July 8th - Humpback Whale and the T46 Transient Orca Family near Nanaimo

Today we headed South through the Strait in search of whales. We received word of a humpback East of Galiano Island and headed in his direction! We stayed with Scoop for a bit until we got word that Orcas had finally been spotted near Prevost Island. We headed to see them and found the T65A’s travelling from Prevost Island towards Saltspring Island. After leaving them, we travelled through the Gulf Islands and visited seals and cormorants before heading back to the harbour!

Humpback whales show their fluke (tail) when they take a deep dive. Photos by Rebeka Pirker

In the afternoon, we headed towards Howe Sound. The T65’S from the morning trip had headed South, all the way to American waters and out of our range. Captain Mike and Naturalist Rodrigo spotted a pod of orcas Northwest of Howe Sound. At first there were only three whales present (T46/Wake, T46E/Camillo, and T46D), but they soon joined up with T46F and four others heading towards Howe Sound. There was lots of travelling and possibly hunting activity, but we were lucky enough to get some great shots of T46F barrel rolling and T46/Wake tail slapping.

T46/Wake and T46E/Camillo. Photo by Rodrigo Menezes.

Whales and cloud! Photo by Rodrigo Menezes.

T46F doing a wave, with Camillo (T46E) and Wake (T46) in the background. Sequence shots by Rodrigo Menezes.

Family photo! From left to right: Camillo (T46E), Wake (T46), and T46F. Photo by Rodrigo Menezes.

Tail slapping from T46F! Photo by Rodrigo Menezes.

From left to right: Camillo (T46E), T46F and Wake (T46). By Rodrigo Menezes.

Photo by Rodrigo Menezes.

Majestic eagle. Photo by Rodrigo Menezes.

Steller Sealions. Photo by Rodrigo Menezes.

Book a tour with us today to see some whales yourself! We have had 100% success at finding whales since May 9th! Call us at (250) 667-5177 to book over the phone, or continue on the website to book online! Happy travels!