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Morning Tour

Summer had made a comeback this morning as we headed out in glorious sunshine and on glassy water. We moved South towards the middle of the Juan de Fuca straight where we spotted our first species of the day; transient Killer Whales. The pod was spread out, but we ended up spending time with two particular whales known as T19 and T19B, a mother and son pair. T19B also known as “Galiano”, one of the biggest males we see in the Salish Sea, has a very distinct dorsal fin the is tilted over; a unique sight indeed.

Killer Whale T19B
T19B, also known as Galiano, showcasing its very distinctive dorsal fin, that is tilted over. Photo by Captain Yves, image taken with zoom lens and heavily cropped.

The two were travelling to the West and at one stage it looked like they may initiate a hunt as “Galiano” brought his head out the water in a spy-hop and slapped his tail on the surface on the water.

Transient Killer Whale
Souting Transient Killer Whale. Photo by Captain Yves, image taken with zoom lens and heavily cropped.

As we were watching the transient killer whales to our starboard side, a Humpback whale surfaced on our port side! It is a very rare occurrence to have these two species so active in such close vicinity. The boat was literally in the middle of a whale sandwich.

 

Humpback Whale Spout
Spouting Humpback Whale. Photo by Captain Yves, image taken with zoom lens and heavily cropped.

The Humpback whale was moving right towards us before flicking its tail up in the air. We were lucky enough to come across another Humpback whale before it went for its deep dive.

Humpback Whale Dive
Humpback Whale about to take a deep dive. Photo by Captain Yves, image taken with zoom lens and heavily cropped.

Finally, we topped off our magical morning at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve where the Harbour Seals and Sea Lions were vibrant as ever.

Harbour Seals
Adorable those two Harbour Seals! Photo by Captain Yves, image taken with zoom lens and heavily cropped.

An unforgettable trip being able to not only see two species of whale but that they were so close together!

Afternoon Tour

The weather was still beautiful as we headed out on our afternoon tour. It did not take much time of travelling South to come across our first sighting. It was two Humpback whales whose large blows were visible in the distance.

Humpback Whale Spout
Humpback Whale’s spout. Photo by Captain Yves, image taken with zoom lens and heavily cropped.

We approached and soon realised the pairing looked very much like a mother and calf. They were a little spaced out from each other to begin with but maternal instinct prevailed and the mother soon caught up with her bold calf. The two flicked both of their tails up in the air in a synchronised dived, a vision complimented by rays of sunshine.

Humpback Whales
Tails of two Humpback Whales – mother and calf. Photo by Captain Yves, image taken with zoom lens and heavily cropped.

We continued watching this pair until we spotted another couple of Humpbacks further away. These two were swimming rather lazily with a few lackadaisical tail flukes.

Tail Humpback Whale
Tail of a Humpback Whale. Photo by Captain Yves, image taken with zoom lens and heavily cropped.

The mother and calf were still in the area and we caught up with them one last time before heading into Race Rocks. California and Steller Sea Lions were hauled out on the rocks some engaging in power struggles for the top of the rock and others simply sleeping in the sun.

California Sea Lion
California Sea Lion posing fir the photo. Photo by Captain Yves, image taken with zoom lens and heavily cropped.

Another very successful tour!

To see more of our amazing pictures of this day, check out our Facebook Album.

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