The Other Side of Victoria : A Look Beyond Whale-Watching, Victoria, British Columbia

I felt the throb of the engines ramp up a notch as the powerful Prince of Whales whale-watching boat veered to the right. The First Mate, Jennifer, excitedly pointed towards the grey bulk that the Captain had spotted working its way through the frothy sea. I hurried to the open side of the boat and joined the other guests peering out across the ocean being whipped by the winds ahead of us. I soon saw a dark figure churning surprisingly easily through the choppy sea as we drew closer.

As it worked its way out to deeper sea it remained steadily above the waves and seemed to be increasing speed as we drew towards the respectful 100-metre distance limit that all whale-watching boats adhere to. Jennifer said it was one of the four bought from the British Royal Navy after 1998. Cameras clicked excitedly around me in response. Although we had not been successful finding whales on our excursion, we wanted to capture the thrilling image of the huge diesel-electric navy submarine heading out of its base in Victoria towards open sea - and on to its regular tour in the Pacific Ocean.

As we returned to the harbour whale spotting free after our three-hour excursion, we heard that Prince of Whales invites every guest that missed out on seeing whales go on another trip with them for free. All we had to do was remember the day we went out and the name the booking was in. Jennifer told us the previous week someone had returned after an 8-year gap to take them up on this guarantee. While they had spotted humpback whales breaching above the waves, we returned having seen bald eagles, sea lions lazily lying around on a rocky outcrop and the submarine. A reminder that when you engage with wildlife nothing is guaranteed. However, I was not disheartened, as I had already discovered there is more to Victoria than whales. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).