Today we cruised onto the Salish Sea aboard our Alpine boat heading west on calm seas.  We searched the middle of the straight while other boats searched near shore on both the American and Canadian sides.  After scanning for blows or dorsal fins all around us, we received word that a humpback was near Beechy Head.  We made our way towards the whale and saw that it was slapping its tail around!  Humpbacks can reach lengths of 45 feet and weigh up to 40 tons, so it is an impressive sight when these whales move their massive bodies above the surface.  Humpbacks are a migratory species that feed in northern British Columbia and Alaska during our summers and then head to Hawaii to have their calves and breed.  It is not very common to see the humpbacks here this late in the season but we sure enjoy them when they make an appearance!

After spending some great quality time with the beautiful humpback we made our way over to the Race Rocks Lighthouse.  This historic black and white lighthouse has been standing 24.4m tall since 1860.  Its granite block construction is unique on our coastline as all our other lighthouses are constructed from concrete or brick.  We spotted a few female Elephant Seals and many Harbour Seals lying out on the rocks.  Because the waters are so cold here (12 to 14 degrees Celsius), the seals spend about 40% of their day basking on the rocks to conserve energy.  We soon headed back for the Victoria Harbour with sunshine and calm seas.  It was a great day to be on the water with the wildlife!