Our semi-covered vessel, Kula, was the first vessel to find whales today. This pair had both distinct flukes and dorsal fins, making them great whales to identify. After taking some photos, we confirmed that these two were Smoke/Squirrel (BCX2183) and Forge (BCZ0410 calf of 2022), two younger whales who have returned to our area regularly over the past few years. These two were busy napping away as we watched. Napping in humpbacks is generally referred to as Logging, as the whales will stay relatively still, only rising to the surface occasionally to breathe. Logging can be dangerous for them, though, which may sound a bit odd. If they are sleeping (a pretty normal behaviour if you ask us), why would they be in any danger? The problem with logging is that the whales live up to the name while doing it - they look very similar to logs in the water. Depending on the individual, they may even sink a couple of feet into the water while they doze, rendering themselves nearly invisible. The danger in this is that they can be very hard to detect if you are travelling along on a boat, and sadly, many humpbacks have become injured or have passed away due to accidental impacts. Because of this, we always encourage anyone travelling in our area to follow the motto: “If you see a blow, go slow.” Give any wildlife extra space, as you never know when they may change their direction or behaviour, and it is much easier to stop if you are going slow than fast!

While Kula spent time with Smoke and Forge, Cascadia found a humpback of their own. This young whale was identified as Moresby (KEY0055), the 2022 calf of legendary Big Momma (BCY0324). Moresby was busy doing deep dives, likely foraging for krill or small schooling fish down in the depths. After grabbing a few confirmation photos, Cascadia continued on their way, leaving Moresby to their meal!

After their solo sightings, Kula and Cascadia came together to watch a different pair of humpbacks that were travelling side-by-side just North of Gabriola. These two were a familiar pair of fins, and are a pair we have been seeing nearly daily for three weeks now! These two were Kappa (BCX0158) and Kappiroto (BCX0158 calf 2025), a mother-calf pair that has been residing off of Gabriola Island’s shoreline. Similar to Moresby, these two were also diving and fluking as we observed them. At this point, Kappa is likely teaching Kappiroto how to dive deeper. Just like how infants have to learn and build up their muscles to walk, humpback calves have to practice diving deeper to increase their lung capacity. This duo will only be spending a few more months together before they disperse and begin travelling apart, so Kappiroto really needs to cram as much knowledge and wisdom as they can before they leave Kappa’s side. This intense year of learning from their mothers is critical for their survival.

Just as Kappa and Kappiroto will soon be travelling apart, our vessels also bid each other farewell and headed off in different directions, once again searching for more wildlife. Cascadia relocated Smoke and Forge, and Kula found a new solo humpback to mingle with. This time, they found Honu (BCX1856)! Honu is a regular in our area, with sightings yearly since 2021, and they have been cross-referenced to the Hawaiian breeding grounds. Honu, similarly to Kappa, Kappiroto, and Moresby, was also diving and fluking. As we are nearing the end of the feeding season, we will soon see the first humpbacks departing our area to return to their breeding grounds, meaning it is important for them to pack on as much weight as they can in these last few critical weeks! Eat up, humpbacks!

Kula was in for a surprise with one final humpback sighting a bit further away from the others, close to Halibut Bank. Here, a cheeky young humpback was seen doing a bit of a different feeding technique called Lunge Feeding! Although they only did it twice, and unfortunately, we were unable to snap a photo of it, this whale was seen popping up at the surface of the water, its mouth agape and throat pleats expanded, snapping its jaws shut and slowly falling back into the water. After lunging, this whale began travelling once more and then began to fluke. Once they began to fluke, we confirmed their ID as Graphite (BCX2077), the 2019 calf of Slate (BCX1210). Sadly, Slate has not had a confirmed sighting since 2021, which suggests she may have passed away; however, her legacy lives on through her two calves, Graphite and their sibling Malachite (BCY1463).

Interestingly, most of the humpbacks spotted today are under 7 years old: Graphite is 6 years old, Smoke is 5 years old, Moresby and Forge are 3 years old, and Kappiroto, of course, is under 1 year old. Honu is at least 7 years old, with their first sighting being in 2018, and Kappa is a little old lady, who is at least 28 years old. It used to be very uncommon for us to know our whales’ ages, as they were simply considered ‘Adults’ unless we spotted them as calves travelling with their mothers. As the years pass and we continue to document whale relations and watch the young ones grow, we are increasingly able to inform guests on board about the ages of the whales we are seeing. This population was once decimated due to intense whaling activities, leading to a lot of mystery regarding relatively simple questions (“What’s their average lifespan?”, “Do they usually travel alone or in groups?”, or “Do they form long-term social bonds?”) - hopefully, as we learn more about our gentle giants, we will finally have more solid ideas on how to answer these questions in the future!

While the whales are, of course, the primary focus of the trips, we are always eager to explore around and see what other wildlife can be found as well. Our exploration took our vessels to two different places where they got to see Harbour Seals! Kula stopped over at the Halibut Bank ODAS buoy, and Cascadia popped over to Seal Rock. The ODAS buoy is not a usual spot for our Harbour Seals to haul out, but today there was one little seal perched high up on the marker, curiously eyeing us up. At Seal Rock, the pinnipeds were busy snoozing and stretching away. Kula also had one last quick stop at the White Islets to take a peek at some Steller Sea Lions meandering along the shores before heading back to home port.

Please enjoy these photos taken by Marine Naturalists Desarae Poier and Hayleigh Hilbert!

August 17, 2025, 3:30 PM - More whaley-good adventures around the Strait