September 15th

The Broughton Archipelago has to be one of the most beautiful marine waterways on earth, abundantly blessed with numerous marine mammal and bird species. Today as we headed out on our afternoon tour it was not long before passengers sighted their first cetacean, a small group of Dall's porpoises who were foraging. Shortly after a humpback whale blow was sighted a few hundred metres ahead of us. Next spotted were some Pacific White-sided Dolphins and then a lone Steller Sea Lion swimming, it had a salmon in its mouth and was thrashing it about and biting into it;  hauled out harbour seals were also seen and then a second humpback whale nearby was sighted and almost simultaneously, a baby Minke Whale popped up very close to the boat without warning. Eyes were averted left and right, looking at the Minke whale, the humpback whale and then suddenly a third humpback whale appeared! Numerous Pacific White-sided Dolphins sighted earlier in the tour were again seen, they were racing about intent on feeding, as were several Dalls Porpoises. Weynton Passage was alive with the movement of Cetaceans and seabirds!  Countless birds had gathered and forming herring balls were  Common Murres and Rhinoceros Auklets diving deep, gulls galore were hovering overhead and then in the middle of it all, up popped the little Minke Whale again, its timing was perfect. There were many hauled out Stellar Sea Lions to be seen as well. The tour was indeed a wonderful one, the journey home was a scenic ride allowing time for images of the days exceptional beauty to seep deep within each and everyone on board.