We left the dock this afternoon aboard Keta, our open boat and Kula, our semi-covered vessel. With a dark sky and moody vibes, we were excited to see what we could spot. When we have dark skies, such as today, it works to our advantage, as the blows and splashes show up bright white against the dark backdrop. We decided to try our luck in the Strait of Georgia, taking advantage of the low winds.

The guests on Keta pointed ahead and claimed blow! With that, out came the zoom lens. Who did we have? We noticed a second whale nearby as excitement grew within the group. Vanessa quickly started snapping photos for ID. The first whale lifted their tail high into the air; it was Chi (BCZ0575). A young humpback coming to us from Hawaii. The other one took a little longer to lift its tail, but with patience, Vanessa got the photo she needed. It was Anvil (BCZ0410), a female who has been documented visiting both Hawaii and Mexico. These two were more than likely feeding today. They each need to eat around 3000 pounds of food to bulk back up after losing it during their migration. After spending some time with our humpbacks, Kula had come across another species not too far from us; in fact, we could see the vessel on the horizon.

When we pulled up, Evan had already snapped a few shots of the pair of orca. It was Sequoia and Salix, a brother and sister who travel together since their matriarch passed away.

T030A Sequoia ♂ (1986)
T030C Salix ♀ (2005)

Orca usually spend their lives at their mother’s side, especially the males. When we see new pods form, it's when a female member has had a calf or more of her own; she will branch off from her mother and become the next matriarch. In this case, we see a brother and sister who have formed a bond we may never fully understand, and Salix may have taken the role of matriarch. After watching these two travel along the shore, more than likely looking and listening for a meal, we continued.

We stopped at a favourite pinniped haul-out, which we call “Stinky Rocks”. Luck was on our side today with the high tide; most of the rocks were covered, which left little to be smelt a welcome surprise for our noses. Here we found the harbour seals clinging to what little rocks were left exposed to rest and warm up before going back into the chilly water to forage.

Next up, we spotted a raft of Steller Sea Lions floating next to their usual spot, now covered by the waves. A raft is what we call a group of sea lions floating together. They do this to conserve energy and to protect themselves from predators, as in safety in numbers. After getting watched back by big black eyes, we continued pointing towards home.

Kula had found some humpbacks of their own; Chi was there again but now had some friends alongside. It was Orion (BCX1251), Zephyr (BCZ0414) and Scratchy (BCY1022). Orion comes to us from Hawaii, Zephyr as well, and Scratchy…also Hawaii! Did they travel here together? Probably not, but we have been noticing an increase in humpbacks returning and associating with one another in the Salish Sea. This behaviour is fairly new, as we once thought the humpback was fairly solitary, even as recently as 5 years ago. Now we are seeing what we call temporary associations; these last anywhere from hours to several months. With continued observations, we will one day know more about their social behaviours.

It was Kula's turn to point their bow home, but not before both vessels made a stop at the towering Gabriola Bluffs. We were ecstatic to see the cormorants and gulls lining the steep rock face with their chicks in their nests. Birds grow fast once they've hatched! The cormorant reaches fledging size in about 30 to 40 days and takes its first flight at around 5 to 6 weeks. The gull chicks grow triple their weight in the first 10 days and attempt their first flight around 30 to 40 days. After getting a good look at the new generation of cormorants and gulls, we made our way to the dock! With humpbacks, orca, seals, sea lions, and birds, we had an unforgettable afternoon.

Photos taken by Evan Hessels and Vanessa Vereschahen.

July 26, 2026, 2:00 PM Charter/ 3:30 PM - A double species afternoon