A full boat of excited passengers is always a great way to start a tour and boy oh boy what a tour!
Every passenger and crew member were looking out over the Salish Sea to help find some sign of whales… and then suddenly in the distance a huge splash could be seen! The captain had found his heading and it was getting exciting. As we slowed down on arrival we weren’t sure where the whale was and then the next second the huge 18m Humbpack whale had jumped again!
We stayed on the scene and were treated to a couple more fantastic breaches as well as some extra splashes from the whale’s pectoral fins slapping and hitting the water before moving on…
After all that excitement what could possibly be better? Well how about a family of Transient Killer Whales?! Transient whales are well known for eating seals as well as the occasional whale calf.
The beautiful pod we encountered are called the T99s, a pod made up of Mum and her 3 offspring. It was great to see the Killer Whales again. But we didn’t just see them, they came right up to the boat! All the crew and passengers couldn’t believe our luck yet again as the pod of 4 swam right past us.
After two breath taking experiences, we headed over to Race Rocks Lighthouse to see what wonder was to be found there. Sure enough we were not disappointed, California and Steller Sea Lions both being very vocal giving us a bark and a roar respectively. We were also treated to some “rock sausages” as we like to call them here at Spring Tide but more commonly referred to as Harbour Seals could also be seen.
And just to top it off the back end of an Elephant Seal, but hey maybe that’s his best side?
This trip ticked all the boxes and showed off exactly why we love the Salish Sea and the Pacific North West. You know what they say, West Coast Best Coast!