“Now that your kids are away, how about going on a whale watching adventure?” my well-meaning friend recently asked. No thank you. That’s not in the cards; of that I am certain. An eagle watching boat trip certainly. A whale watching boat trip certainly not.
Our family’s 2008 nightmare adventure is something I will never forget nor want to repeat.
It started out with the best of intentions. As with most summers, we were on a week’s vacation with my mom at the end of August. This year we were on a beach holiday at the coastal town of Tofino on Vancouver Island. My brother Mike had worked and vacationed extensively in the area so he was our consult for fun and different things to do.
A definite must, according to him, was to go whale watching on an inflatable zodiac boat. Not an enclosed boat. An open zodiac.
Perfect. Mom booked the three-hour tour as a special treat for the three of us.
Because we would be going out into the open waters of the Pacific Ocean, every passenger had to wear the special survival suit. No exceptions.
Meredith (14) and Henry (12) and I had no difficulties putting them on. Mom at 85 was a different story.
Mom being dressed by a complete stranger. He later turned out to be a fellow passenger.
Once suited up we marched down to the dock to board.
Of the four of us, Mom boarded first. “Best to get the back row. Less bumpy.”
As the family photographer, I was the last to enter and settled in the row ahead, just in front of Henry.
Our fellow travellers were all from Germany. Eager to experience the wild Pacific Ocean and to thrill in the sighting of orcas and humpback whales they were an enthusiastic group. It was with great excitement that we headed out into the bay.
Our first stop was at a nearby island, home to cormorants, gulls and sea lions. Magnificent.
Once we rounded the island, our zodiac hit open water. Because Meredith has always been prone to seasickness I was a tad worried. However, dosed with anti nausea meds she insisted all was well. I turned my attention to the horizon.
At first the waves were but a gentle swell. Our fellow passengers were all enjoying themselves and, like us, looking for some whale action. Boats of every description were soon at our side. Most were watching for whales but there were the odd fishing boats as well.
After 30 minutes the whaleless action didn’t worry me. What did was the darkening sky and the rising swell. So did the sudden retreat of most of the other boats.
Perhaps encouraged by the delighted screams from the gang in the first row every time the boat rolled and pitched, our skipper headed further out to sea. Soon we no longer saw land. Or boats. Or any sign of life.
And then the vomiting started. Henry was the first. Meredith was next, within minutes, followed by Mom. To put it mildly, none of them were discrete. However the chap on the end of my row certainly was; I’ve never seen anything like his gentle spurts. His pals upfront were fine. And oblivious. They hugged the bow and cheered each time the boat rode a wave.
From then on, the sea became the enemy in the form of nine foot waves. For the next two hours we were at its mercy. And that of our skipper Wayne who Mom had astutely rechristened “Cowboy.” Her intent was not to flatter. He’d head the boat into the waves, where it would hang upon the crest for what seemed like forever and then suddenly plummet, slamming into the depths with jaw shuddering force. Once there, we encountered yet another gigantic ocean wall.
Soon everyone grew quiet. Even those up front. Why were we the only ones out? Would we ever get back?
To a passenger, we were all thinking of George.
Finally the three hours was up on our own perfect storm. We mercifully returned to safe harbour and solid ground.
Meredith, used to seasickness, took it like a champ. Mom was a different story.
And so was Henry.
I would like to say that we saw pods of both humpback whales and orcas. Sadly I can’t. We didn’t see one whale that day. Not even a flipper or a fluke.
But man did we have a whale of a tale to tell my brother.
Enough about me and mine. Have you been lucky enough to actually see a whale while whale watching? If you’d care to share, I’d love to hear.
24 Responses
holy cow (or whale in this case) that’s awful! I’ve never been on a whale watching trip, but I wanted to go on one. Notice the past tense of that statement. Actually, I would be interested in a whale watching cruise….as in huge ass ship.
Whale Watching Trip? Ok … maybe. If it’s on a huge ass ship. Otherwise, no thank you.
LOL. Yes, it must be a huge ass ship.
Imdeed.
Crikey! Well first of all, the boat we were on for our whale watching in the Atlantic was about 100 times the size of your little boat. That must have been terrifying! The scariest thing that happened on our trip was my daughter getting nauseous not from sea sickness but from eating a hot dog covered with liquid cheese that she bought from the on-board snack shop. That’s how big our boat was – we had a snack shop! We did get to see dozens of whales and did not fear for our lives.
What a novel experience. A whale watching trip that produced whales and no fear! Sorry about the hot dog though. We actually have seen whales from the comfort of a big boat prior to this little adventure. And it was truly amazing watching orcas toss sea lions about as if they were beach balls.
Oh my goodness, all that seasickness and no whales to show for it ! I absolutely Love the picture of poor Henry !
I know – such a kind mommy to a) take the picture and b) include it in a post. At least it’s five years after the fact …
Oh this is making me feel nauseous just reading it! I’ve never like boats since a gale-force crossing over to Ireland a few years ago – I though we wouldn’t reach the coast. Really I want to say that your story is so amusing … but that sounds a little mean – it’s the photos.. they crack me up!! Anyway, I won’t be going whale-watching!
I’m so sorry about your gale-force crossing Helen. Not fun. I am with you on that. Others have commented on the posting of the pics too. I am a lovely mommy am I not? However it has been five years and everyone looks very different (except perhaps my mom) so surely their friends won’t recognize them if they stumble across this post?
I honestly felt kind of sea sick just reading this. What a nightmare Kelly! The only whale watching I have ever done was from the deck of the Alaskan cruise ship when I was 13. It was amazing, but I would have felt very differently if I had been in a Zodiac boat! YIKES!-Ashley
True confessions-I’ve also seen them from the comfort of an Alaskan ship. Perhaps we were on the same one? Amazing display of orcas tossing sea lions about like beach balls?
We took this same tour back in 2012 and had an excellent time. I think even when the weather is good the open seas are rough. I found the team at Jamie’s to be pretty open with the fact that the zodiak wasn’t for the faint of heart or those who are prone to seasickness. Alas, we were on a boat with a bunch of German tourists as well, and they were all vomiting over the rail. I wish more people would listen to the warning instead of figuring they’re going to be fine. It’s not that great for fellow passengers who don’t get sick to worry about vomit flying back at them in the wind.
Hi Becky. I am delighted to learn that you had a great time. My brother swears by Jamie’s and every experience he has had with them has been similar to yours. Fortunately on our trip the vomiters were all in the back row with the exception of the quiet spitter in my row. Thank you for sharing your version.
We almost went on a whale watching trip while in Vancouver this spring, but they cancelled our trip due to high winds. Now I am glad they did! 🙂
Yes, I think calmish weather is best for whale watching if you are choosing to go in a zodiac. The alarming thing for us was that all the boats, even other ones from the same company as ours, chose to go back in. We stayed out.
Oh my goodness! That sounds terrifying! I’ve always wanted to go on a whale watching boat, but I want to be on a REAL boat. Definitely not a zodiac! I’ve never, ever seen a whale (never even been to Sea World) so I can’t even being to comprehend how big they are. Seeing a whale is definitely on my bucket list!
You must get up here Kristen. While we didn’t see a whale on that particularily stormy day I have seen them and they are every bit as amazing as you’d think. We were on a cruise ship to Alaska (yes – big boat!) and we came across huge sea lions. Moments later we saw orcas tossing these huge sea lions like they were beach balls. The sea lions suddenly weren’t so huge. Amazing.
I read this post while waiting for my flight at the airport and the person next to me asked what I was reading because I was laughing so hard. Kelly! Those pictures are priceless. Survival suits? And that zodiac–it looks like what we ride rafting, on a river!
I recognized George in that photo and the memory of that film filled me with fear. And your mom–I want to adopt her for my mom. Talk about game.
I whale watched off Provincetown on a calm day and saw lots of humpbacks the scientists called by name. Totally worth what you imagined, hoped?, you’d get that day on the wild seas.
I saw a whale breech while in Alaska (whewie that was cool) and a glacier calf that would have rocked your sweet little zodiac and slapped your red suits silly.
Okay, now I know how giddy life gets with you. You’re racking up some memories here. It’s making me think empty thingie is about a soft nest to crawl into a recover from years of that much fun.
You had me at “… that would have rocked your sweet little zodiac and slapped your red suits silly.” Susan = you’re one in a million. My mother is available for adoption. She loves to travel and yes, is game for pretty much anything. I’m off to a Christmas craft fair with her today. It’ll be me holding her back, let me tell you. I’ll be wearing my running shoes …
Oh no! 9 foot waves! I would have absolutely hated every minute.
It was truly unbelievable Naomi. Rather like those slow motion moments when you really hope you wake up to find its all been a bad nightmare.
Loved the story.. glad I wasn’t in that type of situation. I don’t like being out in boats at all. I would have been terrified. Sounds like you took it like a champ..
I was lucky enough to see the tail of a whale while whale watching in Mexico. And from that point it was watching people slam beers. The captains put up a wager to the person that could drink their beer the fastest. Needless to say, we didn’t have sick people aboard, but drunk people. Made for great people watching that day though.
Yes, sounds like a great people watching day! You were lucky they didn’t get sick after slamming down so many beers. Funny. And you got to see a whale tail? Lucky , lucky. You truly have a whale of a tail.