Today we headed out onto the Salish Sea, the sun was shining and the scenery was gorgeous!

We left Nanaimo and decided to begin our search in the Gulf Islands. We headed through the famous Dodd Narrows into Stuart Channel and continued all the way to the mouth of the Seymour Narrows. This is an absolutely stunning area for scenery! Next, we decided to head past the Secretary Islands and into Trincomali Channel. From here we scanned the shores of Galiano Island before crossing at Porlier Passage into the Strait of Georgia. From there we travelled northeast, out into the Strait of Georgia! After braving some waves, we decided to head back closer to home. We kept searching around Gabriola and a little further north, up to Departure Bay, with our fingers crossed just maybe we’d spot our whales. However, today they were just too elusive.

We always say there is a bit of silver lining to our no-whale days; we love the fact that they are wild and the ocean is truly their playground! Our whales are not chipped, tagged or tracked we just use our eyes to find them. Plus, there is plenty of other wildlife to see along the way, like our Harbour Seals, California Sea Lions, and Steller Sea Lions!

We did come across some of our favourite little Harbour Seals going for a swim at high tide! The massive Steller Sea Lions were also out and about today in large numbers. We got the “treat” of being downwind from them today and got to not only see and hear them but smell them too!

The photos below of our trip were taken by Marine Naturalist Vanessa Vereschahen. Enjoy!

March 14, 2023 - Stellar Sea Lions

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