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Ocean Outfitters Tofino, BC, Canada
Spring 06
"A Whale Of A Tale"
Wow what a winter! The west coast was buffeted with one bad weather system after another but what about those beautiful warm sunny days in between. Those days were special days- they afforded us the opportunity to visit Hotsprings Cove! Yes, for the 4th winter in a row Ocean Outfitters operated our hotsprings tours YEAR ROUND on deluxe heated covered vessels. The off season is a great time to visit the hotsprings for many reasons, Tofino is stress free, the boats are heated and comfy, the sealions are frisky, the hotsprings are not busy and they are still HOT! We’ll be looking for you next winter.
Our busy spring and summer season is approaching quickly. It is always an exciting time as it also heralds the return of the whales. In early spring we will have 22,000 (give or take a few) migrating gray whales pass through Clayoquot Sound. Some of these whales will choose to stay within these feeding grounds throughout the summer. One particular gray whale named " 2 dot star" has been visitng this area for over 25 years, the skippers are quite familiar with him and will gladly point him out to you on each tour. In late may the humpback whales return from Hawaii and Mexico. These magnificent creatures can be spotted on almost every tour breaching, fluking, lunge feeding and spyhopping- truly an incredible sight! Last year we had a record number of humpback whales in Clayoquot Sound. Along with these whales come daily sightings of seaotters, sealions, seals and if you are lucky marauding transient killer whales!
Spring also brings with it an incredible amount of birdlife. The offshore bird sanctuary of Cleland Island is full of life with Marbled Murrelets, Oystercatchers, Sooty Shearwaters, Harlequins and our favorite, Tufted Puffins (they are soooo cute.) And according to local biologists there are only 6 -8 nesting pairs of Puffins on the west coast. Another special attraction is the resident eagles nest. In 2005 these eagles hatched two chicks in mid May they left the nest by mid August. Their parents have been living in the same nest since 1992, they have consistently hatched two eaglets a year since then. Did you know bald eagles mate for life - what an accomplishment!
Do you get seasick? Don’t worry we still have a boat tour for you! Our bearwatching tours commence late April when the bears come out from a sleepy slumber. These tours cruise the calm inlets around Meares Island ( no waves, no swells and no big seas) Every day on a low tide the bears come down to the exposed tidal area to forage for such beach delicacies as starfish, small crabs, kelp and sea grass - yummy! Since they do have poor eye sight we can gently nudge the boats close to the shore and quietly watch them munch away, it’s awesome.
Keep tuned for any upcoming events or specials we may be featuring!
Don’t forget the Pacific Rim Whale Festival is from March 11-19 2006 There will be many different events, slideshows, kids parade and lots of whales- See you there!
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