August 6th

Today was an incredible day for seeing the stunning variety of nature North Vancouver Island has to offer. The SV Tuan set of down the Johnstone Strait and met a resident orca family known as the A30's as they were foraging for salmon. On the return journey we were lucky enough to see a minke whale. The MV Cetacea followed the A30's before they entered Robson Bight listening to their eerie vocalizations via the boat’s hydrophone. This afternoon the MV Cetacea and the SV Tuan headed out to Blackfish Sound and the surrounding islands and saw four humpback whales foraging. A mother humpback and her calf,
famous in the area, put on a breathtaking display leaping out of the water and crashing back with an almighty splash! We also observed Steller sea-lions catching dogfish amongst dozens of mobbing gulls. On the way home we also saw a pacific white-sided dolphin with her very young calf close to her side. This final sighting capped off a wonderful day of seven species of marine mammal seen complimented, as ever, by high tea on the high sea.