Whales Galore

 Thursday August 18th

The morning was a little grey but the clouds were high so hopefully they would soon burn off soon. John collected us early and deposited us at  the one on the Whale watching boats quayside dock. Our two previous attempts one in 2007 and one last week were whale free! So  a no whale trip gets you another  ticket for  another attempt, here we go, our third attempt. I had been dreaming about whales. Lots of them. So maybe this time! 

There was certainly an abundance of wild life this morning. Magnificent bald eagles, Mature ones with their white heads and necks and  the immature young ones with the heads still covered with dark feathers perch on the sea wall and fly over the marsh area. The harbour seal lay in shallow mud beds or swim around with their young  in the shallow water of marshy inlets along the edge of the harbour. A little further out Gannets stand erect, with their long necks stretched up to the sky, perched on the log posts hammered in the rocks of the harbour edge.

mature bald Eagle with white feathers

Immature bald eagles.

These photos are not so clear as I have cropped into the originals. A SLR digital with long lens is the cameras really needed for this trip but my modest 12 mega pixel and x4 optical zoom would have to do. The Captain Bobby roars off once more and we zip towards the open ocean stretch of the Georgia Straights between the Gulf Islands. The water has quite a swell this morning and is a little choppy. The little boat pushes through the water at speed, the engines roaring and the spray behind shooting up a meter high. The churned white waters of our wake trails and spreads out behind us.

The naturalist on board this morning is called Connie. She's a good communicator constantly telling us about the whales their lifestyle and the how they are recognised and looked after. She knowes these waters well. Her voice carries above the roar of the engine.

the boats wake.

After ploughing through the wide sea Chanel towards the gulf islands for almost two hours  the word went around. Whales at ten minutes ahead. Every ones necks are craning out of the boats sliding perspex windows or leading over the outside boat rail, staring into the distance. The wind tearing our hair and watering our eyes.

Suddenly Bobby reves down the engines and swerves the boat to a standstill. Voices raise excitedly, then suddenly 'Theres one, and another'.  Passengers rush out on the deck, cameras in hand, first one side then another. The whales are all around us. Connie's there with a constant stream of whale facts. Occasionally she interrupts the flow with a 'Don't look at me look at the water' to a passenger who is politely looking at her whiles shes talking.  

Apparently we have stopped in the middle of two large pods of Orcas, note, not Killer Whales, these Orcas are salmon feeders, preferably the Chinook salmon and they're in abundance here. The boat slowly chug's around following, the the engines quieten and we gaze at the waters as the whales come to the surface then dive again, they breech, jumping out clear of the water, sometimes twisting their sinewy bodies and splashing back in the cold waters, tails slapping down. Three come close to the boat, coming to the surface behind us and then swimming past just below the surface, their shapes and white patches clearly visible under the water
These are the K and L pods. The different Pods are named alphabetically. Pods are usually close family members the leader being a female. there are around 40 whales around us all swimming around feeding. Connie knows they're happy as they only breech the water when they feel good. These pops of whales off these shores are all protected. No boat is suppose to speed through any water where the whales are.

It's also mating time. A female whale is pregnant for 18 months so they give birth here in these cold waters not further down the pacific coast in warmer winter waters. When they are born they are given a number and documented. After a year if they survive the calf is then given a name. The matriarch of L pop is about 100 years old, but their usual life span is 50 to 60 years. The Old Grandmother has been documented for years since the fishing boats use to shoot the whales because the fishermen believed the whales ate too much salmon and threatened their lively hood. The wiley old Matriarch always managed to avoid the whale shooters.

the splash from a breech.

Whales keep coming to the surface all around the stationary boats.

One of the males. They have a larger dorsal fin.
Sometimes 6 ft. high when they are mature

                                              A female and calf.

The whales are swimming in a channel between Pender and Saturna Island quite close to the US boarder. Several whale watching boats have arrives and are dotted about the wide channel the Captains all communicating with each other over the radios.

Luckily our boat has not got a full compliment of passengers. There are only 10 of us so we are able to spread out on the deck and upper deck and move about watching these magnificent creatures with ease. Cameras are clicking away as excited shouts go up ' Over there' and 'woo did you see that'. They are not easy to photograph especially with small cameras. I probably should have videoed them and took stills from the video but unfortunately that never occurred to me.

Heading Back.

 Eventually Captain Bobby had to rev the engines and we turned and headed back towards the long journey to Steveston. Connie came round with bottles of water and Granola bars and answered our questions.

So now we have actually seen the whales in their natural surroundings and it was well worth the 4 years wait as the sight we've just witness really doesn't happen very often. The whales can be far more elusive in this massive ocean.
Nancy and John wait for us back at the dock. the company have called john with our expected time of arrival. The two ladies who run the office are out on the dock also excited for us, having seen such a sighting after two abortive  attempts.

So now here's the foodie bit coming, well I couldn't disappoint! It's lunch time and we are hungry after such an excursion. We walked the short distance to a brewing Pub and grill called the 'Blue Canoe' It's on the wharf sitting out over the water.



my crab sandwich.

I order a crab sandwich. It's stuffed with crab meat to 3 inches high! Very filling and tasty. The chips, tWe sit out side on the shaded sunlit deck. The food is hearty West coast food, much of it seafood. I havhough are hand prepared crisps! I forgot the language difference!. Never mind they're still good.

John's seafood Salad.