2012 June 2 | The Captain's Whale Blog!

T30′s near Chatham Island – Humpback just South of Clover Point !!!

Started the afternoon trip out at Race Rocks Lighthouse where we saw lots of Harbour Seals, half a dozen Elephant Seals, 10-15 California Sea Lions and one single Steller Sea Lion mixed in with the California’s !!! Great Sight. After 15 minutes cruising all around the rocks at Race we took off to the Northeast towards Constance Bank where we stumbled into BCZ 0298, a juvenile Humpback Whale that has been frequenting our waters for the past 6 years !!! The Humpback was only 1.7 nm South of Clover Point when we found him. The animal was doing shallow dives as it swam to the West towards VH Buoy. No tail was seen the entire time we were on scene However, the dorsal fin on “Split fin” gives away his exact identification. For many years, people referred to him as “Cleaver” as it almost looked like someone took a big meat cleaver and chopped his dorsal fin in half !!!! After a short visit with the Humpback Whale we continued Northeast through Oak Bay and ventured out into Haro Strait where we could see the fleet of boats near Johnstone Reef. For the remaining part of our whale watching tour we spent time with the Transient group of Killer Whales referred to as the T30′s !!! The animals swam slowly to the South towards Chatham Island and Fulford Reef. Once again the animals made a swift kill as we saw lots of Gulls flying overhead and making quick landings in the water to pick up scraps left behind from the Whales. We did not see any kind of chase or frantic swimming near the surface, so I am assuming they captured a small defenseless unlucky Harbour Seal. Great day on the water. Flat calm and sunny skies.