We are Captains. Naturalists. Skippers. We are Prince of Whales.
We never know what we are going to find and we look for all of it. We get a lot of people that come out with us multiple times and it doesn’t get any less interesting.
It’s not just about the wild life it’s about everything we have out here, it’s an entire experience and I love being part of that.
Captain
Everyday is special watching these whales in their natural environment. I love working with whales it’s a real passion of mine. I knew from an early age that I was interested in marine biology. We have guests on our boats, it’s on their bucket list to see killer whales or humpback whales. I’ve had guests come to tears from the sheer beauty of what they are seeing. It’s pretty special and it makes you feel pretty good about your job. It’s just a lot of fun to be apart of.
Naturalist
Everyone that steps on the boat is really interested in whales. As a teacher on a floating classroom, my class is completely engaged so it’s a lot of fun for me. It’s really exciting for me to make science accessible to people who don’t necessarily have a science background. Generally we look for the killer whales first, that’s our priority, that’s what people come to this coast to see. Once we found those animals, then we widen our search. We’ll hit up some areas we know seals and sea lions like to hang out. For the birders onboard we look for bald eagles and wide variety of marine birds. We never know what we are going to find and we look for all of it.
Skipper
Some people it’s their life long dream to see a killer whale or humpback whale and be able to share that with people I feel really lucky. I help by keeping track of the different whales through identification, share my information with the centre for whale research, as well as Fisheries and Oceans Canada. We have a comprehensive photo catalogs of all our southern resident killer whales that eat the salmon. As well as, our big transient whales that eat the marine mammals. Each animal that we see out there we know, so we can share that information with our guests. Sometimes we know where the whales are, may get a tip from a fisherman, may have a sighting from a ferry captain, sometimes it’s dumb luck, sometimes it’s a good educated guess.