Note: Sightings are posted 5-7 days after the trips.
Super exciting morning tour where we couldn’t stop finding whales! We saw a rare sight, a pod of Northern Resident Killer Whales transiting active pass, some humpback whales, and then a pod of transient orca right outside Nanaimo! What a day!
Read MoreHumpbacks splashing in the strait.
Read MoreDiscovered near Porlier Pass were a pod of Bigg’s killer whales, the T37As! Killer whales generally organize themselves in matrilines, which are led by the mom, the matriarch. It is the mom’s responsibility to protect, raise, and teach her offspring how to do everything from breathe and swim, to echolocate, whistle, and hunt.
In the afternoon we also saw two humpback whales were actively feeding in the Strait of Georgia!
Read MoreIt was another beautiful sunny day as our boats set off in search of whales at 10:30. After traveling southeast for awhile we encountered two familiar faces - humpback whales Slate and her new calf!
On our afternoon tour we departed from Nanaimo at 3:30pm on our boats and found FOUR humpback whales! They were demonstrating all sorts of behaviours from milling, traveling, feeding, and even breaching and tail stands!
Read MoreThe T46B’s were busy travelling North when we visited them today. Later in the evening, they stopped for a snack! We also spotted one humpback in the evening, and witnessed a turkey vulture buffet.
Read MoreThe conditions were gorgeous and we started out with a fluke from an elusive humpback whale. Next was a visit with a large group of Bigg’s killer whales, including T49A1, the T46s, and potentially the T34s and T37s!
Read MoreTwo humpback whales, including “Snoopy”, a lot of pinnipeds and seabirds - we call that a wildlife-packed tour and another great day in the Salish Sea!
Read MoreOur 3:30pm tour had quite the time with T49A1 (Noah), T49A2 (Jude), T77C (Neftali), and T77D (Alcyon). During the morning, this quartet was travelling very fast southbound along our coast. When our open vessel Cascadia met up with them this afternoon they were lazily swimming in circles off of Snake Island, just 5 minutes from our harbour.
Read MoreOur morning trip on July 10th visited a very interesting group of orca - two bulls from the T39A matriline (T49A1- Noah, T49A2- Jude) and two bulls from the T77 matriline (T77C - Neftali, T77D - Alcyon). These boys were travelling very fast, rushing past Pipers Lagoon all the way towards Dodd Narrows.
Read MoreWoah… we found so many humpbacks on this trip! While we counted 8 individuals near us, there were quite a few surfacing way off in the distance as well. The waters were mirror-like (extremely flat and calm) during our afternoon trip so you could see almost all the way over to Vancouver from Gabriola!
Read MoreOn the 8th of July we left the harbour on a beautiful day in search of some whales and found the T046s! Usually this pod has 5 members but today we only saw 4 of them, but we sure got some good looks!
Read MoreOur semi-covered vessel left Nanaimo at 10:30am on July 6th and headed out into beautiful conditions. We ended up near Vancouver, near Point Grey at the north arm of the Fraser River. The water here carries a lot of silt and so has a much lighter, milkier colour. We spotted some contrasting black fins and blows pop out of the water! A pod of killer whales/orcas, at least 3, who were busy traveling and foraging.
Read MoreOn our afternoon tours we saw 3 humpback whales and a pod of transient/Bigg’s orca inside the Gulf Islands near Nanaimo!
Read MoreOur morning tours spent quality time with humpback whales Cirque and calf and our afternoon tours encountered a pod of killer whales, the T90s. Another beauty day on the water!
Read MoreSaturday July 3rd was a gorgeous day out on the Salish Sea! Both our morning and afternoon tours saw Bigg’s killer whales and our afternoon tour also spent some time with humpback whales “Cirque” and calf.
Read MoreThe T49 brothers are still around, and we find a grey whale near Valdes island.
Read MoreKula and Cascadia left the harbour at 3:30, eager to see if Cirque and her calf had stuck around after we had left them nearly 4 hours earlier. It took a few extra minutes, but we spotted the calf going for a dive closer to Entrance Island.
Read MoreCirque and calf play in the waters off of Gabriola Island on the morning of July 1st.
Read MoreJune 28th was an eventful day for our boats Kula and Cascadia. Both of our boats headed north in search of whales. Kula first found a surprise Grey Whale near Blueback beach! It took a second but we were able to tell this was a Grey Whale from the lack of a dorsal fin and the 6 to 12 “knuckles” they have on their hump and tail.
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