chuckography

The Prince of Whales....

Actually I did NOT chose this particular whale watching company with the cutesy name.

But, as promised, here are some pictures from my expedition.

The first few sightings were pretty far away.

But soon, our skipper found us a large pod of killer whales and we darted around and among them.

Man! They displace a LOT of water! Much larger than the Sea World version I had seen before.

These were in a much bigger "tank."

On this high speed tour boat we were issued warm "safety suits."

It was a nice sunny morning but once we cleared the harbour and the throttle was pushed forward, they felt good.

We also were shown where all the life vests and rafts were stored.

Apparently whale watcher captains share among themselves where and what they have found.

The radio stayed busy as we sped south of the island looking for targets.

When you get closer, the Orcas give away their positions as they spray air and water when they come to the surface.

We were told when we can see the tail in the air, the whales are heading into a deep dive and may stay under 8-10 minutes or longer.

When the head pops up, they are doing a "Spy Hop" to check out what's happening on the surface.

I know a lot more about whales now. And seals.

On the return, our boat slowed and drifted close to a small island with a lighthouse.

What had looked like brown rocks from afar, turned out to be huge seals. Hundreds. Moving around and barking.

There was an explanation about migration - some go up to Alaska, others down to Mexico - but apparently the females stay near the newborns and all these guys come back to places like this and near San Francisco.



 I guess our boat coming closer triggered a herd reaction and it seemed that they all dove in at once.

The skipper kept a distance as the barking seals swam our way.

Our several hours at sea were just about to end and I realized that as some point we had wandered in and out of U.S. waters.

My Smartphone lighted up and I could receive emails without being in a Canadian place with WiFi.

The engines were kicked into high gear and we hunkered down in our warm clothing.

We were heading home. (Click on the photos for more details.)

The Canadian adventure was concluding but I still want to share the swaying motion one feels on a long, long, rope suspension bridge.

We stepped out onto the Capilano Bridge after a ferry trip over to North Vancouver and a ride on a city transit bus to a tree-filled dell in the middle of a suburb.

Please stop by again.

We won't leave you hanging. Thanks.

Labels: barking seals, high speed motorboats, North Vancouver, Orca Killer whales, Please click http://photo.meetup.com/687., Prince of Whales, safety suits, Sea World, seals that growl like lions

posted by chuckography @ 8:03 PM