It was another very west coast day as our semi-covered vessel left Nanaimo. We started the journey north since we had heard of reports of a pair of whales northbound off of Nanoose Bay before we left. We headed that way with our eyes peeled. After searching for a while, we spotted something in the distance. It was orca! One of these fins was super distinct, narrow with a heavy lean to one side. It was T049A2 Jude! Jude and T050B1 Blakeslee have been spending a lot of time together lately, and a quick look at the smaller dorsal fin confirmed that it was these two together once more:

These two were quite sporadic while we watched them today, going for long dives and switching directions constantly. We aren’t quite sure why they were acting like this, and unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance to find out! After spending a bit of time with these whales they disappeared from our sight. It doesn’t happen very often, but sometimes the whales do give us the slip like this. They can hold their breath for over 20 minutes at a time, and some can dive as deep as 1000 feet, so a lot of distance can be covered in that time. Although it can be disappointing in the moment, it’s a nice reminder that we are watching whales that are wild and free, and very capable of leaving us behind if they aren’t in the mood to be watched!

After leaving the whales behind (or them leaving us behind) we started back towards the harbour, but not without seeing some other wildlife along the way! The first stop was when we found some Harbour Seals lounging on the rocks in the Winchelsea Archipelago, aka the islands located right off the community of Nanoose Bay. Harbour Seals are one of the cutest animals that we get to see during the tour, with their big round eyes and round heads. They can be entertaining to watch since they are a little awkward when they move. Their hind flippers can’t rotate separately thanks to the fusion of their pelvis, meaning they can’t walk on land. They galumph instead! The Stellers Sea Lions that we saw on our next stop don’t have this hip fusion and can walk on the rocks of their haul-out. This means that they can end up in slightly stranger places than the seals will, sometimes on docks, log booms or other human-made objects. Today though, they were happy on the steep slopes of the island.

While watching the pinnipeds, we also were treated to a fly-by of a pair of Bald Eagles. There has been lots of activity from the herring spawn along the island between Comox and Nanaimo lately, likely leading to higher numbers of Eagles trying to take advantage of this nutrient influx. We got to see both an adult with its striking white head and tail as well as a juvenile who was just brown as they don’t fully develop the white until they are around 5 years old.

Soon after we continued back to Nanaimo. The onboard marine naturalist Vanessa Vereschahen captured some amazing photos throughout the tour which can be viewed below!

March 16, 2025 - Jude and Blakeslee continue their adventure