//Tofino Whale, Sea Otter and Walrus Watching

Tofino Whale, Sea Otter and Walrus Watching

Whale snot and loopy sea otters

Evidently, last year’s whale watching trip on the Bay of Fundy was not enough to cure me of doing it all over again on the west coast. We booked a whale watching cruise out of Tofino and after getting kitted up in survival suits fit for the surface of Mars, we got out on the water in a whaler with 2 Suzuki 175 horse power outboard motors.

I thought this was a bit of overkill until we got to the open Pacific with the swell steady at 1 to 1.5 metres but cresting at 3 metres. There was a LOT of up and down action as our faithful guide Howie skillfully handled the craft for an exciting ride.

Sidebar: I have to acknowledge the The Whale Centre staff and owners, their professionalism and obvious passion for the job made our day! I know I tend to write a little sarcastically at times but I would do this trip with our guide Howie again in a heartbeat. Should you find your way on the west coast of Vancouver Island, you will not go wrong with engaging them:

The Whale Centre
www.tofinowhalecentre.com
Tollfree: 1.888.474.2288
411 Campbell Street, Tofino
Ask for Howie!

A 3 Hour Cruise

I’ve divided this excursion into 2 different posts as the first part we were focused on seeing the Pacific Grey Whale and Bald Eagles in the second part of the cruise. Pacific grey whales are boring. They are too big and fat to even show much of their body on the surface. I kept hearing, “Oh look, there’s a whale now!”. By the time I turned around, all I saw was some whale snot mist dissipating in the distance.

Watch a spout of whale snot, wait 5 minutes for another puff of whale snot. Repeat.

And then a Pacific Grey Whale almost surfaced beneath our boat

and I damn near crapped my pants. I did not publish the photograph of the sky I took in blind panic. After recovering, I managed to get buddy’s blowhole spewing whale snot with the flatulent little asshole promptly disappearing. Cool.

Howie told us that it was a portent of good luck if you saw a whale spout in the shape of a heart, kinda like watching clouds but the internet does have some excellent examples of heart-shaped spouts.

Photos taken April 6th, 2018… please click the images to open a larger window.