Whale Watching Reports

Daily Whale Watching Notes

Each day we request one of our guests to fill out the daily Whale Watching Report. You could be next.

Here's a listing of our reports from the current season.

Date: 03/Jul/09

Report by: Natalia Haddad

From: Sydney, Australia

 

Trip Highlights:  (where we went, what we saw, etc.)

The biggest highlight was seeing two male orca transient whales which had never been seen here before!  The crew were friendly and very knowledgeable and the lunch was tasty!  Also saw two black bears and a minke whale!

Date: 24/Jun/09

Report by: Bill & Donna Mackay

From: Port McNeill, BC (Vancouver Island - Canada)

 

Our whale watching season is due to kick off on June 27, and we're all hoping for the return of the northern resident killer whales any day now!

In the meantime, we are hosting a group of people from the Okanogan area, organized by Wells Grey Tours.  We had our first day on the water today and our objective was Cascade Falls in Knight Inlet.  On our way, we encountered a humpback whale in Blackfish Sound.  We picked up a couple of special guests from New Vancouver on Harbledown Island and continued on our way and as we made our way into Knight Inlet, we saw that the wind and tide had made a sea state that was unsuitable for our journey, so we opted for a calmer, safer route to see Glacier Falls.  On this route, we encountered a group of Pacific white-sided dolphins with quite a few new calves.  On our route back to Port McNeill, we encountered a Minke whale who breached twice not far behind the Naiad Explorer. 

Tomorrow, we're off to the west and Nakwakto Rapids!

 

Date: 15/May/09

Report by: Bill & Donna Mackay

From: Port McNeill, BC (Vancouver Island - Canada)

 

 A beautiful day today - with people from Alert Bay (Namgis) and people from South America (Brazil, Peru, Chile) hosted by the Worl Fisheries Trust, we toured the Broughton Archipelago looking at clam gardens and visiting Billy Proctor's museum in Echo Bay.  We also took the opportunity to visit Robson Bight to check on the salvage operation which has been ongoing since May 10.  Today the salvage operation managed to bring up the hydraulic oil (in drums) to the surface successfully and the vehicle containing diesel fuel will be next.  On our way back to Alert Bay, we learned that there was a humpback whale right in front of Port McNeill, so we altered our course to have a quick look.  It's a young humpback whale and it delighted not only our guests on board, but the entire community of Port McNeill by its constant breaching.  Thank you to all of our guests on board today - you made the day extra special!

Date: 12/May/09

Report by: Bill & Donna Mackay

From: Port McNeill, BC (Vancouver Island - Canada)

 

On May 10 and 12, we had trips transporting people into both Gilford Village and Kingcome.  On May 10, on our way to Kingcome, we came across at least 24 harbour porpoises in one location (including many calves), about 50 Pacific white-sided dolphins and one adult humpback whale.  On May 12, we came across 3 female and one male killer whale on the southeast side of Alert Bay - very tight into the kelp patch, with very "pointy" fins (transients).  Later, we also encountered (once again) Pacific white-sided dolphins, harbour porpoises and Steller sea lions.

We're all looking forward to the beginning of our whale watching season and we await the arrival of the northern resident pods of orcas in late June!

Date: 03/May/09

Report by: Bill & Donna Mackay

From: Port McNeill, BC (Vancouver Island - Canada)

 

 Today has been a busy day running between First Nations villages.  On our way to Kingcome Village, we were treated to a sighting of a group of Pacific white-sided dolphins - some of the children on board had never seen one before!  We also caught sight of two separate harbour porpoises.  On our way back to Port McNeill, we came across a group of five transient killer whales who were stealthily making their way towards the rocky islets where dozens of Steller sea lions were resting.  We unfortunately were unable to stay around to watch what might happen next.  On our next trip back into Kingcome, we came across a Humpback whale in the Broughton Archipelago - what an amazing day!
 

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