August 23, 2011

Our aquatic adventures took us out of Victoria and straight across the Juan de Fuca strait towards the Washington peninsula. Not too far into our trip we came to a stop where a male Elephant Seal could be seen taking a few breaths before diving down again. His face was pointed up at the sky with his large nose pale grey and prominent. He was quite a sight to see! After he dove down we continued on past Constance Bank and ended up on top of another bank (underwater mountain) which was unnamed. There we found a mother Humpback whale and her calf feeding in the shallower waters. The food must have been plentiful because they were very relaxed and slow, diving for only a few minutes and sticking close to the surface. They weren't the only ones there feeding, there were also gulls, sea birds, and Pink Salmon which could be spotted from the side of the boat. The humpbacks cruised in a large circle around the circumference of the bank and we were treated to lunge feeding behaviour, which is where they lunge just under the surface with their mouths open, as well as rolling and some breaching. Before we left scene with the whales a passenger actually spotted a third Humpback father off in the distance, jumping and tail slapping the water. The final portion of our loop took us past Race Rocks Lighthouse and the hundreds of Sea Lions there. California Sea Lions, Stellar Sea Lions, Harbour Seals, and birds were so loud conversations were drowned out and everyone was forced to hold their noses and enjoy the show. For a calm and sunny day we sure got to see a lot of wildlife and each doing their own unique thing out in the Salish Sea.