Sooke Coastal Explorations
Russ Nicks, owner of Sooke Coastal Explorations, invited us out for an afternoon of whale watching last weekend. Russ had earlier taken out a group of 9 and found 5 transient Orcas near the entrance to Sooke Harbour. They had enjoyed watching these magnificant creatures in their element as well as going to Race Rocks Eco-reserve to witness the many seals and sea lions.
We arrived at Sooke Harbour Resort and Marina around 2:30pm for our departure. We got suited up in our floater suits and headed down to “Sonar”, a sea-worthy rigid hull inflatable that was going to take us out on our 2-3 hour journey onto the Juan de Fuca Strait.
We enjoyed the drive out of Sooke Harbour. It’s a really interesting perspective seeing the lovely seaside town of Sooke from a vantage point not often seen. One can really appreciate the vast amounts of rolling hills and shoreline that surrounds our lovely home.
We headed towards Race Rocks and the word came over the VHF radio that the “t’s”, or transients, were now in Whirl Bay, near Race Rocks. A short 20 minute ride from the entrance of Sooke Harbour brought us past the famous East Sooke Park and the many fishing boats trolling for Salmon.
Once we arrived in Whirl Bay, we stopped the vessel and witnesses 6 large transients close to shore. As all whale watching vessels need to stay at least 100 yards off the pod to their side, we were quite easily able to see these beautiful mammals in their element. A sight one can barely describe over a blog posting.
After we had stayed out in our allowed time with the whales, because all operators must adhere to specific guidelines, we moved on to our other exciting part of the trip. A drive through Race Rocks lighthouse to see the many sea lions and seals. These animals were funny to watch, snorting and scratching themselves on the rocks. They paid no attention to the bring red boat floating down the swift current surrounding this lighthouse.
After our drive through Race Rocks it was time to head home. On the way back we saw a couple of Bald Eagles on Church Island.
Russ Nicks has a lot of insightful information about the various sea life and mammals seen on his eco-tours and I learned a lot about the animals that live in our area.
You certainly don’t need to be a tourist to enjoy this trip. Seeing the landscape from this side of ocean really takes your breath away and brings a sense of rejuvenation.
Be sure to check out the Sooke Coastal Explorations website. Russ puts his trips and adventures on his website blog as well as any photos taken on his various trips.
Here is a little video that we took of our time out. Unfortunately my video camera has a wider than normal lens and they appear much farther than what you would see with the naked eye.
For all your Sooke Region information, please be sure to check out the official Discover Sooke website.
Filed under: Discover Sooke Raves on May 1st, 2009
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