August 13, 2024, 3:30 pm - Humpback Whales Vector and Wisp!

This afternoon we had low wind and a report north, so we went off into the Strait of Georgia! What we love about our tours is they are never the same, we never know what we are going to find each day when we set out! Sometimes we get very lucky and have whales right in our backyard, other days we have to search a much wider range! As none of our whales are tagged, chipped or tracked we locate them daily just with our eyes! We had the full fleet out this afternoon so a lot of eyes to help scan, all 3 boats set off in slightly different directions to maximize our chances of spotting a whale! We had travelled nearly 40 nautical miles so far, passing Lasqueti and Texada Islands basically to Powel River, but still no blows. We scanned the shores and we scanned the waves, where were the whales? Then there it was, the call came in on the radio one of the open boats spotted a blow!

This big bushy blow was from a Humpback, we were able to quickly identify this whale by their large tail fluke, it’s unique just like a fingerprint! It was Vector (BCX0870 calf 2021) we were so excited to see Vector because they are an entanglement survivor and we were able to confirm they no longer had a line attached. Although the line did leave a nasty scar, Vector was looking great and behaving how a whale should! Speaking of behaving as a whale should, we saw Vector feeding. This is usually what our humpbacks are up to in our waters, they migrate over 4000 km from Hawaii, Mexico and Central America, and when they arrive they are starving! These whales will have been fasting for 3 to 6 months, so they are focused on bulking back up to do it all over again. They eat 3000 to 5000 pounds of food per day when here, you can imagine that must take a lot of time and effort!

It was time to head on back to Nanaimo as we had quite a way to go to get back home, but the search wasn’t over! With eyes peeled, off we went! We were in our home stretch when there was another blow! This time it was another young whale Wisp (BCX1333 calf 2021). We got to see a few different behaviours from Wisp, who seemed to be taking a nap when we first arrived, most likely resting after a big meal. We also had some fluking, the best guess is they woke up! After giving us a few beautiful dives showing off that gorgeous tail it was time to return to the dock. We cruised in watching the sun set behind the mountains!

Photos by Naturalists Des Poier, Hayleigh Hilbert, and Vanessa Vereschahen.

A pair of adult male Steller Sea Lions on the rocks. Photo by Des Poier.

These two seemed to be cuddling! Photo by Des Poier.

Wisp lifting their tail. Photo by Des Poier.

Wisp’s dorsal fin. Photo by Des Poier.

Vector with a scar from his entanglement. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

Vectors dorsal fin. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

Vector surfacing with Lasqueti and Texada Islands in the background. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

Vector surfacing with Sisters Lighthouse in the background. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

Vector lifting their tail. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

The underside of Vectors tail. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

Vector arching their back for a dive. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

A dive from Vector. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

You can see the water lighter by Vector’s side due to their white pectoral fins. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

The underside of Vector’s tail. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

Vector lifting his fluke for a dive. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

The underside of Vectors tail. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Whale Watchers on Cascadia watching Vector. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

Whale Watchers on Keta watching Vector. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

Wisp lifting their tail. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

Wisp’s dorsal fin. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

A lovely fluke waterfall from Wisp. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

Wisp flicking water as they dive. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

The moon. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Wisp diving with Entrance Island in the background. Photo by Des Poier.

Wisp’s beautiful fluke. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Bald Eagles cooling off in the sun. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

A River Otter scampering on the rocks. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.

A beautiful sunset over Nanoose Bay. Photo by Des Poier.