Morning Tours
It was another great day in the Salish Sea! We set sail with high hopes as always, heading due South. With great sightings of humpbacks yesterday, we were hoping for some more great sightings. We weren’t disappointed, spotting not one, not two, but four different individuals. They were all feeding just east of Race Rocks, making quick dives. We found ourselves not knowing where to look with whales left, right, and center! When we got a closer look it seemed like one individual was sticking close to another, and was quite a bit smaller than the surrounding whales. We realized that it was as mother with it’s calf! She likely was teaching her young where to to find food, and how to catch prey. We even were lucky enough to see a synchronized dive of the two, diving together to look for food. It was an awesome sight!
With a quick stop at Race Rocks to see more wildlife we once again weren’t disappointed. Harbour seals, Steller sea lions, and even a huge male elephant seal greeted us among the rocks. We even got a quick glimpse of Harry the Sea Otter floating peacefully in the kelp. With so many animals, it was a fantastic morning.
Afternoon Tours
With such a great morning, we were hoping things would be just as good in the afternoon. We made our way south again and were lucky enough to stumble across some of the animals we saw in the morning. One individual, nicknamed Scratchy, has been sighted around here several times in the past couple days. Clearly Scratchy likes the area!
We followed this animal for some time watching as it made its way closer and closer to Race Rocks. At one point it was probably no more than a couple hundred meters from the kelp beds surrounding the rocks! We enjoyed the view while we were there, with more great views of seals and sea lions.
We headed east and once again spotted the female humpback with her calf. We saw even more synchronized dives, gracefully searching for food in unison. It was awesome to get to see the offspring bonding with its mother, and learning the tricks of the trade in humpback school!