A beautiful day ~ A30's and I15's and Humpback Whales!
It was a beautiful day that we all so enjoyed. Heading out through Weynton Passage this morning we could see the blow of a humpback whale off Weynton Island and another in Weynton Passage while orcas were reported south of the Foster Islands heading towards Donegal Head. When we first sighted the orcas off in the distance there looked to be two separate groups, one behind the other and they quickly advanced in the flooding current into Weynton Passage. The I15's had headed west earlier in the early morning with the A30's and it appeared that it was the two groups returning back into Johnstone Strait. Upon entering the Strait they were all travelling grouped together and favouring the Vancouver Island shoreline as they made their way slowly in the Strait, moving with the current but not in any rush. They formed a beautiful long line of orcas with synchronized surfacing and diving sequences. Turning back we observed a humpback whale foraging in the current, it would work its way up into Weynton Passage in a back eddy and then travel through the Passage in the flooding current and then work its way back up in the back eddy, time and again. There was also a second humpback whale in the near vicinity. It was a gorgeous day on the water, the spectacular scenery and abundance of marine mammals and sea birds made it one of pure magic! Also seen today: harbour seals, dall's porpoises, stellar sea lions, bald eagles, black turnstones, common murres, rhinoceros and cassins auklets, marbled murrelets and gull species.
Today's penned comments: "We've had a magical time. Just fabulous. Orcas, humpbacks and cream tea! Thank you so much". ~ Mariel & Ian, On honeymoon from London, England.
"What a treasure coming out with you! Beautiful islands and so many orcas today - loved the porpoises, sea lions and humpbacks (and the fantastic tea service)." ~ Aidan, Salt Spring Island, BC
"Thank you for the genuine love of the sea mammals, birds and all the special interactions that are unique to this region. We will never forget this! Telling stories about the social lives of the orcas made the day for me." ~ Shannon & Family, Salt Spring Island, BC
"We were fascinated by two groups of orcas swimming together, humpbacks and even a pair of sea lions close to the small islands. The team was really respectful with the animals, not getting too close to them. They were very nice to us with nice food and tea and we were taught a lot about the whales. We enjoyed it very much. Thank you!"~ Jessi, Peer and Pauline, Germany
'We're from Salt Spring Island and even though that's an island we still don't see whales much. Orcas to sea lions, the trip was amazing!" ~ Maia (8 years)
"Roses are red, the ocean is blue, whales are awesome and so are you"~ James, Salt Spring Island, BC
"The trip was just amazing, thank you for sharing so much knowledge about orcas and taking such good care of us (the scones were delicious!)" ~ Sabrina, Switzerland
"Thank you again for a wonderful trip and your stories about the family of orca's!" Leo and Nel, Netherlands
