The conditions were perfect when we got onto the water and started looking for whales, since there had recently been so many sightings throughout the Salish Sea that there was a great deal of excitement about what we might discover. After boarding Keta and Kula, we left Nanaimo and began our search.

We went all the way around the northern part of Gabriola Island before turning south towards one of our regular destinations, Stinky Rocks; but as we neared it, something entirely different attracted our attention.

Just a few hundred feet off Stinky Rocks, large plumes of smoke were rising from Valdez Island. A grass fire had broken out along the shore, and the incident was immediately reported. Shortly afterwards, a helicopter flew in and landed on the beach at Valdez Island. Soon after, a team of firefighters came into action, bringing out hoses and pumping seawater from the ocean to put out the flames along the shore.

We were most grateful for the rapid reply. In the heat of the summer, grass and forest fires can spread extremely quickly, especially in places that are hard to reach by land. It was a remarkable sight to watch the firefighters get underway, and it served as a clear indication of the effort involved in keeping the fires under control before they can become something much bigger.

With the fire now being handled by the professionals, we returned our sights towards Stinky Rocks to have a quick look at the pinnipeds that had been hauled out on the rocks, and to our surprise, it was remarkably peaceful at the haulout!

On one side, the Harbour Seals were quietly resting together, while on the other the normally loud and boisterous Steller Sea Lions too were making use of the fine summer weather to get some sleep. There was almost no grumbling, jostling or general sea lion chaos going on today. All of them seemed instead to be happy just lying around and taking a well-earned summer nap.

The chill energy of the day did not last long, though, as excitement erupted amongst the guests and crew. Two dorsal fins were visible just off the horizon, so we went over to take a closer look. After taking a few quick photographs, we found that we were sailing alongside a pair we knew well, T037A and T037A2:

T037A Volker ♀ (1994)
T037A2 Inky ♂ (2009)

T037A Volker and T037A2 Inky were diving and moving around quickly while we were watching them. We did not stay long, though, and after having had a few quick glimpses of them, we then carried on in the hope of spotting something else in the Salish Sea.

We didn't have to look for long. From the depths, a big dark shape came out and then a tail shot high into the air; above the water, a lovely fluke appeared, giving us no doubt that there was a Humpback Whale ahead!

We took a few quick photographs and compared them with our catalogues to confirm the identity. This individual was Chomper (BCX2192)!

Chomper was first recorded in our area back in 2021, and since then, additional sightings have expanded our understanding of its movements in the Salish Sea. One of the interesting mysteries about Chomper is where they go during the winter. At present, there have been no confirmed sightings of them at either of the breeding sites we monitor, so its winter destination remains unknown.

One of the reasons it is so important to record individual humpback whales is that each photograph, identification, and sighting adds another piece to the puzzle. Websites like Happywhale enable photographs and identifications submitted by researchers, naturalists, and whale watchers from all over the world to be compared, which in turn helps us to gain a better understanding of the areas where individual whales travel over the course of their lives. As documentation continues, we may one day find out where Chomper goes during those winter months.

Before we had even got round to dealing with our first sighting of a humpback whale, another one turned up.

More than half an hour later, a second large shape appeared, after which another beautiful fluke rose into the air. We promptly prepared our cameras and identified this whale as Anvil (BCZ0410).

Anvil is a frequent visitor to our waters, and it's always exciting to see her reappearing in the Salish Sea. Similar to a number of the humpbacks we meet during the summer, she is often seen travelling through the area and stopping to feed in the productive waters off Vancouver Island. As we watched her, a small red pool formed behind her. While this sight can be alarming at first, it is actually a very natural behaviour to witness - she was simply defecating! Many humpbacks have diets high in krill consumption, leading to this (somewhat off-putting) reddish-brown colour to their feces.

The time we spent with Anvil was brief, though, as news arrived of another orca sighting nearby. As there were more orcas with black-and-white fins in the region, we decided to leave and see if we could spot any more.

We turned our course back north of Gabriola Island when three orcas appeared in front of us.

Two big dorsal fins were situated above a smaller, hooked one. One of the large males had two clear notches in his dorsal fin, which allowed his identity to be instantly recognized. This was T137A Jack, who was travelling with a well-known pair, the T030 siblings:

We watched them and saw that the trio were travelling quickly, heading northwest through the Strait of Georgia.

T137A Jack is particularly interesting to see travelling with these two. For most of his life, Jack has spent a great deal of time travelling with his mother and siblings; this year, though, it appears he has changed his routine. We have observed him hopping from one pod to another, and at times he has even been seen travelling alone.

The T030 siblings have taken a different course. Since their mother, T030 Elwah, died in 2023, the two siblings have continued travelling together. The closeness between them is an excellent example of the strong, long-lasting relationships that can exist among members of Transient orca pods.

We do not know precisely why these three were travelling together today. Orca associations can change over time, and it is not at all uncommon for different family groups to form temporary associations. Whatever it was that brought Jack and the T030 siblings together, it was certainly an interesting combination to come across on the water!

We kept on watching as the three of them travelled quickly onwards before finally starting our journey back towards Nanaimo.

Before we entered the harbour, we made one more stop at the Gabriola Bluffs, where the Cormorants were busy looking after their nests on the rocky cliffs and thus gave us one final view of the plentiful birdlife that shares these waters with the whales, seals, and sea lions we had seen throughout the day.

A day like that, from the grass fire on Valdez Island through to the quiet pinnipeds at Stinky Rocks, the two Humpback whales, two separate pods of Transient killer whales, and the nesting Cormorants at the Gabriola Bluffs, served to remind us once again of just how much life there is throughout the Salish Sea.

Today’s photos were taken by Marine Naturalists Aly Kohlman and Jordan Robinson - please enjoy!

July 31, 2026, 10:30 AM - Two seperate whale encounters for both species!