A fabulous mix of breathtaking beauty, humpback whales and orcas~ it is so beautiful seeing all that we do!
Yesterday's Posting for August 4, 2015
Our day today was a beautiful one, seen through the eyes of our passengers on board. Early on in our tour this morning we had a wonderful viewing of harbour seals hauled out, there were black oystercatchers and black turnstones calling and numerous bald eagles to be seen, juvenile and mature. Down in Blackney Passage there were three humpback whales working the area in wide circles and as we watched, more and more rhinoceros auklets and common murres arrived to feed. There were small herring balls forming with gulls in a feeding frenzy over them, a humpback whale would feed nearby and then move on but not going far, moving around constantly in the ebbing current, while at times they were seen resting at the surface. There were numerous sightings of Dall's porpoise throughout the tour.
On the afternoon tour we had a fabulous time viewing several humpback whales who were highly motivated and feeding in the flooding current in Blackney Passage along with seabirds +++ and stellar sea lions. Orcas who had earlier in the morning been reported travelling far east had turned around and were reported heading west near the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve and it was at Izumi Rock that we caught up to them, a small group who appeared to have stalled and were foraging++. Their A-Clan vocalizations were beautiful to listen to and with light NW winds blowing, we were able to sail quietly with the orcas while trailing our hydrophone, that in itself is a beautiful thing, listening to their vocalizations while sailing!
Today's penned comments: "It was a pleasure to watch the whales, birds and seals with Seasmoke. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the lovely muffins, scones and excellent tea! Thank you". Cornelia and Alexander, Germany
"It was a blast. Being on a sailboat and the grandchildren loved it. Thank you for the warm clothes, tea, scones and wonderful hospitality. " Dwayn, Ann, Jayden & Tremity, BC
"It was a great trip on your boat. We enjoyed the scenery, the whales, the birds. Thank you for your hospitality and caring. " Jules, Willeke, Hanna, Thys, The Netherlands
"Thank you very much for this really great trip! We don't know the right words to describe our amazing feelings. Seeing so many eagles, seals, and whales was more than we expected. Maybe we will come back in the next few days." Christoph & Anna, Germany
"Today, we were so excited. The weather was good and we feel good. Your tour with us was great and you and the other guests (passengers) are very kindly. Today we could watch humpback whales and orcas so clearly and nearby that's one of our dreams come true! The teatime in the afternoon with the delicious toasted (kind of) rolls was awesome as well (we need the recipe). Thank you for the great time." Your German friends Nils, Judy and Jeremy.
"Thank you so much for the great time! We so appreciated the hospitality and trip. The bonus of seeing the whales, orcas and sea lions were amazing. Thanks again". Ron, Joy, Zoe, Lily, Summer & Kneessa
"Today we were very excited for whale watching" Cece
"Today we saw orca and humpback whales. It was fun watching them blow water and jump out. Thanks for letting us watch them with you!!!" "What a wonderful day with Dave and Nicole, we learned so much and we were so warmly received. Thank you so much for your expertise and friendliness ~ oh yes, and those whales!!" John, Wendy, Cece and Haiden
Please note: Last evening we were unable to load this blog and photo's and early this morning as well we could not log into our blog-site because the internet is intermittent here in Alert Bay.