Ten of us plus a crew of three set out around 7:30 on a recent morning on our Orca Quest from Channel Islands Harbor aboard the Tern, a 30-foot zodiac operated by Pacific Offshore Expeditions. 

The company’s website made it perfectly clear, albeit tongue in cheek, that there were no guarantees we would find any orcas, also known as killer whales. They are, after all, relatively small wild animals in a very large body of water.

This definitely was a quest. The company specifically states that a quest is defined as a “long or arduous search for something,” and that you didn’t purchase a ticket to actually see orcas.

Fingers crossed.

Our vessel for the day was a former Navy Seal Zodiac, complete with three bench seats, and four single seats near the bow. This was to be our home for the next 8 to 12 hours.

The bathroom — a tiny space under the wheelhouse that is a bit bigger than a washing machine. You bring your own food and water.

You’re exposed to the elements going 30 mph across the channel. We were to dress in layers as if we were skiing. Waterproof pants and jackets.

The website states, “It’s not for kids, and it’s not for some adults.”

At 58 years of age, I was the oldest on board that day, and the next day, my legs and back felt every bit of 88 years old.

Talking with the other passengers, I discovered there’s quite a subculture of folks who travel great distances to find, watch, and be with the orcas.

Three women who are regulars on the voyages all separately drove up from the San Diego area.

A young man, who is a pilot for Delta Airlines and based in Seattle, was going to jump seat to New Zealand to look for orcas.

However, he changed his plans to go on this trip after seeing Pacific Offshore Expeditions’ recent social media post (Instagram: PacificOffshore) where nearly 30 orcas were spotted near the Channel Islands.

Orcas frequent the channel and the ocean surrounding Channel Islands National Park. They do for several reasons, mostly in the winter-spring months, which coincide with gray whale migration.

Additionally, large populations of both dolphins and sea lions call the area home.

We zigged and zagged across the channel, hugging Santa Cruz Island so we could get a closer look at some of the magnificent caves and arches for which the island is famous.  

We spotted a large pod of dolphins and zipped right past. We saw huge spouts of multiple humpback and gray whales from a distance.  After all, we were on a quest for orcas.  

By 2 p.m., we had travelled farther west than San Miguel Island. Off on the mainland, I could clearly see the new windmills on the hills near Lompoc, along with Point Arguello and Vandenberg Space Force Base.

There we caught our breath, and bobbed in the ocean as we took a break for everyone to use the bathroom.

We turned south at that point, going behind San Miguel Island. Still nothing. The sun was getting lower, and I was starting to think we wouldn’t see any orcas this trip.

We continued towards the backside of Santa Rosa Island. Still nothing. We turned south towards the open ocean from there, our crew continuing to scan the horizon for spouts and dorsal fins.  

At 3:30 pm finally there was the callout. Multiple fins and spouts seen approximately two miles ahead of us. We found them!

The entire mood of the boat changed. There were four in the group of orcas that we found, including a huge male. They were moving quickly to the northeast.

What we didn’t know was there were another group of orcas that had made a kill miles away from us, and they wanted to be a part of it. These were West Coast transient killer whales.

Near where Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz islands overlap on the backside, the 12-15 orcas came together.

We stayed with the group longer than usual, after sunset, and the whales surrounded the boat.

Different sizes and ages. Some were celebrities and well known to the crew. Names like “Obi-Wan” (CA-10) an approximately 60-year-old male, and “Richie” (CA49B), a huge 21-year-old male.

Many came close to the boat multiple times, while opportunistic seagulls splashed and picked any leftovers from the sea. A pair even got a bit amorous after the meal, showing us all more than we needed to see.  

I have travelled to look for orcas from Victoria, British Columbia, twice before, but this encounter with the whales was incredibly better.  We watched them for as long as we could, even getting photos as some headed west towards the setting sun.

Our captain indulged us for as long as he was willing, but we were still two hours away from Channel Islands Harbor. That meant we would now cross the channel under the stars.

When we finally returned to the dock, nearly 12-hours had passed since we had departed. We had traveled over 230 miles on our quest.

Thanks to our crew, it was a success.