August 26, 2025, 10:30 AM - A couple of humpbacks hangging out in the SOG, followed by a T-party in the waves!
The full fleet was off the dock today, with a bit of wind tossing the Strait of Georgia into a lively chop. Conditions weren’t the calmest, but our crews and guests were eager to see what the day would bring. Braving the waves, we set our course across to Halibut Bank, one of our favourite hot spots for humpback activity.
It wasn’t long before those iconic, towering blows rose on the horizon. Two familiar tails broke the surface: Velvet (BCY1186) and Lucky (BCZ0419). These two humpbacks are well known to us here in the Salish Sea. Velvet makes their winter home in the warm waters of Hawaii, while Lucky migrates each year from the lagoons of Mexico. The scars on Lucky’s fluke tell a sobering story, etched in white tooth marks from encounters with orca during her vulnerable calf years. Humpback whales give birth in tropical waters, far from the rich feeding grounds of the north. These nurseries offer warm, calm conditions for newborn calves, but they also leave mothers with little to eat. Nursing mothers rely solely on their fat reserves, all while protecting calves that are born weighing up to a ton and are around 10 feet long. Even at this size, calves are vulnerable, especially to orca.
Orca are incredibly intelligent hunters. When targeting a young humpback, they work together with strategic precision. A group may harass the mother, diving and striking from below, while others focus on the calf, attempting to drive it away from her protective shadow. By exhausting both mother and calf and creating separation, the orca increase their chances of success. These events are brutal, but they are a natural part of the ocean’s balance. Humpback calves that survive their first migration gain strength and size rapidly, and by the time they reach the Salish Sea, they are often too large and powerful for orca to tackle.
Aside from predators, calves face additional challenges on their journey north: exhaustion from the thousands of miles travelled, entanglement risks from fishing gear, and the ever-present threat of ship strikes. For each calf that reaches our northern waters, survival is a testament to resilience.
After spending time with Velvet and Lucky, we stopped by the White Islets, a haven of noisy, bustling wildlife. Here, Steller Sea Lions were hauled out in large numbers, their deep growls echoing across the rocks. Steller Sea Lions are the largest of the eared seals, with males weighing up to a staggering 2800 pounds. Despite their bulk, they are agile hunters, diving to depths of over 200 feet in search of fish.
Sharing the cliffs were colonies of cormorants, balancing precariously on narrow ledges where they build their nests from seaweed and sticks. Unlike most seabirds, cormorants dive deep, using their webbed feet to propel themselves underwater in pursuit of their prey, fish. They often spread their wings wide in the sun after a dive, drying feathers that are less waterproof than those of other birds.
Meanwhile, gulls circled overhead, squawking loudly as they tended to their chicks. Gulls are resourceful parents, fiercely protective and quick to sound the alarm when any predator approaches. Their adaptability is one of their greatest strengths, allowing them to thrive in environments ranging from remote rocky islets to bustling coastal towns.
On our way home across the Strait, we encountered an exciting sight, a T-party! This is the term we use when multiple pods of transient orca come together. When several pods join forces, it can create quite a spectacle, as dozens of black dorsals slice through the water. The orca present today were:
T019 Nootka ♀ (~1965)
T019B Galiano ♂ (1995)
T019C Spouter ♂ (2001)
T046B Raksha ♀ (1988)
T046B2 Akela ♀ (2008)
T046B2B Takaya (2023)
T046B3 Sedna ♀ (2011)
T046B3A Munro (2025)
T046B4 Quiver ♀ (2013)
T046B6 Sol ♀ (2019)
T046B7 Tala (2023)
T137 Loon ♀ (~1984)
T137A Jack ♂ (2002)
T137B Tempest ♀ (2006)
T137D Wright ♀ (2012)
Today, the orca seemed focused on travel. The pods were spread out, suggesting they were scanning the waters below for prey. Transient orca are apex predators, requiring around 300 pounds of food per day, most often harbour seals, sea lions, and porpoises, which are abundant in our region. While we occasionally witness tense encounters between orca and humpbacks in the Salish Sea, no successful humpback predation has ever been documented here. By the time young calves arrive, they’ve already grown considerably, and the plentiful pinnipeds provide a more leisurely and reliable meal for our orca.
We travelled alongside these sleek black-and-white hunters for some time before turning our bows back toward Nanaimo. As the wind eased, we reflected on what an incredible afternoon it had been: humpbacks from distant tropical waters, pinnipeds and seabirds thriving at the islets, and orca uniting in waves. Every day on the water brings new stories, and today was a vivid reminder of the complexity and interconnectedness of life in the Salish Sea.
Photos from the tour taken by Aly Kohlman, Desarae Poier and Jordan Robinson.
Lucky fluking as Velvet surfacing beside. Photo by Jordan Robinson.
Lucky going down. Photo by Jordan Robinson.
Lucky lifting their tail! Photo by Jordan Robinson.
A fluke waterfall from Lucky. Photo by Desarae Poier.
Velvet fluking. Photo by Desarae Poier.
Velvet’s dorsal fin and Lucky’s tail. Photo by Desarae Poier.
Velvet’s dorsal fin. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Velvet diving. Photo by Desarae Poier.
Lucky arching to dive. Photo by Desarae Poier.
The front of Lucky’s tail. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Velvet going down. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Velvet fluking. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Lucky diving. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A big beautiful tail from Lucky. Photo by Desarae Poier.
Check out the scars. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A gull sleeps among the cormorants. Photo by Jordan Robinson.
A proud mother gull with her fuzzy chicks. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Steller Sea Lions snoozing in the sun. Photo by Jordan Robinson.
This Steller is unhappy with another. Photo by Jordan Robinson.
Coming to join the cuddle puddle. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A Steller growling. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A gull with a California sea cucumber lunch. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T019C Spouter. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T046B Racksha followed by T046B7 Tala and T046B6 Sol in the rear. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T019C Spouter. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T046B2 Akela with T046B2B Takaya in tow. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T019B Galiano. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T019 Nootka. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T046B2 Akela. Photo by Desarae Poier.
T046B3 Sedna with T046B3A Munro following and T019C Spouter behind them. Photo by Desarae Poier.
T137 Loon with just the tip of T137A Jack’s dorsal fin. Photo by Jordan Robinson.
Travelling together. Photo by Jordan Robinson.