November 13th - Humpback whale soup served at Porlier Pass, again!

It was another day for the ducks as the skies poured down on Kula during its noon departure! Our guests weren’t deterred however, and stayed warm and cozy inside as we departed Nanaimo harbour in search of wildlife.

We traveled southeast for just over an hour and eventually to a place we’ve had a lot of luck finding humpback whales at this time of the year - Porlier Pass. Porlier Pass is located between two long and narrow Gulf Islands, Valdes and Galiano. The sheltered waters of Trincomali Channel line the west side and then the Pass opens into the vast Strait of Georgia. The depth of the Pass combined with the tides and currents create magnificent upwell areas just outside the side, which attracts a lot of small krill and baitfish that come to feed on the moving plankton. Humpback whales are filter feeders and come to our nutrient rich waters in search of these small fish and krill, so these moving waters are a perfect place to look for these gentle giants.

We saw two blows once we arrived, and that was only the start! A humpback whale’s exhale can get up to 15 feet tall, which really helps us spot them from a distance. We saw these whales surface several times, lift their large flukes, and dive down again for some grub. Pretty soon there were whales all around us; anywhere from 5-9 humpbacks in total but it was hard to tell because of how inconsistent their dives were.

We were able to grab fluke photographs of some, and from those photos we can look through our onboard catalogues and try to match up the patterns. We were able to ID two individuals: Scrimmage and Meqe. We watched these whales dive and dive, and then something a little different happened. Some sea lions were spotted in the mix playing with the humpbacks! We don’t see this often but humpbacks are known to be friendly with other species - just another reason to love these guys!

Here are some of the best photos taken on the tour by marine naturalist Cheyenne Brewster. We are running daily at 12pm so if you’re looking for a winter adventure, head to our calendar to reserve seats!