Our new sunset cruise was one for the ages on July 17th. We set off just as the sun was beginning to turn the sky orange and pink. Shortly after passing the Steveston jetty, we encountered a humpback whale. Our passengers watched in happy surprise as the humpback fluked, showing off its huge tail, tinged orange by the setting sun. We later identified this whale as BCX2499 Forge.
We were already ecstatic to have come across a humpback whale unexpectedly, but that wasn’t the end of our surprises for the evening! As we admired the sky and travelled further across the Strait of Georgia, we encountered six Bigg’s killer whales. Four of these whales included the T123s, and all of the guests were impressed by the size of 26-year old T123A Stanley. Stanley is named after Stanley Park in Vancouver.
It wasn’t long after we arrived that we witnessed the killer whales begin a hunt. A harbour porpoise flew out of the water, with Stanley and his mother T123 Sidney in hot pursuit. It was magical watching the killer whales chase after their dinner while the sun dipped below the horizon.
While it’s important to emphasize that there are no wildlife guarantees for our summer sunset cruise, this particular tour highlights how sometimes you can get lucky in a short timespan.