Welcome to our online journal! Here you will discover weekly narratives on the latest from the marine research we fund, the awe-inspiring innovation behind our vessels, the efforts we make to conserve and safeguard our coast, hilarious throwbacks from more than 25-years of history, and awe-inspiring sights from the Strait of Juan De Fuca, Haro Strait, the Strait of Georgia, and Johnstone Strait.
This is your behind-the-scenes, all-access pass to Prince of Whales Whale & Marine Wildlife Adventures!
Telegraph Cove Resort, a picturesque destination on the northeast coast of Vancouver Island, has teamed up with Prince of Whales Whale & Marine Wildlife Adventures to enhance marine wildlife habitat and research while providing greater opportunities for outstanding eco-tourism. Resort owners Gordie and Marilyn Graham have welcomed one of the province’s largest and most-respected whale… Read more »
Taking a bold environmental stance in response to the ever-expanding conservation research, the City of Vancouver has announced a ban on plastic straws. This proclamation comes in lockstep with World Oceans Day, a global awareness day with an annually rotating theme. In 2018, that theme is the accumulation of plastic in our big blue.
The Pacific Northwest is known for the ethereal beauty of its great outdoors. The abrupt summits and serene waters intersect with hues of luminous greens and deep blues––of the like to inspire one of the great artists of our time: Emily Carr. However, unlike the equally stunning landscapes of far-flung regions like Madagascar, the Congo, or Costa Rica, our wildlife get less of the global limelight.
Marine Conservation. Ecology Preservation. Sometimes it’s difficult to see these words as more than mere catchphrases. But we’ve grown to believe in the genuine meaning behind them. When your days are spent on the water, you not only develop a relationship with the life below you, but a love for the environment that encompasses that marine life.
Prince of Whales Whale Watching is constantly searching for ways to update its vessels and lead in innovation. Its newest in-operation vessel, the Salish Sea Dream was fitted with jets in place of props to propel it on the water safely and efficiently.
As the legend goes, John Wayne used to venture to this beautiful island with his Seattle-based hunting pals to stalk ‘wild’ big game on their newly claimed geographic spoil. Many say that giraffe, tigers, and kangaroos were brought to the island by these adventurists as they sought to create an exotic land that was near to home.
As the first month of the 2018 Prince of Whales Whale Watching season entered into full force, excitement was abuzz around the office. Sperm Whales haven’t been spotted in B.C.’s coastal waters since 1984, but rumours had surfaced that one was cruising in the Johnstone Strait.
We’ve got an exciting summer ahead of us! This year, Prince of Whales Whale Watching enters its 25th year of eco-adventure tourism and Whale Watching on the coastal waters of BC.
Today we celebrate International Women’s Day, a worldwide initiative to recognize women for their achievements, regardless of their area of expertise. Women play an important role in every sector and walk of life, and today is the day that we take a moment to acknowledge the vital role that humans who identify as women play… Read more »
VICTORIA – The Salish Sea Dream, Prince of Whales’ new $3.5 million environmentally-friendly custom-built catamaran has had such a successful inaugural season running unique whale watching day trips between Vancouver and Victoria and Victoria and Butchart Gardens, that the company has just placed an order for another state-of-the-art ship that will be even more environmentally… Read more »
To whale watching professionals, she is known as Big Mama; to passengers, she is a blow and a pair of flukes; and to the ecosystem, she’s a game-changer. Prince of Whales Whale Watching is thrilled to confirm, once again, the arrival of a famous humpback whale, to the interior waters of Southern British Columbia and… Read more »
As the legend goes, John Wayne used to venture to this beautiful island with his Seattle-based hunting pals to stalk ‘wild’ big game on their newly claimed geographic spoil. Many say that giraffe, tigers, and kangaroos were brought to the island by these adventurists as they sought to create an exotic land that was near to home.
As the first month of the 2018 Prince of Whales Whale Watching season entered into full force, excitement was abuzz around the office. Sperm Whales haven’t been spotted in B.C.’s coastal waters since 1984, but rumours had surfaced that one was cruising in the Johnstone Strait.
VICTORIA – The Salish Sea Dream, Prince of Whales’ new $3.5 million environmentally-friendly custom-built catamaran has had such a successful inaugural season running unique whale watching day trips between Vancouver and Victoria and Victoria and Butchart Gardens, that the company has just placed an order for another state-of-the-art ship that will be even more environmentally… Read more »
To whale watching professionals, she is known as Big Mama; to passengers, she is a blow and a pair of flukes; and to the ecosystem, she’s a game-changer. Prince of Whales Whale Watching is thrilled to confirm, once again, the arrival of a famous humpback whale, to the interior waters of Southern British Columbia and… Read more »
When you think about the first of October, you probably think about beautiful fall colours, pumpkins, crisp weather, and Thanksgiving and Halloween just around the corner. You probably don’t think about whale watching. But that’s a mistake! It’s a common misconception that whale watchers stop operating over the winter because the whales leave the area.… Read more »
When a whale plays with kelp, it’s called kelping. When a whale swims like a shark, it’s called sharking. When a whale jumps like a porpoise it’s called porposing. And what do you think it’s called when a whale bobs at the surface like a log? You guessed it! Logging. Whale people it seems, are… Read more »
June is off to a killer start (pun intended)! As the unofficial start to our peak season, everyone has high expectations for the beginning of June, and 2016 did not disappoint. The steady increase of transient orca over the past years has not abated; sightings that used to feel like a rare treat, or an… Read more »
Ah 2016; off to an exciting, windy, and cold start as always, but we’ve got a spring in our step with spring in our sites. Winter whale and wildlife watching (in addition to allowing admirable alliteration) is not for the faint of heart. Charging out into the great unknown with a 30-50% chance of finding… Read more »
It seems cliché to start a post with “WOW,” but sometimes even those of us with a preclusion to prose are left speechless by the circumstances. How do you summarize a year in 600 words? Most of the time you can’t, and you just shouldn’t even try, but 2015 was so spectacular, so uplifting and… Read more »
What a week of wild weather! Wind to start, rain the finish, and whales in between. This week started out with some crazy wind that caused the cancellation of a few afternoon trips, as well as several Harbour Air flights. We soaked a few boatloads of passengers, but no one was worse for wear, just… Read more »
We had another gorgeous week this week, with killer whales and/or humpbacks stealing the scene. While it was “and” more than “or”, there was a day or two where the killer whales failed to make an appearance, but the humpbacks more than made up for their absence. We’ve been seeing a lot of “X” humpbacks… Read more »
If you’re a regular reader of mine (I know there’s a few of your out there!) you’ll remember last week I talked about how, this time of year “we settle into a lovely consistency. The search for whales is not frantic, but more of a casual stroll, with whales almost around every corner.” This held… Read more »
Helllllllo summer! Wow! What a week! Resident killer whales every day, doing the San Juan shuffle, and humpbacks and minke whales coming out of the woodwork left, right, and centre. The days of multi-species trips are upon us! This is actually early in the season for such a high success rate involving multiple species. Usually… Read more »
My apologies for doubling up on the sightings reports this week, there’s just too many good sightings to talk about! The last few days have been all killer whales, all the time! We had several days of both residents AND transients, with a humpback or two thrown in for good measure. We’ve also seen whales… Read more »
As June winds down, it’s time start thinking about reflecting on what this month has been like, and as you can imagine, these things can be tough to sum up. This June has exceptional and exceptionally average in a few different ways. What could I possibly mean by that? Well each month has a few… Read more »
This week saw the return of L-pod, hopefully for the long term, which is our largest family in the Southern Resident Killer Whale community. Up until this point we had only seen J-pod, and two brief visits from L-pod last week. And there were members of K-pod mixed in there as well! We don’t have… Read more »
All killer whales, all week again! June is off to a great start with both ecotypes of killer whales making strong appearances, and the odd humpback and Minke whale showing their smiling baleen faces. The residents seem to have started to settle into their favourite summer spots. J-pod were often hanging out by San Juan… Read more »
My apologies for a slight delay in the sightings report this week. Starting now, weekly sighting reports will be sent out on Saturday afternoons. All I can say about this week is wow. The killer whales dominated the waves, with almost equal reports of residents and transients, although there were a couple days spent with… Read more »
The revolving door continued this week with transient orca and humpbacks dominating early on, and residents returning to the area for May long weekend! The same four humpbacks we’ve been seeing lately were enjoying what has become a common feeding spot for them. They are liking the northern end of our range, occasionally meaning that… Read more »
Another solid week in the Salish Sea, this week had a large percentage of single animal sightings; a humpback here, transient male orca there, grey whale over here. Later in the week our favourite humpback, Big Mama, broke the trend and joined up with a lesser known animal, Windy. You might notice some whales have friendly names, while others we just refer to using seemingly random letters and numbers.… Read more »
Man, I swear all the cetaceans in the Salish Sea are in cahoots. It’s like they’re in a revolving door. We just keep seeing different things every day! Residents, transients, humpbacks, residents, humpback, transients, Pacific white-sided dolphins (they showed up randomly on the 28th), transients, residents, humpback, transients. It’s nuts! J-pod left the area on… Read more »
The last couple of weeks have been amazingly steady, especially for April, and things don’t show any signs of slowing down. Our current whale sighting success rate is between 86-92% depending if you look at individual trips, or days. Of course, recent sightings have almost nothing to do with future sightings because things can change… Read more »
What a week it’s been! Ocean Magic II is back on the water, and I’m back doing my First Mate thing! After a few months away seeing what marine life South East Asia has to offer (think manta rays, sea turtles, and more tropical fish than anyone could ever count) I am THRILLED to be… Read more »
The last week and a half has been incredible. J-Pod has been in the area on and off, and there have been tons of Transient Killer Whales around as well! The Ocean Magic II started off whale watching season “officially” on Wednesday, with a visit to see the T36 and T37s just south of Victoria.… Read more »
Spring break is a busy time for us, and it’s always so wonderful to see so many young people visiting the city with their families! These last few weeks have been delightful on the water (when the weather is being our friend, that is!). Spring whale watching is a blast because, with each sighting, you… Read more »
“Be a Tourist In Your Own Hometown” was a huge success this year. In the past, the event only ran for one weekend, but this year it was extended to last 11 days. As one of the attractions who took part in this extension, we offered whale watching for $50 per person for the whole… Read more »
I had to pinch myself a few times this week, because it could literally pass as April. Red Fish Blue Fish is open again, and the harbour has begun buzzing. Hotels are even selling out midweek! It’s crazy! Here is what has happened over the last week: *DISCLAIMER: READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH AT YOUR OWN… Read more »
On Sunday afternoon Skipper Mark Malleson (aka Mallard) departed with a full boat holding 12 eager guests. They started their trip by heading west from Victoria, cruising past East Sooke Park, and continuing on to an area which is a personal favorite for Mark and an area that is often reliable for fall killer whale… Read more »
Hello! Claire Butterfield here. I am filling in for our wonderful blogger Jen Dickson today, as she has gone to see wildlife in a number of tropical places for the next two months. However, do not fear; she will be back in full force come April 4th (which, oddly enough, is the first day that… Read more »
Keeping you guys informed on our whale sightings is definitely one of the best parts of my job, and today is no exception. (Although, who am I kidding, I whale watch for a living, every part of my job is awesome!) We had a fabulous winter wildlife tour out this week. Skipper Mark took 8… Read more »
We’ve got quite a lot to report this week so I’m just gonna dive right in! While last week’s sightings were dominated by humpbacks, this week it was all about the killer whales! And not the transients, whom we normally spend more time looking for in the winter months, but our resident orca! On Thursday… Read more »
Happy 2015! This year has already started out with a bang. We’re sitting at a 100% success rate for 2015! Ok, I know, six days in, that’s not all that impressive, but we like to be optimistic. We’ve had two trips out and both of them were treated to a spectacular look at humpback whales!
So I got very excited last week (it happens a lot when it comes to whales and me, I think I’m in the right line of work). I just had to tell you guys about the SUPER POD! Last Wednesday, November 26th, Skipper Mark took a zodiac of excited passengers out into the middle of nowhere.… Read more »
Ok ok ok! I know I said there wouldn’t be daily reports anymore, but this one is barely a report. Just a little baby snippet, because I couldn’t resist. We found killer whales today! This fact, in and of itself, is not that spectacular. Exciting, wonderful, and awesome, yes. But crazy out of the ordinary? No.… Read more »
Wow, this year just won’t quit! Even as the quantity of our trips slows down for the season, the quality remains top notch. We’ve seenwhales on every trip we’ve taken out in November! That’s just bonkers. A little summary of the last week for you: Weekends tend to be our most popular time, and on… Read more »
It was with some quiet and serene passengers that Mark plunged into the unknown this morning. The sky was clear, but the waves were sizable, so Mark opted to stick to calmer water and man, did it pay off! We work very closely with other companies on the water in order to locate whales. No… Read more »
The weather was confused again today. We had rain in the morning and incredible sunshine in the afternoon. The water was super calm; we had no winds forecast over 5kts! Jeff, Matt and I took Ocean Magic II out at 12:30pm to grey skies and flat water. We left a little late to accommodate a couple… Read more »
Today Ocean Magic II had the pleasure of embarking on a special charter. We were out at 1pm and had an action packed trip! It was me and the boys today! The crew included Captain Jeff, me as First Mate, and Naturalists Matt and Rowan, as well as our Photographer Marie. As always, we work… Read more »
Ocean Magic II was all alone on the water today. We had the ocean all to ourselves! While we heard about some other companies going out later this afternoon, at 12:15pm we were literally the only whale watching boat on the water. But this time of year, that’s no problem. Jeff, Matt and I know… Read more »
We went both east and west today, and found humpbacks everywhere! It’s really quite a feeling in October to go out, and basically assume that you’re going to find whales. We never take whales for granted. We know they can disappear at any moment. They can take off and disappear for days or weeks at… Read more »
Guess what? More humpbacks today! We had some…interesting conditions to deal with on the water, but our big boat full of gung-ho passengers appreciated the adventure (or was it the hot chocolate?). It was with a light sprinkling of rain that Jeff, Casey, Andrea, and I, aboard Ocean Magic II, made our way through the calm… Read more »
Another gorgeous whale filled day out there! Things are a little chilly on the water nowadays, but the hot chocolate on Ocean Magic II makes it all better. And cold water is actually more productive than warm water, so we have these chilly days to thank for the astounding variety of wildlife we are so… Read more »
Guess what? More humpbacks today! Between Mark’s zodiac trip at 12:30 and Ocean Magic II’s 12:15 trip with Jeff, Matt and I, we saw at least 12 different whales! Peak humpback season is still in full swing as we approach the end of October. These guys are obviously finding some good feeding areas and filling… Read more »
Humpback peak season is still in full swing! Today was all about our giant cetaceans! I had a little vacation this weekend, and wouldn’t you know it, we had some of the best sightings of the year! We had transient killer whales investigating Ocean Magic II, humpbacks breaching, and yesterday we watched members of L-pod!… Read more »
Humpbacks humpbacks humpbacks! All the humpbacks were out today. We had a busy day for nearing the end of peak season. Ocean Magic II went out at 12:15pm with Jeff, myself, and Rowan aboard (as well as photographer Marie O’Shaughnessy!), and we had 4 zodiacs! Mark was out at 11am, Rush at 12, and Matt and Rhonda… Read more »
Really exceptional day on the water today. Ocean Magic II was out at 9am today with crew Jeff, myself and Matt. We went up Haro Strait to investigate reports of transient killer whales at San Juan Island, and a humpback at Spieden Island. Our first stop took us to Spieden Island itself. There is a very dense collection of exotic animals on Spieden left over from an ill-fated hunting reserve… Read more »
Holy smokes guys, today was awesome. No fog, almost no rain, and no wind so it was flat calm! We all went for midday departures today, Rush and Matt departed at 11 and 12 respectively, and Ocean Magic II at her usual time slot of 12:15pm. We had a fantastic crew aboard today, Captain Jeff, First Mate Casey, and Claire and myself naturalizing. Rush was ecstatic when he returned to the office from his trip. He… Read more »
Probably the most common question we get while booking people in the office is “is there a better time of day to see whales?” The whales were all over this place today, and it really proved that it doesn’t matter what time you go. Check out last month’s blog post for a summary of when/why we do and don’t… Read more »
Guess what?! No fog today! Ok, that’s not entirely true, we had some fog in the morning, but it dissipated quickly and didn’t stop us finding whales. We had an amazing day both on the water and in the office; lots of people walking in today. We managed to send six zodiacs as well as an Ocean Magic II trip! Mark was first… Read more »
I’ve figured out why it’s been so foggy recently! The fog lends itself to a spooky atmosphere; obviously Mother Nature is just trying to get on board with Hallowe’en a little early. Props Mama N, well played. While the fog can throw a wrench in our plans sometimes, we always go out because you just never know what it’s going to look like until you get out… Read more »
It’s only fitting that we should find more humpback whales on Hump Day! We had some tricky conditions again this morning in the fog but rest assured, if there’s whales out there, we will find them! First out at was Mark on a 10am zodiac, followed by Rush at 12pm and Jeff, myself and Matt on Ocean Magic II at 3:30pm. We all caught up with the same pair of humpback whales hanging out… Read more »
All about the humpbacks today, and every trip saw different whales! Conditions were flat calm again today, and that beautiful warm weather did result in a little fog, but we managed just fine and put together 4 amazing trips today. Mark was first out at 11, followed by Rush at 12, Ocean Magic II with Jeff, myself and Matt at 1pm, and Mark again at 3pm. Mark followed reports of a couple of humpback whales just south of Race… Read more »
Tricky conditions out there today. The water was gorgeous and flat calm. The air however…. We struggled with fog throughout the day. Fog is a fascinating and ever changing beast that really needs to be experienced to be appreciated. For what it’s worth we had very interesting fog today; all sorts of different kinds. There was thick fog, thin fog, patchy fog, high… Read more »
So, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but apparently July is trying to give it another go. I guess summer didn’t get the memo, cause today felt like peak season out there! The whales just won’t quit, and when the weather forgets what season it is, you’ve got the makings of an unbelievably epic day. So epic that Rush had… Read more »
Flat calm and whales swimming along. It was a lovely day on the water today with incredibly smooth conditions and action packed trips all day! Everybody had two trips today with Mark out at 10 and 2, Rush at 11 and 3 and Ocean Magic II with Jeff, me, Casey and Matt at 12:15 and 3:30. Yesterday we picked up our resident killers whales hanging out around… Read more »
To quote myself on twitter: Humpback, orca, dolphins, orca, humpbacks, turkey vultures, harbour/elephant seals, California/Steller sea lions. In that order, on one trip. Phew! Let me take you through it. Ocean Magic II was first out at 12:15pm sporting an awesome crew of Captain Jeff, First Mate me, and Naturalists Matt and Rowan. We’d heard about some resident killer whales in Juan de Fuca Strait, which is… Read more »
It was another breezy but beautiful day on the water today. We had the whole fleet out at 12pm to investigate more reports than we knew what to do with! Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great dilemma to have, but when you have reports of a humpback whale and white sided dolphins in one direction, and killer whales in the opposite direction, it was can be… Read more »
Today really made me realize how spoiled we’ve been lately. I haven’t been on the boat during rough weather in what feels like months (though it’s probably more like weeks), but today the ocean reminded us that she’s a force to be reckoned with. Conditions weren’t rough enough to keep us off the water, and the sunshine and whales made for a beautiful morning, it just took a… Read more »
Another beautiful, rainless day on the water today, despite the weather forecast’s attempt to thwart us! These cloudy days are great because everyone is well dressed given that it’s cooler on land, so passengers end up being very comfortable on the open water. When it’s gorgeous and sunny, people tend to underestimate the temperature drop on the water and end up… Read more »
I can die now. I didn’t realize my life would change after seeing a pod of 100 pacific white-sided dolphins but you can’t just walk away unaltered after witnessing what I saw today. Oh shoot, I spoiled the surprise! Well there you have it, we saw around 100 Pacific white-sided dolphins today! I often have passengers tell me that their… Read more »
I’ll have to look through the books to confirm this statement, but my gut tells me today may have been the widest variety of cetaceans we’ve seen this year. Maybe ever! I know, I know, that’s quite the declaration but hear me out. This morning Mark was out at 9:30 and he followed reports of resident killer whales way out west. As the day wore… Read more »
Resident killer whales, as I have often said, are our bread and butter. We love our transients, and we love our humpbacks and grey whales, and porpoise (and man we have a lot of cetaceans!) but it’s the rezzies that people come from all over the world to see. And today was all about the residents. A few members of J-pod had been sticking around the… Read more »
Residents in the morning and humpbacks in the afternoon. Sounds like September to me! The rain didn’t stop us today, and despite the grey skies conditions were beautiful on the water. Flat as could be, and completely still, not a breath of wind. It was surreal. Mark was first out on the zodiacs and went bombing out west to catch up with the resident killer whales as they… Read more »
As I’ve alluded to in the past, the other marine staff (zodiac skippers and Ocean Magic crew) leave me notes from their trips throughout the day so I can summarize all of our sightings and put them in these reports for you. Obviously things are different every day and some people inevitably have better days than others, but I think today was… Read more »
Well I’m back after a little vacation (shout out to Rifflandia!) and could not have asked for a better welcome back party. Incredible conditions, and different whales on almost every trip! The Vancouver boat, Ocean Magic, had a spectacular crossing on the Georgia Strait, which is not known for its calm waters. Wilma said it… Read more »
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