One of the main reasons to visit Victoria is to be near water and if possible then to be on it. I was not interested in a pickle boat tour of the Inner Harbour so the only other way for me to be on the water at this time of year was to sign up for a whale watching tour which I have never done. I wanted to see the scenery that is offered by being away out there and whatever else I saw would be a bonus. I signed up for a tour in a partially covered catamaran which is the only option this late in autumn.
Upon checking in at the counter, I was informed there were problems with the catamaran’s engine so the tour would be going in a smaller boat that was fully open. I was game! We were provided with pants and jackets to wear over top of what we had on, for warmth. Hats, gloves and sunglasses were also provided but I had my own. All aboard and once past the breakwater, the Captain put the pedal to the medal.
I picked the back row and was settled in for speeds of up to 75 kms/hr.
view in front of me
Naturalist front left
Captain front right
view to my right
Being in the smaller boat that could go great guns a fire, the plan was to quickly get out amongst the San Juan Islands and once there then meander along with hopes of seeing whales. I was so content with seeing the sights I was already seeing.
a Bald Eagke
I had no idea exactly where we were out in the Salish Sea, I was lost in the mountain views, the fresh salty air and just being on the water. If this was all I saw, I would return a happy sailor.
Then, just like that, SWOOSH!
The Captain cut the engine and we watched, in awe, with lots of ooohhs and aaahhs, then complete silence. Seeing a pod of Orca Killer Whales brought so much joy. The Naturalist pointed out there was a calf amongst the pod. I came away with a hundred or so whale photos, I am sharing a few of those with you. About an hour was spent slowly moving around this area where we could watch the Ocra Whales go about their day,
This is a very small snippet of a video I captured.
While we were watching the whales, so was this boat. I googled the
Bear Paw.
I captured this photo for the beautiful view only to realize when I got home and looked at my photos, there is a whale at middle left.
a lone Sea Otter
Cormorant nests
I have no idea what lighthouse this is, but will google later to try and find out.
We arrived at a location that is populated with Sea Lions and Cormorants.
I didn’t want this expedition to end!
Time came to once again put the pedal to the metal and aim for Victoria.
One last view back!
The thick black line to the right shows our route.
The Naturalist filled in all the information summarizing the highlights of our tour.
He would be reporting the sighting of the new calf.
from my Strava
