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Mackay Whale Watching

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Port McNeill, BC
Mackay Whale Watching

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

09/26/2026

September 19th was pure September magic - full of wildlife, calm seas and spectacular weather.

We started our trip with sea otters and Crochet the humpback whale, soon followed by sightings of X-Wing, and Guardian and her 2026 calf.

Captain Bill got word of incoming resident orca, so of course... We had to go see who was in the neighbourhood! This started a glorious visit with the A34s, G34 offspring, A62s, and we now know that the G62s and G64s were there too!

The orca were fairly spread out, so we listened to their calls on the hydrophone - and even heard the A62s vocalizing over the surface! The A62 family were in a super social mood - engaging in cuddle puddles, breaching, and even "synchronized" spyhopping!

We somehow packed even more into our afternoon, stopping to see the sea lions, humpbacks Merge, Clover, Black Pearl and her 2026 calf, a raft of sea otters - and a humpback only identified through their code, BCY1481.

It was a beautiful day out there on the big ocean.

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.

09/24/2026

September 18th was a trip all about humpbacks! We started out our trip with sea otters and 4 year old humpback Crochet. We soon found Kraken, another humpback born in 2022, and watched as he lunge fed repeatedly, very close to a shoreline.

We soon saw Meteorite and Vulture - this was Vulture's first documentation in 2026! We watched large groups of surf scoters, sea otters in rafts, sea lions snoozing on the rocks, and bald eagles perched in the trees.

Our day held even more feeding humpbacks, with Captain Bill taking us to find Yahtzee, Neptune, Hunter, Topnotch, Claw, and Stitch. We even saw Neptune and Vulture socializing with each other.

On the way home we saw Guardian and her 2026 calf, and the fun surprise of 2 socializing minke whales! It's not a common sighting for our guests to see a minke whale on our trip - let alone seeing two swimming together!

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.

09/23/2026

September 17th started as we travelled east in Johnstone Strait - catching a look at a Parasitic Jaeger chasing gulls near Alert Bay, and a look at a group of Western Grebes near the Stephenson Islets.

Our whale sightings included a visit with the T037B matriline of Bigg's orca - the family of 3 were travelling east in Johnstone Strait, and we enjoyed watching them surface through green water. The ocean was mirror calm, and the landscape was perfectly peaceful.

Off we went to see many feeding humpbacks - starting with Meniscus and Insomnia lunge feeding. We enjoyed watching Topnotch lunge and then trap feeding, even using a modified trap feeding technique and lifting her fluke and rostrum out of the water at the same time.

We caught looks at Chum and Claw, Steller sea lions, sea otters sunning and scrubbing their fur, and ended our day spectacularly with Ace and Crochet interacting with each other in the sunshine!

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.

09/21/2026

September 16th was gorgeous - a day full of sightings and lovely views!

Never a moment without wildlife on this trip, from sea otters, to sea lions, to eagles and tiny ancient murrelets.

And HUMPBACKS... feeding, breaching, socializing - what a day!

Our list of IDed humpbacks included:
Meniscus (lunge feeding)
Corporal
Crochet
Black Pearl and 2026 calf
Sponge Bob
Quartz
Meteorite
X-Wing
Merge
Argonaut
Everdeen
Raza
Parentheses
Conger
Ripple

Another busy day on the big ocean!

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.

09/19/2026

September 14th was BUSY; and unexpected in excellent ways!

We started out our day watching sea otters and humpbacks (and some Steller sea lions!). We watched humpback whales Magician, X-Wing, Kraken, and Sponge Bob - the humpbacks were busy feeding, apparently on a krill hatch!

Captain Bill soon found the travelling A34 matriline of orca as they headed east in Johnstone Strait; and we were able to watch the family of orca on one side of the boat while we also watched humpbacks Merge and Jackson be harassed by a large group of very active Pacific White-Sided dolphins! We watched Merge and Jackson socializing after the dolphins departed, and checked out the haul out for the sea lions.

The deckhand was particularly excited to see Jackson, as she's not a very common humpback to encounter in the area - and this was her first sighting for 2026! Jackson's nickname comes from the famous painter Jackson Pollock's "drip painting" style - see if you can pick the photo of her fluke out and let us know if you think her nickname fits her!

We encountered familiar humpbacks Corporal and Argonaut; and ended our day with a group of orca we hadn't yet seen in 2026... G clan! Absent from the area around Johnstone Strait until now, we were delighted to see the G62s, G64s, and a subset of the G12s - offspring of G34. It was wonderful to see (and listen!) these orca enter the neighbourhood.

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.

09/18/2026

These photos are from our September 14th trip of Magician (BCY1434). Magician was first documented in the area around northeast Vancouver Island in 2024 (known thanks to Marine Education and Research Society!). She has a really striking fluke, and has become a whale we see fairly often in the last few years! On the 14th we watched her tail lob and feed on krill, as well as swim right through the kelp beds.

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.

09/16/2026

September 12th was non-stop, beginning with wonderful sightings of sea otters and a Parasitic Jaeger. Off we went to visit with the A34s and A62s, who were in a hurry heading east in Johnstone Strait. We soon figured out the reason for their rush, as the A25s met the A34s and A62s at Cracroft Point. There were so many wonderful vocals that our guests could listen to as the groups came together.

We watched Guardian and her calf in the rip at Cracroft Point, and Captain Bill took us to watch the lunge and trap feeding Ripple. We watched a large and gregarious group of Dall's porpoises - that included a hybrid porpoise!

We saw sea lions and sea otters on the way home, and identified 8 humpbacks in rapid succession - including X-Wing, Kraken, Merge, Claw, Sponge Bob, Corporal, Crochet, and Raza (who breached suddenly!).

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.

09/15/2026

September 9th was lovely! We headed east down Johnstone Strait, passing the Robson Bight/Michael Bigg Ecological Reserve. We found ourselves on a run, but enjoying glassy calm conditions in Johnstone Strait - not a place we often encounter Beaufort 0 seas!

We were able to spend some lovely time with the A62s (the rest of the A34s were a few miles further east but within vocal connection). We listened to their calls, even catching a few "A12 special" calls that are only made by members of the A34s. A83 was busy foraging and travelling, and we enjoyed some quiet time observing this family.

We watched Steller sea lions on the rocks, rafts of sea otters engaged in "fur care" and so many humpbacks! Our identified humpbacks included Kraken, Trinity, and Black Pearl and her 2026 calf. We even got to see a spectacular lunge feed by Black Pearl - there were juvenile herring cascading over her flanks!

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.

09/12/2026

September 8th was a wonderful and busy day! We started off watching some birds (including an amazing look at a parasitic Jaeger!) and X-Wing the humpback whale. Captain Bill made sure we soon caught up with the A62s and the rest of the A34s; and it was wonderful to listen to them on the hydrophone - the orca were in family groups and SO vocal!

There were brief looks at a very fast moving group of 100+ Pacific White-Sided dolphins who were very busy hunting fish.

Off we went to see Conger who was feeding, and then the Steller sea lions hauled out on the rocks. The orca flew through Weynton Pass, passing us again - so much fun to see the little ones start breaching as they whipped through!

On our way home we watched Claw, Raza, a raft of otters, Trinity (who was tail lobbing!), and Black Pearl and her calf. Black Pearl and her calf were being mobbed by Dall's porpoise, with Black Pearl trumpeting her frustration!

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.

09/10/2026

September 6th was lovely, start to finish! There were so many humpbacks throughout Cormorant Channel, starting with Ripple, Black Pearl, and Black Pearl's 2026 calf. We paused to watch these whales feeding before we headed out to see the orca - soon catching up with the A34s. The family was travelling and feeding - making their way east and into Blackfish Sound.

Once we left the orca to their quest for salmon, we headed back to check out the Steller sea lions and the sea otters. And of course the huge humpbacks whose behaviours never stop being fascinating! They were busy feeding; and we identified Kraken, Quartz, and Everdeen.

Another busy day on the big ocean!

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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