Whales & Totems Sailing

We highly recommend arriving the day prior to the tour start and staying overnight at accommodation of your choice in either Port McNeill or Port Hardy. This ensures the group departs on time as there can be unforeseen weather delays when travelling in coastal regions.

The Port Hardy airport is the closest airport to Port McNeill for those flying in from Vancouver. From the Port Hardy airport, it is about a 35-minute taxi ride to Port McNeill.

For those who wish to drive from Nanaimo or Victoria, it is approximately a 4-hour drive from Nanaimo’s Departure Bay ferry terminal, or a 5.5-hour drive from Victoria’s Swartz Bay ferry terminal, which will take you through Campbell River and some beautiful parts of Vancouver Island.

This tour starts and finishes in Port McNeill, BC. Guests will be met by crew in the morning at the top of North Island Marina. Upon boarding the vessel, cabins will be assigned, and an introductory safety briefing will be completed.

From Port McNeill, we quickly escape from civilization into a land of old growth forests, rugged archipelagos, cozy anchorages, and amazing wildlife.

There will be plenty of time to explore the protected waters using our stable sea-kayaks – the perfect way to start or finish the day. Each night we anchor in a different, secluded anchorage. During our daily shore or small boat excursions our onboard naturalist will help identify different coastal plants, animals, birds, and marine life. Interested participants can help keep a species list for the tour.

Our focus these days will be on the waters of Johnstone Strait, Blackfish Sound, and Queen Charlotte Strait where we hope to encounter whales. Two species of Orca can be spotted in these waters: Northern Resident Orca which eat salmon, and Bigg’s (transient) Orca which hunt marine mammals. In addition, keep watch for the larger blow of a humpback whale – their population has made a significant comeback to these waters during the last decade, and they are known to feed well into fall on the BC coast before their migration south.

If we’re lucky, we may see some exciting behaviours, such as foraging, spy-hopping, and breaching (leaping clear of the water). Guests will learn about the behaviour of these fascinating creatures, learn how to identify individual animals, and potentially listen to them calling on the ship’s underwater microphone.

Walks in the coastal temperate rainforest provide opportunities to witness how giant British Columbia’s coastal trees can get! The coastal forest ecosystems are busy and productive with many species to investigate. With a good low tide, we can also search the shoreline for colourful sea stars, sea anemones, and other intertidal life. Although we mostly travel in protected waters, we hope for a steady wind to raise the sails and enjoy the silence and serenity of nature.

We will spend time navigating the labyrinth of undeveloped islands of the Broughton Archipelago Marine Provincial Park, exploring for different species of marine mammals, exploring remote beaches, and observing a variety of sea bird species, such as rhinoceros auklets, black oyster catchers, pigeon guillemots, glaucous-winged gulls, harlequin ducks, bald eagles, and many others. The Broughton Archipelago is home to Steller sea lions – an inquisitive species that are expert, deep-water predators with lively haul-outs. These large pinnipeds feed opportunistically on a wide variety of fish and cephalopod species.

We will visit the modern Kwakwaka’wakw community of Alert Bay to visit the U’Mista Cultural Centre to explore the art and culture of the Kwakwaka’wakw people. A feature of the U’mista Cultural Centre’s display is the impressive “Potlatch Collection” featuring masks and regalia which were confiscated in 1921. The potlatch was banned in Canada between 1885 and 1951, and the Kwakwaka’wakw people fought for decades for the return of these sacred items. U’Mista means “the return of something important”.

At the entrance to Knight Inlet lies the abandoned Mamalilikulla village of ‘Mimkwamlis. Located on Village Island, ‘Mimkwamlis means “village with rocks and island out front”. Historically the main winter village for the Nation and the location of the Mamalilikulla creation story, the village was occupied until 1972 when the effects of colonization eventually pushed its residents away. Time permitting and with permission from the Mamalilikulla Nation, we may explore this village site to discover evidence of an ancient and rich heritage.

We return to Port McNeill late morning to complete our voyage. Guests can plan to catch afternoon flights departing from Port Hardy back to Vancouver.

You may wish to extend your visit to Northern Vancouver Island and explore the local area. Port McNeill is ideally situated with ferry access to Sointula and Alert Bay. Sointula, meaning “harmony” in Finnish, was established at the turn of the century by Finnish pioneers with a utopian dream. During our voyage we will be visiting the U’Mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay; however, some may find it worth the extra visit. There is a lovely boardwalk trail around a bog where you can enjoy interesting vegetation, bird watching, and photography. Locals refer to it as ‘Gator Gardens’ – however, the name doesn’t do it justice.