Ocean Discovery Adventures

The Salish Sea Floor-to-Shore EcoTour

Explore the sea life of rugged islands, narrow passages and remote beaches seen only by those with boats, feathers and fins. Take a three-hour ‘edu-taining’ eco-tour of the Salish Sea!

Begin your adventure with a one-hour orientation with your ecotour guide, marine biologist Brian Smiley, inside the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre. Learn about the incredible diversity and fascinating biota that lives just beneath the ocean’s surface.

The next leg of your adventure begins when you step aboard a comfortable 12-passenger EcoCruising vessel with a protective glass-dome and soft sofas. Cruise with Brian and other enthusiastic explorers around the Gulf Islands and into the National Marine Park, witnessing up close the abundant life that lives near or above the ocean’s surface – from sea birds to seal pups.

The two-hour boat tour includes a picnic lunch served on board or on a shell beach, depending on weather and tides.

After returning from the water, continue exploring the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre at your own pace, assisted by friendly, knowledgeable Oceaneers. See what the underside of that kelp you saw on-board looks like!

The EcoTour begins at the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre every Saturday in July, August and September. Number of participants is limited to 12 per tour.

Dates
July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
August 7, 14, 21, 28
September 11, 18

Cost
Adults: $95.00
Youth (ages 12-17)/Senior (ages 65 and up): $85.00

Itinerary
10:00 am     Check in and welcome at Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre
10:00 am to 11:00 am     Guided tour of Centre
11:00 am to 1:00 pm     Boat tour departing from Sidney Wharf or Port Sidney Marina
1:00 pm to 4:30 pm     Self-guided visit of Centre

What’s Included

• A tasty picnic lunch with sandwich wrap, chips, juice or water
• All-day admission to Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre
• A visitor’s guide for the Gulf Islands National Marine Park
• An annual pass for other EcoCruising boat tours offered to you with visiting friends and relatives
• An illustrated guide book to common Salish Sea marine life (one per party)

What to Bring

• Outdoor wear and comfortable shoes
• Camera and binoculars (some binoculars will be available on the vessel)

Whale Watching on the Salish Sea

Learn about the smallest and the largest animals in the Salish Sea – and everything in between – from microscopic plankton to the massive whales that eat them.

Start with an exploration of the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre to study the fauna and flora that share the sea with marine mammals. While you will not find live mammals inside the Centre, you will have an opportunity to touch and feel real whale baleen, bones and skulls. See how similar our hands are to whale flippers and what our ancestors once used baleen for.

You will, however, see live mammals on your three hour whale watching excursion! Sidney’s waterfront is home to three large pods of resident killer whales: J, K & L. Your Emerald Sea Adventures guide will show you their travelling route and feeding grounds, where grey, minke, humpback and transient killer whales are also commonly seen. The excursion route will take you to Boundary Pass, an area with the largest porpoise concentration in the world, and along beautiful, untouched beaches that are home to seals, sea lions, otters, bald eagles and other marine birds.

Salish Sea whale watching excursions embark every Saturday in July and August.

Dates

July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
August 7, 14, 21, 28

Cost
Adults: with lunch $99.95, without lunch $89.00
Youth (4-17)/Senior (65 and over): with lunch $82.95, without lunch $72.00

Itinerary
10:00 AM to 12:30 PM  Self-guided tour of the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre (arrive at own leisure)
12:30 PM     Meet at Emerald Sea Adventures (entrance on Seaport Place)
1:00 PM to 4:00 PM     Whale watching tour
4:15 PM to closing     Self-guided tour of the Centre (optional)

What’s Included