Dolphins and Dalls - June 10 Trip Report

What a change it was from yesterday! An unseasonable storm blew through the area on June 9th, with high winds churning up the seas to big waves and deluges of rain. We woke up today to sun peaking through the clouds and calm seas. Our first sighting of the day were some Dalls porpoises, who were slowly surfacing. While we watched the porpoises, we spotted a humpback whale several hundred meters away off of Malcolm Island. The humpback seemed to be travelling, as he/she took long dives before coming up, taking a few breaths, and diving again before popping up some distance away.

As we crossed over towards the mouth of Knight Inlet, we saw a large group of Pacific white-sided dolphins! These were the first dolphins we’ve seen this season and they did not disappoint. We turned off the engines and watched them pass, some of them choosing to swim right under our boat! The clear water gave us excellent views of their bodies gliding through the water. Once they had passed by, we turned the engines back on and as we drove by, some of the dolphins zipped over and started surfing in our wake. After a couple of minutes, they peeled away and we set off for more wildlife. A few seals and eagles later, we found another humpback whale taking some long dives in Blackfish Sound. Between dives we watched Dalls porpoises rolling around at the calm surface.

Next up was cruising Johnstone Straight and a visit with the Steller sea lions at their haul-out across from Telegraph Cove and then a scenic ride through the narrow passages of the Pierce Group. Just before we reached Cormorant Island, we saw a large raft of sea otters! Normally very rare in our area, we’ve recently been seeing much larger numbers of them, often in groups of 30 or more. Several of them were on alert, watching us carefully, so we kept a good distance while the others continued their near-constant grooming behaviour. We’re hoping these guys stick around for the summer – they’re such a treat to watch!