Sightings of whales and dolphins from the ferry?

[wildwhales]

I would love to hear of any sightings of whales, dolphins or porpoise that people have had from any of the ferries - particularly on the North Coast routes.

I run a program called Wild Whales - the B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network. We're a non-profit conservation program that runs out of the Vancouver Aquarium. We collect sightings of whales, dolphins, porpoise and even sea turtles from all over B.C., and we use the data to help protect these species. We rely on people on the water to let us know when they see any of these marine mammals, especially on the Central Coast, North Coast and Queen Charlottes where we have very few people spotting for us.

We do have some very dedicated B.C. ferries personnel that send us sightings, but not on every route. So, if you happen to see any on your travels, would you please let me know? Thanks!

Also, I would love just hearing stories about how seeing whales has improved your ferry experience. Do any of you ride outside through Active Pass just to spot killer whales? Have you seen dolphins surfing on the ferry's wake?

Cheers,

-- alana

[Balfour]

Greetings Alana!

There have been many times where I have spotted whales from a ferry. Last spring when I was the Norther Adventure I saw something like 5 pods of whales and Dolphins surfing in the wake of the ship and in the past I've seen whales in the Swanson Channel. Last summer on a forum trip I recall seeing some Orcas near Galiano Island while we were pulling out of Sturdies Bay.

[coastalcody]

I travelled on route 2 the other day and saw 4 killer whales.
It was quite a sight to see we were just rounding bowen island travelling towards departure bay when there they were on the right of the qoc

[Low Light Mike]

In 1999 I encountered a group of Pacific White-Sided Dolphins in Hardy Bay, from the Queen of Chilliwack (just departing from Bear Cove, Port Hardy), in August.

in 2005 I saw some Orcas from near the Broughton Archipeligo, while on a Queen of the North re-positioning cruise. This was Oct.2005. I suppose it's not surprising that I would see orca whales near the Broughton Archipeligo....

[Deleted]

Last August we saw some orcas in Active Pass, near the government dock..

[Scott]

On an early morning sailing in February I spotted a few porpoises swimming and jumping alongside the Queen of Oak Bay as we neared Departure Bay. I've only seen whales two times from a ferry... once on Route 1 and once on Route 2. It certainly makes for a more memorable trip!

[kylefossett]

i have had numerous encounters with orcas onboard bc ferries. the highlight one was the friday before the august long weekend in 2001. we were in village bay onboard the queen of nanaimo and the orcas were right in the bay. we actually sat for close to 15 minutes after leaving the dock before we proceeded to otter bay.

last summer i did trips to saltspring every weekend. i saw the orcas on atleast one leg of the trip each weekend.

[WettCoast]

I have seen various whales, dolphins, etc. over the years on trips aboard BC Ferries. The best was probably the summer before last when I did the Discovery Coast trip aboard the Q of Chilliwack. A photo of a humpback whale taken on that trip is shown below. I also remember seeing humpbacks in Hecate St. from the Queen of Prince Rupert in August of 1987. I have seen orcas numerous times on both north & south coast ferries. I have also seen orcas in Douglas Channel while traveling in a small boat. It is exciting to see such from a boat that is smaller than the animal you are viewing.

[Northern Exploration]

If I every get around to scanning my pics from some of my trips north on the QoftN on the Inside Passage I will post some of my Orca and Grey Whales, Dahls and Harbour Porpoises and White Sided Dolphins, and Sea Lions (one throwing a huge salmon in the air and grabbing it mid air), and many Harbour Seals. Also of numerous Bald Eagles and Ospreys.

I saw but missed a photo of the Great Spirit Bear. My batteries died and didn't get the picture. There is a small water falls/rapids on Princess Royal Island and if you take that last trips of the Daylight sailings the salmon are running, and the ferry slows for pictures. If I had run for batteries I would have missed it. I was too transfixed to move. On the ferry southbound we slowed again but no bear fishing this route.

*oops premature enter. I have seen Orcas on the Island side of Active Pass and crossing the Strait but never in Active Pass itself. Have seen Dolphins/porpoises in the wake but haven't been able to determine which species. A couple of times have heard they were near the bow on the Spirits riding the bow the bow waves but have never actually sighted them.

Whatever ferry, whatever weather, as long as it is light out (sometimes even in the dark), I am outside on whatever ferry. I come in to eat, and often to buy a coffee or hot chocolate to dethaw. I always have a good book or magazine but if I end up reading a whole chapter it is rare.

[kerryssi]

It is quite common to sight orcas from the ferry's at Tsa or Active pass. They are often seen in Trincomali channel as well. There was a grey whale who used to transit Active pass in the spring and fall. Porpoises and dolphins are quite common in the southern gulf islands. One year a pod of orca chased a Minke whale into Ganges harbour and pinned it against the breakwater. The young orca took turns attacking it while the adults kept back. When the Minke made a break for it the adults nailed it.
I once saw two guys on a sailboat at the north end of Active Pass. They were going nuts as they were surrounded by a pod of orca checking them out and putting on quite a show. Neither guy had a camera. Seals are as common as rats in a slum everywhere. There are a large number of sea lions which have made their home at the Crofton mill.

[kylefossett]

Sea Lions are also around the navigation light at the south end of Tent Island

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

May 14, 2008 17:30:33 GMT -8 Northern Exploration said:

If I every get around to scanning my pics from some of my trips...

lol...ditto that ;D I have a pair of photos hanging on the wall of Pacific White-side dolphins surfing in the bow wave of the North Island Princess, taken when we encountered a pod of about 100 off of Powell River. Funny, as far as I can remember, for all the years I have ridden the ferries and boated on the west coast, I think that is the only time I have actually seen cetaceans in their natural environment. Seals, sea lions, and otters are a different story...had some entertaining adventures with them on various occasions.

Since I've been on the east coast, almost every time I'm near or on the water, I see dolphins, but have yet to see seals...go figure .

[Scott]

This weekend there were humpback whales, sea otters, and porpoises offshore of Rivers Inlet along the route the ferries take. And then just off Nanaimo there were some porpoises yesterday evening.

[Nickfro]

I have had two great sightings while on a BC Ferry.

In 2002, while having just boarded the SoBC at Swartz Bay, a pod of orcas went by right beside the ferry. They proceeded up Satellite Channel towards Maple Bay. It would have been an awesome sight to see them in such a narrow passage surrounding up around Maple Bay!

In early 2000 on my way back to the North Shore from Victoria for the weekend, I ended up being put on a 4pm MD sailing on the Pacificat Explorer on Route 2. While having a bite to eat in the cafeteria that took up half of the lower passenger deck, a massive pod of porpoises were jumping around directly behind the cat in her massive whitewash of a wake. If I were to guess how many porpoises there were, I would guess at least 100. . .they went for what seemed forever. What made me want to have a camera even more at that time was the fact that the sun was setting directly behind the ship and Departure Bay at that time. . .what a postcard moment!

[Low Light Mike]

May 26, 2008 16:00:58 GMT -8 Scott said:

This weekend there were humpback whales, sea otters, and porpoises offshore of Rivers Inlet along the route the ferries take. And then just off Nanaimo there were some porpoises yesterday evening.

Aha, so that's where you were. I eagerly await your trip report, sir.

Welcome home.

[WettCoast]

Me too! I believe that John has been up enjoying a 'northern adventure' on the QPR and hopefully has some pictures for us.

[bcfcbccsscollector]

Hi Alana,

Unfortunately, I have no images to share, but only a story. My wife and I were on a cruise aboard the Carnival "Jubilee", returning through Johnstone Strait off northern Vancouver Island. We were on our balcony, and there was a crew member tending to one of the lifeboats nearby. My wife and I were looking over the rail down on the side of the ship, when a baby orca swam up quickly toward the hull, the did a 180 and headed back down into the sea. My wife and I were so stunned by the sight. We looked over at the crew member and he was looking at us like we were all thinking, "DID YOU JUST SEE THAT??!!" It was unbelievable and it happened so fast that a camera wasn't possible. It was no more than 10 ft. in length.

Although I wasn't able to catch the moment with a camera, the memory will last a lifetime. It was truly a wonderful thing to see, certainly the high point of the cruise. I think the three of us were the only ones to witness the event and I feel very privileged

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

May 26, 2008 16:00:58 GMT -8 Scott said:

This weekend there were humpback whales, sea otters, and porpoises offshore of Rivers Inlet along the route the ferries take. And then just off Nanaimo there were some porpoises yesterday evening.

As a follow up to John's post, here is a link to a Daybreak North story concerning the recovery of the humpback whales on the west coast.

[kerryssi]

Several years ago the bridge crews on the southern runs were given information on pods and individual orca and asked to keep track of sightings. That went on for two or three years. They probably did the same on the northern runs.

[Mike C]

-Myself and Retro on Route 30, recently at the Nanaimo CR Open house, spotted dolphins off the bow of the Queen of Alberni en-route to Tsawassen on it's 3:15 pm sailing.

-I also spotted dolphins off the edge of the Queen of Prince Rupert in 2004, which I have video of.

-Whales: Spotted a killer whale off the side of the Mayne Queen in Swanson Channel.

[Northern Exploration]

I recently came across my pics from one of my Inside Passage trips. There are more somewhere. I can post them but since the little travel camera I was using didn't have a proper zoom the most you can see are the spouts. One I can scan sometime, the whale was spy hopping and one is of the flukes. One set of pics looks like I was taking pics of a beautiful sailing yacht. However we had slowed and it was just sitting surrounded by a pod of Grey Whales but you can't see any of them .

[Deleted]

A few summers ago we saw a pod of orcas and we slowed it was on the queen of alberni and the whale watching boats followed us out to the orcas kinda wierd but cool.