Wednesday, September 12th

It was a fairly misty morning to begin with and we headed out to race rocks for our first stop. The Californian sea lions were barking away being very vocal from the rocks. The Stellars were a little quieter and we spotted some harbour seals looking at us with interest. One of the human residents of race rocks came out to clean the steps and a group of Californian seals launched into the water and swam out and started milling around in the bull kelp. We then travelled over to the American mainland on the opposite side of the Strait to Victoria at Green Point. We stopped the boat and searched for the Grey Whales that had recently been sited in the area, but unfortunately there was no sign. We headed back to Victoria and on the way spotted some harbour porpoises off the side of the boat and also an otter bobbing about on the surface.


The weather was similar for the afternoon trip but at least it meant the sea was still nice and calm. This time we continued West along the coast, past Sooke to Otter point, where we joined a humpback. It was very unpredictable, going down for long dives without throwing up its flukes, popping up in any direction, making it difficult for any photographs. But we patiently waited and we were rewarded with some very good passes and amazing views of the tail coming up right beside the boat. After this we made a trip to Race Rocks, and this time the Stellar sea lions were growling loudly along with the Californians barking. There was lots of activity and splashing in the water and they put on a good show for us. Generally everyone who came out on the boat had a good day, even those that did not see any whales.