As an eco-tour guide who works out of Horseshoe Bay, Jacob Alexander has seen more whales than most folks.
However, even he was awed by a sighting on Oct. 3.
On his day off from his job at Sewell's Marina, he was alone on the water when he saw a pod of five orcas near Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver.
He believes it was Transient Orca 38 and her group.
He turned off his engine and watched.
"They went past a couple of humpbacks as well, which was really cool," he said.
He recorded the encounter on his phone.
"Then I noticed that the orcas had turned around and were just doing circles. They were clapping their tails in the water and circling around each other and then just moved their way closer and closer to the boat until you see what's in the video."
After that, the pod went under his boat and carried on its way.
"I think they caught a seal a little later on, which is what I assumed they were chasing when they were doing the circles and slapping their tails in the water," he added.
Alexander noted that he always follows all the whale-watching rules to ensure he isn't disturbing the animals.
"The procedure is to be 400 metres away, which I had been before, but if they approach, there's not much you can do about it because you're supposed to just turn off the engine and let them go by. So, I've never been that close to orcas before," he said, noting the company he works for isn't a whale watching business specifically but rather provides eco-tours and boat rentals to take folks to see all the marine life and landscape in the area.
"I've had some pretty close encounters with humpbacks because they tend to be a little more curious about boats and vessels out there and stuff. But [these] orcas — that was crazy. I've never been that close to orcas before."
