Ready for 2023!

2022 brought us lots of adventure and we hope 2023 will do the same! The Winter can be a challenging time as winds, rain and king tides make their appearance but we will always strive to make your trip happen if safe to do so! We do not charge for weather cancelations whether it’s us that makes the call or you!

As Spring approaches we look forward to a return to bear watching and an increase in gray whale sightings as well as the herring spawn which creates incredible scenes in the sound. Sea lions and eagles can be seen in abundance and turquoise waters are sure to amaze.

In the summer, remote drop offs at campsites are popular. The long time locals will have their favourite spots picked out and we are happy to take you there!

Some trips are subject to the Ahousaht Stewardship fee of $15/person/day. This especially applies to the Hotsprings Tour, camping and kayakers. We will be happy to direct you to where and how to pay this fee when you make your booking.

Happy adventuring!

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Gearing up for 2021!

We are excited to continue offering tours for the 2021 season! COVID definitely slowed us down in 2020 but allowed us the opportunity to build and move into our off grid cabin on Vargas Island! We hope to offer full day Cultural tours in the future which will include a visit to our home for a open fire salmon roast or crab cookout!

Our wildlife tours in 2021 look a little different due to COVID. Masks are required to be worn on the vessel and we will be sanitizing between each trip. We will only be taking passengers from a single family bubble on each trip, which means every single tour is a private tour!

Unfortunately the Hotsprings have not yet reopened but we will be running tours again if and when it does open to the public.

In the meantime, there is already plenty of wildlife in Clayoquot Sound. The first bears of the season have been seen and orcas, grey whales and humpback whales have been making regular appearances in our waters!

We look forward to getting you out for your custom Clayoquot Sound adventure!

T069 Orcas in Calmus Pass

On Wednesday as we were coming home to Ahousaht from Tofino,we were surprised by a pod of orcas surfacing along the shoreline on our starboard side.

They had been spotted earlier in the day but I hadn’t expected to find them so easily!

The lighting was perfect and we had a stunning west coast backdrop as the pod cut through the shortcut at Catface Rocks, something I have never seen before!

This is my favourite part of the coast… You just never know what you’re going to find!

Transients in Sydney Inlet

Jan. 6, 2018

Just because it’s winter, our “slow” season, doesn’t mean the waters of Clayoquot Sound are any less exciting. If anything, it’s more of an adventure and with fewer boats and travellers on the water, the experiences become even more magical and special, witnessed by just a very few lucky individuals.

This group of transients was made up of about 3 different pods. There were 16 whales altogether! We call large groups like this a “T-Party”! It was a magical cruise up and down Sydney Inlet as we followed the groups, likely scouting for seals or porpoise to munch on for lunch. The glassy conditions meant the water’s surface tension created a bubble over the whale’s heads when they surfaced and I finally got some spectacular photos I have been dreaming of for years!

Scroll down to see all the pics and check out the little calf featured in the last few shots!

 

~Every Day is a New Adventure~

Lunge Feeding Humpback Whale in Herbert Inlet

One of the most impressive sights in the ocean is a lunge feeding humpback. These magnificent animals can reach up to 16 meters in length. Their typical feeding pattern in our waters is to lunge at near surface schools of small feed material. This whale had a very predictable pattern of two-three surfacings and then a lunge. This whale was identified as CS178 (It’s actually identified twice within the Clayoquot Sound catalogue).

One nerve-wracking part of our encounter was how close the whale came to the Bawden Point fish farm. Alexandra Morton filmed small fry being eaten by farmed salmon and being attracted to the feed drifting from farm pens in 2016. Several humpbacks have been caught or killed by farm pens in BC waters in recent years. We were rather concerned that this could repeat itself based on the feeding patterns of this whale, but were very relieved when it moved around the pens and anchor lines to feed in another bay.

I will never forget this encounter. It’s rather disappointing that we didn’t get to share it with anyone! But thankfully, humpback whale sightings have been increasing in BC waters since their decline due to commercial whaling on the BC Coast. The Salish Sea and waters off Northern Vancouver Island now have year long humpback residents. This has increased the possibilities of boat strikes and entanglements, but BC has responded well and are looking out for our returning gentle giants. As we always should be.

Sunset Cruise

Coming back from Hotsprings Cove we swung wide (4 Miles offshore of Flores Island) to look for a pod of orca reported to be in the area. No whales to be found but that was alright – considering the phenomenal sunset we were able to watch from the open water!

Sharp Point, Hotsprings Cove

Sea Serpent design by George John on the front window of the Sweet Marie

Bear Watching in Clayoquot Sound

A surprise encounter on our way to Hotsprings Cove!

It was great to slowly idle along and watch this black bear forage along the seashore for crabs, starfish and berries. It is always a blessing to see wildlife in their element, especially when they let you into their world for a brief period.

A Quick Sample of What We’ve Been up to…

So many adventures lately from Hotsprings Cove to watching wolves on the shoreline… Even some bear watching (Minus the bears 😦 ). But we’ve had a ton of fun and so, I hope have our guests!

Taking off from the Ahousaht Harbour

Clayoquot Wilderness Resort from Bedwell Sound

Feeding gray whale in Cow Bay

Feeding gray whale in Cow Bay!

Sea Cows at Opitsaht

Outer Islet at Sunset

Whale Watching – March 18, 2016

We received a call from a local water taxi company that orcas were near Ahousaht. I was painting at the time when Lennie told me and I put down my brush – “Can we go?”

“Nah we can’t be wasting fuel on things like this any more”. He closed the door…. 1….2….3…  “Are you ready to go yet?” He asked with a chuckle. Lennies a jokester like that.

2 min later and we were running down the road. We made one stop to bang on a co-worker of mine’s door to see if they wanted to come too – No answer.

To the dock we went and headed out to find the whales. We joined up with the T11s north of Catface Rocks and followed them out around Monks Island and back in towards Hippie Point and Bedwell Sound.

They were switching between fast travel, long dive patterns, short dives and spreading out to hunt. It wasn’t long after they entered Bedwell Sound that they killed and ate a porpoise! The light was quickly fading though and we left them heading towards Rand Point, further into Bedwell Sound.

Clayoquot Sound Sightseeing Tour

We did a 45 min sightseeing tour of Clayoquot Sound yesterday. The breaks of sun lit up our waters like sapphire and mountains like emeralds…

Custom tours are ALWAYS an option to fit your budget and schedule. We will always do our best to work with you to fit your needs!

(Photo from a Hotsprings tour summer 2015. Photo by Marcie Callewaert)