John Harvey Photo

Hanson Island to Nigeil Island

Go to Slide Show Smaller Images




We knew today would be a big move day - we were moving the ship from Hanson Island to the top of the Vancouver Island.  We knew the Queen Charlotte Straight was a grate place to see whales and we were treated early.  Getting out of Hanson island we came upon a large pod of 30+ Orca's.

Pod of Female OrcasPod of Female OrcasFemale and Male Orca

The whales were staying mostly on the surface, breathing every 30 seconds or so.  One particularly curious whale came up to our boat and gave us a good looking over.  With a push of its powerful tail the whale dove underneath the boat and surfaced on the other side.

Female Orca Looking at Us

The Pod was going south (roughly toward Robson Bight) we were going North so we spit ways.    As we passed Malcome Island we saw a few single orca's with different behaviour than the pod we saw earlier - they were diving for about three minutes and then surfacing with for two breaths and then diving again.

Female Orca BlowingMale Orca Blowing

We continued driving North West when we noticed another visitor - a Coast Guard Zodiak!  The Coast Guard had picked up a faint distress call in our general direction and stopped to ask us if we had either seen the boat or heard more of the distress call.  Unfortunately we didn't see or hear the distress call so the Zodiak continued in it's search.

Coast Guard Zodiak ApproachingCoast Guard VisitingCoast Guard Zodiak Approaching

As we continued North West we passed a floating city - Carnival's Spirit.  This massive ship can carry 2,124 passengers - many more than the 12 passengers on the curve of time.  Most amazing - they have a water slide a luxury not available on the curve.  Of course their chance of seeing whales is pretty close to 0.

Carnival SpiritWater Slide On Carnival Spirit

We continued north - and passed Scarlett Point Lighthouse.  This light house is still manned.  It seems this light house was a gateway into the wilder part of the BC coast line.

Scarlett Point Lighthouse

We were generally looking for Sea Otters.  Sea otters are unfortunately pretty rare but Jan had heard that a group had migrated down to Hope island.  We figured that Shadwell passage (between Hope Island and Vansittart Island) would be a sheltered location for sea otters to call home.  We went out for a paddle to look for their little brown heads floating in the kelp.

Ruth and Bob KayakingRocky Landing on Vansittart Island

Ocean Caves on Vansittart IslandKayaking over Bullhead Kelp

Ruth Brought us back some samples!   She brought up a large piece of Giant Kelp (Giant Perennial Kelp) that had two snails on it - a Purple Ring Top Snail and a Black Turban (Black Tegula).  She also managed to find a number of shells - Purple Sea Urchin Shell, a Japanese (Northern) Abalone shell and Plate Limpet shell.  What's amazing about these samples is how long lived these animals (except the Urchin) can be - over 80 years each!

Purple Ring Top Snail on Giant KelpBlack Turban (Black Tegula)

Purple Sea Urchin ShellJapanese (Northern) Abalone and Plate Limpet

We moved the boat to protected harbour on Nigei Island and anchored for the night and prepared for our early departure the next morning.

Next: Namu



Female and Male Orca
Species: Orcinus orca (killer whale, orca)
Tags: BC fauna, marine mammal, whale
Male Orca Blowing
Species: Orcinus orca (killer whale, orca)
Tags: BC fauna, marine mammal, spout, whale
Japanese (Northern) Abalone and Plate Limpet
Tags: shell
Rocky Landing on Vansittart Island
Tags: coast, kelp
Scarlett Point Lighthouse
Location: Go To...
Tags: lighthouse
Female Orca Looking at Us
Species: Orcinus orca (killer whale, orca)
Tags: BC fauna, marine mammal, whale
Carnival Spirit
Tags: cruise ship, ship
Pod of Female Orcas
Species: Orcinus orca (killer whale, orca)
Tags: BC fauna, marine mammal
Purple Sea Urchin Shell
Tags: sea urchin, sea urchin test, shell
Water Slide On Carnival Spirit
Tags: cruise ship, ship
Black Turban (Black Tegula)
Tags: kelp, shell, snail
Coast Guard Visiting
Tags: boat
Purple Ring Top Snail on Giant Kelp
Tags: kelp, shell, snail
Pod of Female Orcas
Species: Orcinus orca (killer whale, orca)
Tags: BC fauna, dolphin, marine mammal, whale
Coast Guard Zodiak Approaching
Tags: boat
Kayaking over Bullhead Kelp
Tags: kayaking, kelp
Female Orca Blowing
Species: Orcinus orca (killer whale, orca)
Tags: BC fauna, marine mammal, spout, whale
Ocean Caves on Vansittart Island
Tags: coast
Ruth and Bob Kayaking
Tags: kayaking
Coast Guard Zodiak Approaching
Tags: boat
Tags: BC fauna(6), marine mammal(6), whale(5), kelp(4), shell(4), boat(3)
From: John Harvey Photo > Mid Coast of BC on the Curve of Time > Hanson Island to Nigeil Island
From: John Harvey Photo > John's Overnight Page > Mid Coast of BC on the Curve of Time > Hanson Island to Nigeil Island

Leave a Comment

Some HTML allowed: <b>, <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>, but most isn't.  Text length is limited.  comments from first time authors will be reviewed before being posted. comments with swearing or painfully poor spelling will probably be rejected.


Last Modified Saturday, January 21st, 2023 at 23:38:47 Edit
Copyright and Contact Information.