinda team Zissou here.
This is Papa Beau, our captain.
Say hi Beau.
- Welcome aboard.
- We got Jason back here.
He's gonna be rowing my kayak.
- Yes indeed.
- [Coyote] That's my main man Bobby.
He's gonna be kayaking Mark around.
- [Mark] Yeah.
- Yeah.
Give me high five.
- We can do this buddy.
(laughing)
- Today, we are heading out on to the Salish Sea,
an intricate network of coastal waterways
that includes the South Western portion of British Columbia
and the North Western portion of the United States.
(exciting music)
With the sun casting a beautiful glow across the water,
we motored north into the straight of Georgia
as we search for a calm stretch of sea
to safely launch our kayaks.
(mumbles)
- [Man] Here we go.
- Alright, so we're motoring out of this area.
You can see we're surrounded
by all sorts of really dangerous current.
This could be a good area to look for orcas,
however we cannot bring the kayaks into water like this.
Captain Beau tells me that this will literally suck you down
about 100 feet into the water and will kill you instantly.
So, we're gonna motor out of this and keep searching.
(exciting music)
It took some time but we finally found a spot
where Captain Beau felt comfortable
setting us out onto the ocean.
(dramatic music)
Alright Beau, so we need a brief explanation.
This is the first time that we've gone into the water
with the top marine predator that's out there.
Now, we know that a killer what has never attacked a human
but safety first is always a protocol,
plus we need to respect distance
that we get from these whales.
So, explain to us a little bit
exactly what we should be doing out there.
- Sure thing, but we're gonna be launching you here
from Blackfish our mothership today
and send you guys out with trained guides Bobby and Jason.
And they're gonna be leading you out into this area
where we have some really good intel
about presence of killer whales.
We really want to respect their environment.
We're going into an area
where they're known to feed for large king salmon.
And we're just going to set you guys loose,
see what you can find.
I'm confident that we can probably
find an encounter here today
cause there's report of 30 to 40 animals in the region.
When we encounter them,
we're just gonna really be respectful
of what they're doing, what's going on.
They have a hard job out here finding fish in the big ocean,
so we're gonna get out there see what we see.
And really enjoy whales in the wild.
- Alright, sounds great.
Well, I am ready.
- Let's pat.
- Let's get those kayaks into the water.
You guys ready?
- Yeah.
- Really good luck guys.
- Alright.
- Let's do it.
- I can feel my heart rate increasing
as I step from the Blackfish and down into my kayak.
This was it.
No turning back now.
- I'm in.
Alright you ready?
- Let's do it.
- With cameras in hand,
Mark and I were poised to get the best shots we could,
that is if we were lucky enough to come upon any whales.
(dramatic music)
Alright guys, we are on the water
and it's time to begin our search.
Jason you ready?
- [Jason] Yes, I am.
- Thumbs up.
Mark, you good?
- [Mark] Let's go.
- Alright, let's do this.
As we set out on the water, we paddled with purpose
hoping that maybe, just maybe off in the distance
we would catch the glimpse of a black dorsal fin
breaching the water surface,
as one of these magnificent predators
came up for a breath of air
then disappeared back into the unknown.
Guys, you're pretty smooth rowing.
I thought it would be a little rougher than this.
I mean, these little chops aren't too bad to deal with.
Are they?
- No, it's good paddling conditions out here right now.
- Coyote, do you see anything?
(mumbles)
- We steadily paddled north toward Canada.
And while it seemed like radioing back to the Blackfish
for pick up was a wise thing to do,
we decided to keep going.
It was this very choice that placed us
on a watery road toward fate,
an animal encounter that we would never forget.
Alright guys, we actually have some killer whales
just off the side of the kayaks here
probably within about 200 yards.
Wow, I can see the dorsal fins breaching.
Mark, can you see that?
- [Mark] Yeah. I can see it way out there.
Wow.
- That's a matter of just standing here,
being calm seeing if the whales get curious
and come closer to us.
We're just gonna kind of drift on the waves here
and see what happens.
When it comes to encountering orcas in the wild,
there are very strict rules and regulations
that boaters must respect.
These guidelines ensure not only the safety
for those operating the watercrafts,
but even more importantly the safety
and wellbeing of the animals.
Jason you see anything back there?
- It's beautiful conditions and I've heard a few blows.
There's some whales up ahead.
It looks like there might be some behind us.
- Oh wow, I got orca right here
just less than 100 yards,
right off of the side of the kayak.
Did you see that?
- [Jason] Yeah.
(mumbles)
- Wow.
Whew, that was awesome.
Did not expect that.
I was looking much further out.
- [Man] Oh, there's a breach.
- [Man] We got it.
- Wow.
Did you get that?
- [Man] Yeah, I got that.
- Alright guys, so we got some killer whales
just off to my right here.
You can see them breaching,
blowing water up into the air.
You got the setting sunlight.
It is just absolutely epic.
They're a lot bigger once you get down into the water.
Aren't they?
- [Man] They're huge.
(mumbles)
- Orcas are incredibly intelligent.
Pods, which are usually composed of related females
have a great ability to work together
in an amazing instinct
to protect members of their community.
Their society is intricate, dedicated
and perfectly adapted to being the ocean's top predator.
- [Jason] We're surrounded Coyote.
This is amazing.
We are surrounded by orcas right now guys.
A toothed whale
and the largest species of dolphin in the world.
There are three different types,
resident, transient and off shore.
The distinction comes in the shape of their dorsal fin
and the design of their saddle patch,
which is the grayish marking just behind
and below the dorsal fin.
Wow.
That's a huge bill.
Did you see that?
- [Jason] Yeah.
- [Coyote] There's the male one.
(dramatic music)
- [Man] That one's coming right at us.
It's like coming right at us man.
- [Man] What do we do?
Stay, we just stay put.
- Yeah, we just have to stay put.
We don't know where they're gonna come up.
(dramatic music)
- [Man] Right there, right there, right there.
- That is awesome.
For nearly 20 minutes,
the pods graced us with their presence
as they continuously breached the waves,
took a breath and dove back beneath the surface.
I kept my focus on the water
and I distinctly remember holding my breath
as I hope for just one more chance to film the magic.
Yet just as quickly as they had arrived,
they seemed to have disappeared.
(dramatic music)
Alright guys, the light is getting low
and it's time for us to row back toward the main boat.
We saw some amazing killer whales today.
They got so close as we're just drifting along on the waves,
we got a pod buzz right passed us
heading in that direction.
Wow, that was absolutely incredible.
- [Man] Yeah.
- That was epic guys.
Yeah.
Man, that's crazy.
It is unbelievable how big they are.
They come out of nowhere.
You're watching one in one direction,
then all of a sudden
one comes out just behind you.
- [Man] You can sense their presence.
Like you know they're there.
- Yeah. It's pretty epic.
As we safely climb from out kayaks
and back onboard the Blackfish,
I can feel an overwhelming sense
of thankfulness for the universe
as it let us toward this fateful moment in time.
Such an epic day.
Getting deployed out into the ocean,
kayaking for several hours
and then having a pod of orcas
come up right alongside the kayaks.
It is a moment that I will never forget.
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave.
Stay wild.
We'll see on the next adventure.
The killer whale, the blackfish, the orca,
no matter how you choose to address this beautiful animal,
it is undoubtedly the top predator of the world's oceans.
Their elegance and timeless beauty are unmatched
in the animal kingdom.
When you see a family pod in the wild,
their presence touches your heart
in a way that cannot be described in words.
I know that for as long as I live,
I will never forget the first moment I spotted
that black dorsal fin cutting through the waves
and the thrill how it felt to be in the presence of orcas.
If you would like the chance to encounter orcas in the wild,
make sure to contact Outerisland Excursions
and book your whale watching or kayaking tour today.
Hey Coyote pack, have you picked up your tickets
for the brave adventures tour yet?
There's only a few left,
so make sure to click on this link
to reserve your seats today
and remember the tour is the only place
you can find one of the exclusive golden adventure tickets.
And don't forget subscribe so you can join me and the crew
on our next big adventure.
I am so proud to have written this book
and it was inspired by a lot of the adventures
that we have had.