Category: Boat

TRANQUIL SPOT

Boat, Snow, Tofino Wildlife, Tranquil Creek

20161231-img_7276I was up in Tranquil creek camping.I was going to stay for four days but Mother Nature had other plans for me.The inlet started to freeze over,so I had to get out! The way it froze I found strange too? Normally a inlet or bay will begin to freeze first in the shallows at the far end & expand outwards down the inlet.It didn’t do that in Tranquil! It froze at the mouth first in deep water & expanded down the inlet!

I decided on New Years Eve morning to head over to another bay close by.(Rankin Cove)It use to be a logging camp but has long since been abandoned.On my way over I encountered the ice sheet covering the mouth! It was expansive! I would never of seen it from down at the end of the inlet.If I hadn’t of gone for that ride over to Rankin I would of been locked inside.I would had to of called the Coast Guard to come break a route out for me.An embarrassing situation to say the least.

I took this shot as I was heading out.A snow storm had just passed & coated the trees.It took me the better part of a hour to break through the ice to get out.Being in an inflatable boat & breaking through the ice is not for the faint of heart! I now am officially a “Ice Breaker” boat!

THE “NEW WHITE CLIFF”

Boat, Fishing Boat, Snow, Tofino Wildlife

20161223-img_6942

20161223-img_6938

20161223-img_6916

The weather couldn’t be any better today for getting out! Mind you a tad cool for zipping around in my boat!

I was down at the boat shed getting things organized to head when a local Native boat driver told me he had seen a Grey whale hanging around the NE corner of Vargas island! He suspected it might be a female & she could be giving birth? I had already planned to go all the way down Tofino inlet to the very end (Deer Bay) to visit with the local Trumpeters but decided to venture out to Vargas instead to see If I could find this whale?

It was perfect conditions for whale searching! It was calm on the water with no wind.Trying to find a whale isn’t the easiest thing to do.You never know where they are? When they surface,they exhale & breath in.This blowing produces a vapour cloud.If there was even a bit of wind,this vapour cloud would dissipate quickly.Making it hard to spot. But when there is no wind,these blows hang in the air.So If I’m looking somewhere else I can see these blows when I turn to look. I also shut the boat off & stand up.Keeping quiet is another good thing to do.You can hear these blows at a great distance & standing up gives me a better vantage point.

I gave myself 30 minutes time for searching.I did move around a bit to search the entire northern area of Vargas but alas could not find the Grey.

I returned to Tofino to visit with my fine feathered friends Maggie/Moe & Romeo/Juliette! I wished them well for the holidays after taking some great shots!

Merry Christmas to every single one of you! Romeo also says a Merry Christmas as well!

HARBOUR SNOW

4rth St. Dock, Boat, Fishing Boat, Snow, Tofino Wildlife

20161205-img_6271

A Arctic cold snap has descended upon us.Bringing cold temperatures……or at least cold for this area. I went down to Tranquil today.Didn’t see “Lippy” on Rankin rocks as I passed by.In fact,I didn’t see anybody around what so ever.No Seals,no Sea Lions. I bet the bait fish have left the inlet? If the food leaves,so do the predators.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Tranquil Trumpeters have arrived however! They weren’t there yesterday,so am assuming they arrived today?

Took a few scenery shots of Tranquil & left.With the sun setting so early I really do not get to look around as much. On my way back I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it back to the harbour for sunset.A offshore cloud bank snuffed the sun even quicker. So I went to Tsapee Narrows to visit with the Daredevil.Haven’t done that in what seems like years! I liked the cloud structure in the background. Took a few shots of my feathered friend & continued on to the harbour.By this time the light was totally gone,so I decided to come back in.Didn’t get much today but it sure was great getting out!

SUNSET ROW

Boat, Row Boat, Strawberry Island, Sunset

20160822-2Z6A8105

Went up into Fortune Channel & Gunner inlet looking for bears tonight.Because of it being high tide,I knew the odds were against me in finding one out & about. It’s usually a 50/50 proposition ? Tonights guess was wrong.I didn’t find a single one out.During the Summers warm periods the odds of finding one out decrease. They have a thick fur coat & yes they do get hot. They prefer to keep cool & stay inside the forest.

I headed back to Tofino & stopped at Tsapee Narrows to visit with the Daredevil & Delilah. Delilah has been gone fore several weeks now & the Daredevil wasn’t around either.

So I continued on my way back to Tofino.I could see the clouds were high.I knew the sunset was going to be a good one as well.When the clouds are high like that,they light up after the sun sets.The last rich colours (violet) of the sunset afterglow can still hit those high clouds even after the sun has gone down.

I went to visit with Romeo.As soon as I came around Beck island,he flew straight over to greet me! We have a game we play……or at least,I do.I try to beat him to this rocky island I call it his “rocky throne”.I move pretty fast in my boat but he always moves faster & he’s not even flapping his wings! He’s simply gliding!

After awhile Juliette even came over.Their eaglets must be fully fledged by now or very close? The sunset was great! Took a bunch of shots of them both with that gorgeous sky in behind!

I spotted a Heron close by on a rock & decided to see If I could get some shots of it against that sky as well.Was a bit tricky but I managed to get a few good ones.I got close enough to see it had a swarm of bugs around it.

After that,I called it a night & came back in.Tonights shoot started off poorly but ended on a bang!

 

THE ‘CLIFFORD A BARNES”

Boat, Harbour seal, Harbour Seal Haul Out, Tofino Wildlife

20150914-2Z6A0721

20150914-2Z6A0727

20150914-2Z6A0724

20150914-2Z6A0725

This boat does research. It basically gathers information from the ocean by sampling the water at different depths. They have a device they lower down to the bottom that has many tanks on it. They can open & close these sampling tanks at different depths to sample the waters plankton. They also check PH,temperature,salinity,DO (dissolved oxygen). This data is collected because of fish farms being near by. The Government wants to make sure the environment isn’t being affected adversely by the farms.