With perfect seas and sunshine all around, we couldn’t have asked for better conditions as we set ‘sail’ for our first trip of the day! With the full fleet out, we began scanning, eager to see what whales awaited us today. Our journey took us northbound, into the Strait. Our boats spread out, and shortly after departure, our open boat Cascadia found the first whale of the day - a little lone humpback! Kula was close by so they made their way over as well, joining Cascadia for a brief visit with the humpback.

Once we were on scene, our onboard Naturalists began taking photos to try and identify which whale we were watching. This whale was highly cooperative, and we managed to snag not only good dorsal photos of them, but also a nice and clear fluke photo as well. While this is everything we usually need to tell who is who, this whale left us stumped. This little Unknown Humpback was a whale that we had seen a few days prior, and we had not found a positive identity match. It is possible this little whale may be new to our area and not in a catalogue yet, or more likely, it is a 2024 calf that is in its first year of life without their mother. Many calves do not fluke during their first year of life, which can be tricky to cross-match them once they are resighted in future years. Calves also can have ‘milky’ pigmentation that can turn either darker or lighter as they age, leading to changes in their patterns. We are continuing to search, and hope we are able to get a positive ID on this little one soon!

After our brief encounter with the little individual, Kula and Cascadia continued onward. Keta had not stopped with the Unknown and had made their way over to Halibut Bank during the other two boats’ encounter. Once they had made it over to the other side of the Strait of Georgia, their patience paid off, as they soon saw four big blows and tails rising into the air!

While there were four whales present, they were travelling in two distinct pairings. After snapping some photos, we confirmed that Dalmatian (BCY0994) and Malachite (BCY1465) were associating with each other, and Nike (BCX1377) and Scuba (BCY1225) were associating with each other nearby.

These pairs were busily travelling, fluking, diving, and feeding as we observed them. Even more interestingly, Dalmatian was seen busily snaking away - a very odd behaviour that is highly uncommon in our area. Snaking is believed to help them strain food more productively from the salty waters as they feast, but it is a very bizarre activity to witness. The whale will arch its back downwards, leading to their face plus the rear of their back rising above the water. This causes the midsection of the whale to remain below the surface.

We were able to get photos of each of the humpback’s flukes during this encounter, but one of these whales we were able to identify from an unconventional method. Scuba, one of the younger whales, had a large ‘notch’ on the top ridge of his peduncle, just ahead of his flukes. This notch was sadly caused by a severe entanglement in October 2022. During his initial sighting, conditions were less than favourable (very heavy fogs were rolling in), and authorities were unable to step in to help disentangle him. We had to hope he would be able to shed the gear naturally. Thankfully, he did, and he was seen again in 2023… but the story doesn’t stop there. Scuba ended up entangled a second time in mid-2023. Again, he was able to shed the entanglement himself, but the damage sustained to his fluke was noticeable. He now had a large, flat section along his left fluke’s trailing edge, a reminder of the rope that was likely rubbing into his skin. Thankfully, this injury has healed up well, and it is very subtle now.

After enjoying our time with the quartet, we began to head out. While our next stop was going to be to find some pinnipeds, the whales decided they had something else in store for us. Cascadia saw a giant splash, so they headed over to check it out. It turned out to be Graphite (BCX2077), who had breaching once, then continued happily along, fluking and travelling. Nearby, Keta located another pair of humpbacks. These two were identified as Poseidon (BCX2078) and Seltzer (BCY1274). While Seltzer fluked during our brief time with them, Poseidon was being a bit more difficult, though we confirmed their identity by their uniquely square dorsal fin instead.

Our boats departed Graphite, Poseidon, and Seltzer and continued to the next true stop - a beautiful area known as the White Islets. This area is a critically important bird area, as many species come here to rest and nest. Today, a large colony of Steller Sea Lions was sleeping and eructating, claiming the best spots on the rocks to sunbathe. We also witnessed a fairly large ‘pup’ nursing on a female as well! On the other tip of the islets, a small bob of Harbour Seals could be seen nodding off, enjoying the perfect weather.

Leaving the White Islets behind, our vessels began to cross back across the Strait of Georgia, making their way back towards Nanaimo, wrapping up a fantastic day encountering the gentle giants of the Salish Sea (and some of their smaller counterparts too)!

Photos from this tour were taken by Marine Naturalists Aly Kohlman, Hayleigh Hilbert, and Jordan Robinson.

August 29, 2025, 10:30 AM - The (whale) soup of the Strait continues!