After a smooth crossing of Hecate Strait from Haida Gwaii, we have entered Canada's Inside Passage, the largely protected waterway that winds between the country’s western islands and its mainland. We scarcely even remember the rains of Alaska, as today was another bright and brilliant day. We awoke off the abandoned cannery of Butedale next to a large cascade. Once, this coast was dotted with salmon canneries and herring salteries (where herring were salted and put into barrels). Now, they have fallen into ruin. Wild and farm-raised salmon (British Columbia produces both) are flash frozen and shipped to markets at home and abroad.
As we continued south, we began to see the spouts of humpback whales rising into the clear air. It began with isolated individuals hard against the shoreline, but soon we found a series of spouts close together. The water was filled with debris washed into the ocean by a recent rainfall, and the whales were aggregating where the debris had gathered into drift lines by currents. Eight whales seemed to be working the drift lines, up and back, oblivious to our presence, blowing huge mists of spray that seemed to hang forever in the still air. After a series of breaths, each whale raised its flukes as it dove into the clear water in search of prey. Over and over, the process was repeated, as each whale added to the store of blubber that must see it through the coming winter. Unlike the humpback whales of Alaska, which travel to Hawaii, the humpbacks of British Columbia and Washington head for Mexico when their summer feeding is done, so these same whales might be encountered by the National Geographic Sea Bird this coming winter in Baja California.
Our afternoon was spent cruising through the scenic grandeur of British Columbia, following the wandering waterway. It was a fine afternoon to take in the sun on the foredeck, all the while watching for wildlife.
