Another whale tale of a humpback encounter near Comox

CHEK

WATCH: A fishing trip turned into a whale watching trip of a lifetime when a pair of humpback whales paid a family an extended visit to their boat near Comox.

It was another calm, warm day on the water last week when Shannon Morfitt, along with her dad and daughter were headed from Comox to Texada Island for some fishing.

Not unlike other times, they saw humpback whales in the distance.

“We stopped and thought we would watch for a few minutes and they both went down under the water and came back up right beside the boat,” said Shannon Morfitt. “We weren’t expecting them to come and check us out at the same time.”

As CHEK News has reported in similar stories, the massive whales seem curious about boats or people and the two humpbacks ended up paying the Morfitts an extended visit.

“They did, they came right up to us and we had to turn the motors off,” added Morfitt. “They pretty much kept us hostage for about an hour because we couldn’t turn the motors on, they were right underneath the boat and right beside the boat.”

For her 13-year-old daughter Heidi, it was a thrill of a lifetime, but also a little nerve-wracking.

“I was quite scared because they’re about two times the size of the boat so it was quite scary and nerve-wracking,” said Heidi Morfitt.

“I was nervous just because of their sheer size,” said Shannon. “I’ve never had them that close to the boat before but they weren’t aggressive at all, they were more curious.”

There are more and more encounters like this happening.

Experts talk about the “humpback comeback” that’s been happening in these waters over the last few years.

“The past two years have been really incredible,” said guide Nick Templeman of Campbell River Whale & Bear Excursions. “We think in this whole area from Comox to this area near Quadra, there’s probably 30 different animals in the area which is pretty incredible. The humpback comeback we keep hearing about. It’s here for sure.”

They Morfitts were finally able to leave an hour later when another boat came into the area and the humpbacks went to investigate it.

Dean StoltzDean Stoltz

Recent Stories

Send us your news tips and videos!