Sidney Whale Watching — Attraction in Sidney

Took this trip on July 24 with my husband and daughter. I have been whale watching with a downtown competitor and had great success. I was hoping that a trip through the Gulf Islands would produce a different but equally wonderful experience. Certainly, the daily sightings map provided great hope but ultimately it was a lot of hype.

After a late departure we headed north in the cold. The skipper was a very pleasant young man who is very passionate about marine life. He was able to show us one lone humpback who was transiting north. The humpback wasn’t very interested in giving us a show while he travelled at a steady pace of about 6 kn along the west side of Galliano Island.

When we arrived for our tour, I had asked the woman handing out the survival suits if they had had much luck that day with sightings. She was very reticent and said that she doesn’t really hear anything about what people see out there. I had a feeling that was not entirely honest. Anyway, we saw one whale so they met their guarantee. It took over an hour in the cold to get out there. It seems it’s typical practice that the Whale Watching tours all share the information about where the one whale might be found and the direction of their travel so that all the charters can fulfil their sighting guarantee. Our guide was in constant communication with their other boat that was already on location and as we left another tour arrived. We spent a good 30 minutes, travelling alongside our lone whale and then circumnavigated Salt Spring Island to head for some resident harbour seals that gather in a known location and then to the nesting cormorants. Both the seals and the cormorants can be seen there every day. So, I would call that filler.

Overall, this was a disappointing, even contrived experience. My daughter and I have been whale watching before so it wasn’t the end of the world, but this was the first time for my hubby. He was really unhappy with the whole thing. He was annoyed that the tour was late going out and then it went downhill from there. Fortunately, we spied a porpoise on the ferry back from Salt Spring...

Took two trips with Adrian as Skipper/Naturalist in Keiko, a twelve-passenger aluminum craft. Trip 1, 5/29, Toured some of Haro Strait on BC side and San Juan Island, Speiden Island, Waldron Island, etc. on WA State side. Followed a six-member Orca family including 2 small fry. Adrian took us to Speiden Island so we could nesting Bald Eagles, and a deer family including fawn. Also saw Stellar Sea Lions and Harbor Seal. Toured others islands to visit nesting seabirds andHarbor Seal haul-outs.

Two days later, 5/31 Whale Watch trip #2, Again with Adrian. Close in, saw two pods of six to eight Orcas that eventually split up. Again Adrian took us to Speiden Island. Saw Bald Eagles, Deer, Mink, Turkey Vultures. Touring other islands we saw Stellar Sea Lions and Harbor Seals. Late in the game Adrian got a call that took us to Pender Island with the express purpose of viewing Pacific White-Sided Dolphins extending the trip by half-an-hour. A large pod of twelve to sixteen. A rowdy bunch.

Enjoyed both trips more than we hoped to. Would book with Adrian in a heartbeat. He is pleasant, knowledgable and obviously committed to the eco-system that sustains these...

Minke whales spotted several times. This big guy appeared the most. They are just a glimpse and far away. My iPhone screenshot isn’t high quality but I tried a screenshot of my chance video. These whales aren’t jumping or flapping their tales but the thrill and excitement of witnessing these creatures is amazing. Our Captain, Cal, was excited to educate us on the elusive Minke whale. Minke whales were underwater rounding up schools of fish to the top. Then they skim along in a shallow dive to eat them. We’d get a glimpse of something black and huge shallow diving. It’s rare to see these types of whales. Also, There’s laws of distance in 🇨🇦 with huge fines. We were in 🇺🇸 water but Canadian boats still have a strong code of conduct. We were in the area awhile with everyone scanning. There it is!! didn’t allow people to know if that meant left? or right? We quickly devised a yelling of “right!” “Left” 😂 There were harbour porpoises here and there, but they travel solo. I did see 2 little black shallow dives as they “porpoised” and those are really elusive and small to video. They are in the memory...