If there’s one thing we cherish about being on the water, it’s that every day brings something new and magical. Today’s adventure in the Strait of Georgia was nothing short of spectacular, with sightings of speedy Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, giant humpback whales travelling in pairs, and a touch of sea lion drama to keep things interesting.

Our day started with the energetic Pacific White-Sided Dolphins zipping through the water like nature’s torpedoes. Known affectionately as “Lags” (a shorthand for their scientific name Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), these dolphins are a favorite among marine wildlife enthusiasts. Why the nickname? Simply put, their long and complex scientific name can be a mouthful (so is their full common name!), so "Lags" makes discussing these playful creatures easier for us all.

Today, they didn’t disappoint. They rushed past our semi-covered boat, travelling closely with their fellow pod members - no one was lag-ging along!

After departing our dolphins we continued our search. We took a quick pitstop to see some other wildlife at Stinky Rocks. At Stinky Rocks, our Steller sea lions were basking lazily in the warm sunshine, their massive bodies sprawled across the rocky outcroppings. Occasionally, a yawn or a grumble broke the serenity, but for the most part, it was a scene of pure relaxation.

We left our sleepy sea lions behind and once again began scouring the seas. We scanned along the edge of the Strait of Georgia, the big body of water that separates the mainland of BC from Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands. It didn’t take too long for us to spot a pair of humpbacks meandering alone side-by-side - these two turned out to be some familiar faces—or should we say flukes!

We identified our first pair as Sherwina (BCY0961) and Remie (BCX1786), two relatively well-known humpbacks. They were travelling together, their powerful blows rising high into the crisp air before they would gracefully slip beneath the surface of the ocean. Sherwina was cooperating and fluking nicely, but Remie was less cooperative. Thankfully we were able to confirm their ID from the unique markings on their dorsal instead!

Not far from them, we found another pair of humpbacks. This time it was Bullet (BCX1658) and Crescent (BCX1258). While we have seen Bullet many times over the years, Crescent is a new-to-us whale with their first sighting with our company being from this year. Similar to Remie, Crescent was also quite shy, but once again their unique dorsal markings made confirming their identity possible.

We left Bullet and Crescent behind and started making our way back towards the Southern Gulf Islands where we were planning to try and find some other wildlife. The whales clearly had other ideas though, as we located another pair of humpbacks as we made our way towards Porlier Pass. This pair matched the energy of the previous duos perfectly - one familiar whale who cooperatively was fluking well (this time that was Ocular (BCX1705)) and one shy friend. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to confirm who was buddied up with Ocular today yet, but keep an eye on this blog - we will update this sighting accordingly if we can get a positive ID!

All 3 of these pairs were showing similar behaviours today - travelling, fluking, and associating. It is quite late in the year at this point so these individuals are likely getting their last meals in before they start migrating. Soon these gentle giants will depart our waters and start journeying to their breeding grounds (our populations tend to go to Mexico or Hawaii to breed). Most of today’s whales have been recorded going to Hawaii (Ocular, Bullet, Crescent, and Sherwina), with Remie not having any confirmed breeding grounds sightings yet.

After our time with our gentle giants was up, we entered the Southern Gulf Islands to cap off the day with a visit to one last sea lion haul out close to our home port.

In contrast to the tranquillity of Stinky Rocks that we saw earlier in the trip, the Harmac log booms were a battleground of sea lion drama. Here, a handful of our California sea lions were busy lunging away at each other. Barks, growls, and splashes filled the air as these marine mammals vied for dominance and prime lounging spots.

Once the drama died down we left our grumbling pinnipeds behind and continued back to Nanaimo after another adventure-filled day in the Salish Sea!

Please enjoy these photos taken by Marine Naturalist Vanessa Vereschahen!

November 15, 2024 - A Lag-gy morning with some humpbacks too!

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