After we pushed off from the dock, our fleet fanned out to start searching for whales. We do this to maximize the amount of area we can cover so that we can have the highest possible chance of spotting any individuals that may be out and about. Typically, whichever boat finds whales first will hail the other vessels and then we will enjoy the animals together. However, today all 3 boats found different whales at nearly the exact same time!

Our open vessel Cascadia found the now classic duo of Stingray (BCZ0409) and Geometry (BCZ0338) travelling pec-to-pec north of Nanaimo. This pair has been travelling together since August 10th, and they’ve been doing big circles in the same area the entire time! Stingray is usually a more northern whale, with most of her sightings being around Campbell River. While we aren’t sure why she has decided to vacation down here this summer, she has been a great new addition to the area. Stingray regularly flukes high and has a stunning fluke pattern which can be seen in the photos below!
While Stingray was cooperating and fluking nearly every dive, her travelling companion Geometry was being a bit lazier. We did manage to get a couple flukes out of them, but most of the time Geometry was surfacing without lifting their tail. While it can be a bit more difficult to ID humpbacks if they never fluke, we can sometimes confirm IDs from their dorsals alone.

Our open vessel Keta found a solo whale just a little ways away from Stingray and Geometry. This whale was identified as Poptart (BCY1014). Poptart has some new markings on her fluke this year, which is a great reminder of the importance of keeping our ID catalogues up-to-date. Here is a side-by-side comparison of Poptart’s KETA Coastal Conservation Catalogue photo compared to a fluke from this trip:

Poptart was acting like a very typical humpback for this time of year, simply travelling and fluking. She was likely feeding below the surface, packing on the pounds before she migrates out of our area and back to Hawaii.

As for our third vessel, our semi-covered vessel Kula found a different solo humpback travelling along. This individual was identified as Velvet (BCY1186). Velvet is believed to be a younger whale, with their first confirmed sightings being from 2020. Very similar to Poptart, Velvet was also busily travelling along and fluking, likely also munching away on food down in the depths.

Once our time was up with our three groups we headed on out further into the Strait of Georgia. It didn’t take us long to find another pair of humpbacks travelling close together. While these two were a bit tricky and rarely fluking, we could confirm their IDs. This was a mother-calf pair - and ironically, the calf was the one fluking today! Usually, calves do not fluke for the first portion of their lives as they are building up their muscles. Today, however, the little one was fluking away while their mother was being sleepy and not lifting her tail at all! These two were identified as Anvil (BCZ0410) and her 2024 calf (BCZ0410 calf 2024). Anvil’s calf has been given the nickname “Rubber Ducky” due to an incident that happened last year during the famous Nanaimo Bathtub races. Anvil spent last July meandering along Nanaimo’s coastline, - very close to shore. During the races, which depart from the Nanaimo Harbour and go up to the Winchelsea Islands, boaters dash southbound as they race towards the finish line. Last year, a racer nearly collided with Anvil. Thankfully both Anvil and the racer were okay, but this means Anvil was pregnant with this calf at the time of the incident.

After departing Anvil and Rubber Ducky, we started heading out to search for other wildlife. However, Keta stumbled onto another humpback! This time it was Wisp (BCX1333 calf 2021), another young whale busy just travelling along. We didn’t stick around for long though and quickly left to see some other animals!

We cruised over to Stinky Rocks where our Harbour Seals were busy snoozing away as the rain started dribbling down. After a brief stop with them, we crossed over to the other rocks where our Steller Sea lions were busy squabbling away. There was also a little River Otter scurrying across the top of Stinky Rocks as well!

To wrap the trip up we began heading back to home port as the rain started to come down, ending the trip with a very West Coast-y vibe!

Please enjoy these photos taken by Marine Naturalists Cheyenne Brewster, Aly Kohlman, and Hayleigh Hilbert.

August 19, 2024, 10:30 am - Humpbacks all around!

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