April 8th - A cruise through the Gulf Islands

We had 2 boats leave the harbour on the 8th in search for whales and wildlife.

Our semi-covered vessel Kula traveled south through Dodd Narrows where they got to see the Coast Guards hovercraft before they tracked all the way south to Active Pass. They stopped to take a look at Harbour Seals in the pass before venturing further south between Mayne and North Pender islands and coming out into the Strait of Georgia to stop at the Bell Chain islands to see Stellar Sea Lions hauled out.
As they traveled north through the Strait of Georgia they encountered almost every type of weather the West Coast has to offer from sun to clouds, rain to hail and back to sun. They came back into the Gulf Islands through Gabriola Passage before looping back through Dodd Narrows to see the California Sea Lions lounging on the logs next to the Harmac pulp mill. They even stopped for a few seconds at the Gabriola Bluffs to see some Cormorants prepping their nests for the eggs they will begin laying any day now.

Our open boat left the harbour and followed through Dodd Narrows but took Sansum narrows down the West side of Salt Spring towards Saanich Inlet. They turned and passed by the Pender islands and Maybe before stopping in Active Pass to see the Harbour Seals and a few Sea Lions rolling in the waves. After leaving the pinnipeds in the pass they continued up the channel, winding through the gulf islands checking for whales and wildlife before heading back through Dodd Narrows to see the California Sea lions at the mill.

Sometimes no matter how far you travel the whales just aren’t around. But the tours got to enjoy the other marine mammals that call our Salish Sea home as well as plenty of birds and beautiful scenery. To honour our whale sightings guarantee all our guests received vouchers that they can redeem to come out for a free tour the next time they visit.

Above is the approximate paths our boats took looking for whales today. The blue line is Kula and the red line is our zodiac. We often cover large areas looking for our whales, so when we don’t find any it’s not for lack of trying. The Salish Sea is a large area and there are only about 350 Transient orcas that live between the coasts of Alaska and Southern Washington. Finding orcas in our range can often feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. But with the keen eyes of our captains and naturalists we manage to find whales on nearly every trip.

Below are some of the photos taken by both our marine naturalist Rebecca Stirling, during the tour today.

Steller Sea Lion swimming together, lead by a large male.

Harbour seals enjoying some rays at their haul-out.

A bald eagle with their eye on the water looking for fish.

Steller Sea Lion.

Sea lions at harmac having a cuddle.