2006: Whale Watching

Long time friends are visiting. We last shared a magical weekend in 1983, a 3 day Mid-Summer Fantasy.

Plans involve a whale watching tour out of Tofino. Internet research presents several companies from which to choose, all with similar prices and claims. We definitely want the excitement of a zodiac, Jamie’s Whaling Station is the tour picked.

The staff directs us to the suiting up area, presenting us with bright orange flotation suits. We all present a clumsy appearance waddling down to the docks. Our guide greets us, a young man who induces himself as Marcel, stating his qualifications for his post.

And we’re off. Engine idling us out from the dock, gentle acceleration gives us a feel of what’s to come. True to his word, our guide gives us history of the area, takes us first to view an island with a huge eagle nest, overlooked by the clearly protective parent eagles. Proceeding out into the bay, he tells us about the crab trap buoys we are dodging, the Native village across the bay, the legends of the mountain behind, some stories about the live-aboard cluster of boats/float homes, birds we see, he is a wealth of interesting information.

The excitement of the wind and the waves, the acceleration, the secure feeling of the zodiac, loving it! Approaching small outpost islands; one a protected habitat for nesting sea birds; viewing sunning sea lions, identifying a host of sea birds, holding position so we can see the sleek sea otters, our guide continues his lessoning exposing his reverence for the sea and its creatures.

And, we’re there! Miles off shore, watching for that telltale misting spout, looking for humpback whales. There it is. Off to the right. And there’s another one, off to the left. Then again and again. There’s a breaching! We are told about the feeding practice of spouting in a circle to produce bubbles to corral fish then the explosive charge feeding up through the centre. The excitement of seeing the misting of the spout, the back arching, the wait for the next sighting. Over there! Trying for that perfect picture. The perfect end with the postcard perfect presentation of a whale tail.

With regret, it’s time to head back. Speeding back towards the bay, we come upon a sailing ship halted. Approaching to see what they are watching, there are more misting spouts visible. The excitement builds again. A pod of grey whales is feeding close in to shore. There are spouts all around, we can actually hear them breathing. One grey surfaces so close we can see the details of its skin.

Too soon, it’s time, the tour must come to its end, the zodiac turns away and we are heading back. Even the trip back is exciting, accelerations, throttling up, veering around buoys, riding the waves. Our guide tells us this has been a ‘Disney Tour’, the most sightings of whales, species of birds and other sea creatures in one tour in his experience.

Top | Back to Celebrate Life!