Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Amazing morning encounter with Humpback Whales near Victoria! Aug 3rd, 2012


















































We had an amazing encounter with morning with a number of Humpback Whales off Victoria! The sun was shining, the sea was calm and we headed out with our boats (Fastcat & Supercat) full of excited passengers eager to see some type of whale and we did not disappoint:)

When we headed out of the Harbour we had not received any reports of Whales being spotted yet but we knew there had been Humpback Whales near Race Rocks the day before. So we first headed over to Race Rocks MPA, to show our guests the Harbor Seals, Northern Elephant Seals and Steller & California Sealions. We also saw a number of Harbor Porpoise near Race Rocks, it was a great start to the trip.

We then headed a little to the East of Race Rocks where we encountered the first of the Humpback Whales near Victoria this morning. This particular Humpback Whale was only a young animal but was coming to the surface often. We also believe we had a fleeting glimpse of another Humpback Whale close by, possibly in resting mode.

Our other vessel then radioed to say it had spotted the blow of at least one more Humpback Whale further to the south east. As we arrived on scene we realized this animal was a full grown adult Humpback Whale, much larger than the one we had just left. This Humpback Whale was being even more active than the youngster and we watched as it started to bubble & lunge feed near the surface. We also saw a number of tail flukes, and even a wonderful Pectoral wave!

Perfect weather, amazing whales & wildlife and fantastic guests, including a couple of fun girls from London and a family from Coventry and two enthusiastic ladies from Oregon:) Today's morning trip was the perfect to start to the day and one of the most enjoyable trips of the summer!




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