August 26th

Humpback blows greeted us as we made our way into Blackfish Sound. We watched in awe as a pair of humpback whales lunge-fed through a large herring ball amidst a squalling mass of seabirds. As the herring ball eventually broke-up the humpback pair split to go their separate ways passing along either side of the boat. It was hard to know where to look! We left Blackfish Sound and cruised through a cluster of islands as we entered Johnstone Strait, it was not long before we were joined by an active pair of Dall's porpoises who chased and darted around the bow of the SV Tuan in a display that took us by complete surprise. As we neared Robson Bight (Ecological Reserve) we could see the distant blows of orcas approaching in our direction, I67 (a large male resident orca) was out in the middle of the Strait foraging for Chinook salmon while other members of his family hunted closer to the shoreline, their blows highlighted against the dark backdrop of the forest and surrounding mountains.