Tofino whale watching: A Foggy Adventure
by Todd Graham, Tofino
The sunrise revealed a thick fog bank stretching over the entire west coast of Vancouver Island. Our route plan, being determined by the weather conditions, had us leaving Tofino harbour bound for Cow Bay, a primary coastal feeding area for the Gray Whales.After travelling 10 nautical miles from Tofino by Zodiac in the fog I shut off the engine and asked everyone to listen carefully for signs of whales. "Woosh" – the sound of a blow, our first hint of the presence of a Gray Whale. Then the odour of the "Whale Breath" saturated us before we witnessed the grey-white back of the leviathan swimming towards us. We watched the whale surface again and dive into the kelp forest throwing it's fluke high into the air. The Bull Kelp forest of Cow Bay hosts the Gray's favorite food, 1000's of Mysits swarming around the sea floor.
The whale entertained us for another 45 minutes, then we headed out for the offshore bird sanctuary and sea lion rockery. While on route we were surprised by a pod of transient Orcas. They are the most exciting and intelligent of the animals that we observe on the Pacific coast off Tofino. The pod played with us for a half hour or so before disappearing into the thick coastal fog.
The fog lifted as we returned to the Tofino harbour revealing a beautiful day of sunshine, blue sky and the incredible rainforest of Meares Island. By the end of the tour we had seen everything. With the diversity of wildlife in Clayoquot Sound any given day has the potential to leave memories like this one.
Tofino Kayaking Articles
- A Foggy Adventure May 2002
- Don't be a Speedbump July 2002
- Excursion to Flower Rock April 2003
- Kayak: Keeping it Simple June 2002
- Kayak: Keeping it Together May 2006
- Kayak: Leadership July 2004
- Kayak: Leaving a Margin for Error September 2002
- Kayak: How Not To Do It January 2003
- Kayak: Playing in the Waves December 2003
- Kayak: Time Well Wasted August 2004
- Living Off the Land January 2003
- Tofino kayak: Paddling Basics April 2003
- Tofino kayaking: Paddle with Friends April 2003
- Paddling through the seasons October 2002
- The West was Never Won August 2002
- Staying out of Deep Trouble January 2008
- Tofino Kayak Tips: To roll or not to roll? August 2009
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A foggy adventure: An encounter with a gray whale and a pod of orcas outside of Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
