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Mackay Whale Watching

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Port McNeill, BC
Mackay Whale Watching

Join the Mackay family, pioneers in whale watching in British Columbia, for a cruise aboard the Naiad Explorer.

08/30/2026

August 25th was... in a word... Epic.

We started watching Kraken, Crochet, Claw, and a minke whale. We had a quick sighting of a Parasitic Jaeger (always cool to see these birds). We soon caught up to T019, T019B and T019C. T019C tail lobbed and breached twice; which was a spectacular moment as you could almost hear our guests hold their breath. These behaviours are so interesting, always prompting us to wonder what sparked that!

After watching the Biggs head west, we were off, spotting Steller sea lions and over 25 sea otters in several rafts - we even caught up with Kraken, Crochet, and Claw once more - and ANOTHER sighting of a minke! Maybe it was the same minke as earlier in the day who had shifted.

We love sharing spectacular days like this one with our guests.

All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.

08/29/2026

August 22nd was a busy day! We began watching a group of Dall's porpoise and Crochet and Kraken the humpbacks feeding. These two whales are the same age (both came to BC with their moms in 2022). They've been very reliably found close to each other this year, both feeding in a similar area almost every day!

As we travelled we saw Corporal, Squiggle, Claw, sea otters (a group of 12), harbour seals hauled out, and some Steller sea lions.

Captain Bill soon took us off to watch the A34s, who were surrounded by a large group of Pacific White-Sided dolphins. These very active smaller cetaceans seem to enjoy these interactions with fish-eating orca, but the orca seemed to be avoiding the dolphins - especially A34 and her son, A*5. A34 and A*5 soon joined the rest of their family and the whole matriline took a series of very long dives; headed north through Blackfish Sound.

After some peaceful moments in the misty green of Blackfish Sound with the orca, we headed to see who else was out there!

Our afternoon was busy, we sighted Guardian and her 2026 calf, Quartz, more dolphins, and Squiggle (again), and Sponge Bob the humpback! Sponge Bob's nickname was an entertaining one to explain, and comes from a distinct marking on the fluke that looks like a character from the TV show. Seeing these giants return here each year (and recognizing them when they do) adds so much to our trips. Some of our guests come back to see us again, specifically asking about the whales that they watched the last time they visited. We love that people feel more connected to the wildlife and this place after they visit!

All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.

08/28/2026

August 20th was misty, beautiful, and unexpected in the best ways.

We started with sightings of a minke whale, harbour porpoises, and Crochet the humpback whale. We think maybe Kraken was out there in the mist too!

Captain Bill soon found the A34s (and some Pacific White-Sided dolphins) travelling north through Blackfish Sound.

We also had the chance to watch the C8s, a matriline of whales we see very infrequently here these days! The C8s have sadly lost C14, the brother of C8. However... It sure looked like the C8s have welcomed a new calf! As C8 herself is 51 this year, we think this new calf belongs to C31. With all other whales in this family being confirmed as male, we're delighted (and relieved) that C31 is female. This means that one day in the future, the calls that this matriline makes will carry on past the lifetime of C8, and the matriline will continue with C31 as the matriarch.

After watching sweet cuddle time with the C8s, we headed over to watch humpbacks - including Meteorite, Ripple, and Guardian and her 2026 calf. There were so many fork-tailed storm petrels, along with the common murres! A raft of sea otters on the way home and a huge dramatic lunge feed from Crochet kept us watching the water until the moment we pulled back into the dock.

All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.

08/25/2026

August 18th found us out on beautiful seas to the north of Malcolm Island. We travelled out past the kelp beds and found the A34 matriline, enjoying quiet moments with them as they foraged and headed west.

Captain Bill dropped our hydrophone overboard, and we had the chance to listen to beautiful vocals (including the "A12 special" call made by the A34s!). Thank goodness we got to listen when we did, because the whales soon stopped vocalizing as a group of Pacific White-Sided dolphins approached. They went from herding fish to surrounding the orca, and then soon went back to foraging - letting the orca get on with the same.

Our travels home included brief sightings of humpbacks Conger, Claw, and Kraken - along with a small raft of otters!

All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.

08/24/2026

August 16th was incredible and started with a beautiful moment of biodiversity in a single spot. We had paused to get an ID photo of Grizzly the humpback, when a minke whale popped up as well as a trio of harbour porpoises - the harbour porpoise group included a mother and a small calf! Everyone was feeding - the food web in action!

Off we went to visit the sea lions (at least 200 were hauled out and roaring) and a sleepy Inukshuk the humpback whale. From there we spotted the A34 matriline of resident orca - along with hundreds of storm petrels (fork tailed and Leach's) and a large pod of Pacific White-Sided dolphins!

We stopped to admire some fish that the Mackay family (Tyson & Angus) caught on their trip out! They sure had some huge grins to go along with their salmon. Our way home included Crochet the humpback and a raft of 20+ sea otters... It was another busy day out there!

All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.

08/23/2026

August 15th was so busy! We watched two different matrilines of Biggs orca, starting with T059A1, T059A2, and T059A1A as they hunted for seals in the kelp patches off of Sointula. From there, we headed off to see the T060s as they started to wind their way through the islands and into Johnstone Strait.

We had beautiful sightings of the A34s as they travelled into Blackfish Sound as a family group; moving from foraging to a resting group seamlessly.

Our humpback sightings included Meteorite, Stitch (our first documentation of her this year!), Guardian and her 2026 calf, and Ripple. Guardian and Ripple were fishing hard; using the tidal rips and upwellings of water to hunt.

We even caught back up with the T060s on our way home as they passed Port McNeill and headed west!

All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.

08/22/2026

August 13th was a blast, start to finish!

We first watched the A25 matriline as they quickly moved through Weynton Pass, riding the strong flood tide. They were surrounded by Dall's porpoise and Pacific White-Sided dolphins through their travels.

After we found some sunshine and left the fog, we watched very active humpback whales, including Guardian and her 2026 calf (the calf breaching often!), Ripple, and Grizzly (who tail lobbed repeatedly during a close pass from a cruise ship). By the time we left these active humpbacks, A61 from the A25s was angling over to the same area - the rich swirling waters that feed the humpbacks their tiny prey also are a hotspot for salmon! Hopefully all were able to fill up on the fish they need.

On our way home we saw Magician the humpback who breached several times and head lobbed - and caught up with a raft of otters as well! It was a very lovely (and busy!) day - full of excitement and beautiful views!

All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.

08/21/2026

August 11th started with Kraken the humpback tail lobbing and breaching - only a few minutes after we departed the harbour! We immediately spotted Crochet (a young whale who we always keep an eye out for, as he is a survivor of a vessel strike that happened when he was only 2 years old), and we watched as he lunge fed repeatedly very close to the shoreline. Off we went to watch the A34 matrilines, who were travelling slowly. They swam past Inukshuk the humpback, and there was a small group of Pacific White-Sided dolphins in the area who bounced from the resident orca to Inukshuk. Inukshuk began trumpeting (a sound that is linked to "irritation" or frustration in humpbacks) and pec slapping. A34 and A*5 stayed away from the rest of the matriline; and the rest of the A34s stopped and rested at the surface before starting to forage and hunt for salmon.

We noted on the trip that A80 had damage on his dorsal fin (a small nick in the trailing edge) that wasn't present on the 9th - so we'll keep an eye on this as it heals, and it'll become a very recognizable ID detail as it heals up.

Our afternoon held moments with humpbacks Conger, and Corporal (lunge AND trap-feeding!). We watched two huge Steller sea lions, and drifting sea otters in a raft! We even caught a look at a female, calf, and male Dall's porpoise trio - this is a time of year when male Dall's porpoise are often found following females as they wait for the female to be ready to mate again, which is soon after the female has her calf. The tiny calves are SO small!

We never have the same day twice; and that's what makes every trip so exciting.

All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.

08/19/2026

August 9th found us under beautiful skies and with so much wildlife!

From rafts of sea otters to a large group of fishing Pacific White-Sided dolphins - to the fishing and socializing group of resident orca, the A34s. A few times as the dolphins were being very aerial and splashy, we thought there was something in their mouths... And sure enough! They were leaping clear of the water with some pink salmon in their mouths! We watched at least 7 humpbacks; including looks at Meteorite and Meniscus. Meniscus was lunge feeding, and we think he was feeding on krill. The amazing richness of the ecosystem and the food web is so apparent here - from huge whales to tiny schooling fish, and from salmon leaping to kelp beds swirling in the current - it's all so connected.

All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.

08/18/2026

August 7th was wild and unexpected in the best ways! We spent some time with the A34s and the A25s as they socialized and travelled. We noted that the A25s had headed away from the A34s, and the A34s travelled west while the A25s angled back toward Malcolm Island. We said goodbye to the A34s; and headed off to see if we could find some humpbacks.

Captain Bill had his sights set on one of the inlets of the Broughton Archipelago, but we encountered a humpback in the middle of the open waters of southern Queen Charlotte Strait! It turned out to be Yogi (BCY0409), a humpback with sightings going back to 2002! Yogi is very rarely documented in this area now, so we were glad to encounter them!

With this sighting we decided to start heading for home (as the chop was building). We were scanning to try and resight the A25s to update researchers on their position, but lost them in the ocean conditions.

As we scanned the horizon (over, and over, and over again...) we found a raft of sea otters - and some orca dorsal fins slicing through the water! We had a very brief encounter with some rare Biggs to see - T165, T166, T166A1, and T259! We were able to hold position and hand off to one of our fellow operators - who held position for researcher Jared Towers from Bay Cetology to arrive! The study of these whales takes a community that works together to share information, sightings, and data.

All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.

Address

1514 Broughton Boulevard
Port McNeill, BC
V0N2R0

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 4pm
Tuesday	9am - 4pm
Wednesday	9am - 4pm
Thursday	9am - 4pm
Friday	9am - 4pm
Saturday	9am - 4pm
Sunday	9am - 4pm

Website

http://www.whaletime.com/

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