Captain: There be whales here
An expedition on the Saint-Laurent
30 August 2007
That morning I had no idea what Simon had in store for me. All I knew was that we were going to spend three hours on a coach so that we could see something impressive.
Eight in the morning and it was the big departure for my Magical Mystery Tour (although it would appear that the rest of the family was in on the secret). Half an hour later and having collected the remainder of our passengers our destination was made clear. The driver announced that we were off to see the whales. In a flash I was like a five year old who has just discovered his presents and couldn't wait to be on site.
The only thing that was bothering me a bit was the weather. It was raining and the mist was everywhere. They say that this region of Charlevoix is very pretty but we could see nothing from the coach - just the forest running alongside the road.
At 1230 hours we arrived at Baie-Sainte-Catherine on the shores of the Saint-Laurent - and the sun was back out again.
The first group were leaving at 1300 hours for an excursion on the boat but Simon had reserved an excursion in a Zodiak, a small boat for twenty passengers and capable of 60 kph. He thought it would be more manoeuvrable and would give us a closer view.
Whilst the first group were leaving we got ourselves into our wet-suits as you can well imagine that the temperature on the open water is pretty cold. As we left I wondered if I really needed my pullover and coat, with the heat of the sun I was getting warm under all the layers of clothes, but the moment we were away the wind and sudden drop in temperature changed my mind.
We were on the river and racing towards the ocean and the estuary - the excitement and the tension was mounting. I was going to see whales in their own environment and not in some sea-park.
Our Captain: Nicolas, explained that we had to work ensemble. If one of us saw anything they had to signal it to the captain, for his part he would sound the horn to point things out.
After hardly ten minutes he sounded the horn: look there to the right, and everybody scanned the horizon. Beep! beep! Over there to the left. Beep! beep! on the right. He had us all looking everywhere for a moment such was our desire to see something. Then a few moments later white flanked dolphins came into view.
Nicolas said he knew how to get them to perform some leaps for us and would create waves in front of the dolphins for them to play in. That was the theory but alas our dolphins didn't want to play that afternoon. We were at large on the water and not in a zoo but Nicolas assured us that we were actually fortunate to see these particular dolphins.
We continued towards the mouth of the Saint-Laurent for we had just seen a large grey silhouette on the surface. It was a humpback whale and the first I had ever seen.
They are the most frequently heard and seen of all the whale family and one of the rare whales to bring her tail out of the water on diving. It was this bending of the back which gave her the name of the humpback.
We approached but not too closely as we were there to observe and not annoy the whales. She was about a hundred metres away and exhaled once, twice, a third time and then - she dived. Oh yes, I have seen the nature documentaries and watched the films, but when it happens right next to you it sends a shiver up your spine.
The humpback can spend about twenty five minutes under water but ten minutes later she surfaced not too far away and we hung on a moment for her to dive again.
The rule of thumb on board was that those closest to the whale sat down so that those in the row on the otherside of the craft could stand up and look over our shoulders. But it was all too exciting and everybody wanted the best photos so discipline sometimes slipped.
After the second dive we continued again towards the ocean and an encounter with the world's largest animal: the blue whale.
Nicolas told us that during the morning's excursion a Blue had been seen a distance away and we would go looking for her - if she was still there. She would be difficult to see because she can remain under water for fifty minutes and as for us - we only had two hours left for our cruise. As they say - in nature, nothing is certain.
This time the beep! beep! from Nicolas was for something real. Even from a distance we could see that this thing was enormous. We approached; but she dived. We will have to wait, but for how long and unlike the humpback which seemed to come back up in more or less the same place the Blue might come up half a kilometre away.
Luckily for us, ten, fifteen minutes later she resurfaced in the distance and Nicolas quickly restarted the Zodiak and set off in pursuit. We stayed for a further two dives getting reasonably close each time she surfaced, but then we had to say good bye and start our return journey.
Our cruise was far from over as we saw some grey seals on the way back to Baie-Sainte-Catherine before coming across some Fin Whales which were really astounding. Why so ? because there was a school of about twenty of them. To see one whale is impressive to see twenty odd is - indescribable.
We could see the jets of water going six metres into the air all around us and then the backs of the whales which were already well in excess of the length of our Zodiak.
Nicolas kept saying that we needed to go back, but even he was taken up by the sight and kept adding another five minutes not wishing to leave this incredible ballet taking place on the Saint-Laurent.
Unfortunately though the moment finally arrived and we headed back to port and our waiting coach.
In front of the town two great currents of water collide, one from the Great Lakes and the other from the Atlantic Ocean. The latter is the strongest current in the northern hemisphere and it is this collision which brings in the krill and food for the whales. For a few weeks every year this abundance of food makes the Saint-Laurent one of the best places in the world to come and see whales.
I had a fantastic day. I realise that there are not too many youngsters of my age who have seen such an amazing sight. I hope that it wont be the last time in my life that I get to see the whales, but I can say with certainty that it was one of the best days of my life.
See also