Sp;ringTide Charters Whale Watching - any one used this company?

I have thoroughly researched at least seven whale watching outfits out of Victoria. I have narrowed it down to two - Five Star and SpringTide Charters. I'm leaning toward SpringTide simply because of their larger boat that looks like there is much more outside railing area than on the Five Star catamaran. I'm not thrilled that SpringTide states that the boat holds 84 people but Five Star states 40 people and the boat is smaller. I hope neither are the ones that the cruise ships use. Any way, I did a search on CC for SpringTide and came up with only 4 threads in the entire site and then it was just to mention that someone was going to use them or thinking about using them. TripAdvisor is sketchy on this one as about 80% or more of their 72 reviews are 1 post reviews.

So, has anyone actually used SpringTide and, if so, what did you think?

You should maybe check out Prince of Whales charters. I think that they are the biggest outfit in town. They use a zodiac with would be more fun.

We used Springtide about 5 years ago. I believe they still have the same larger vessel as then. They also have the zodiac boats as well. The experience was very positive. On our sailing there were maybe 20 or so passengers and viewing was very good from the foredeck, the aft deck, and the bridge. Two years ago we used Prince of Whales, again on their larger vessel ( not the zodiacs). That experience was very good as well. The viewing was excellent from the top deck and then we took advantage of their itinerary that included the stop at the Burchart Gardens. My observation of the tour operators in Victoria is that you will be very satisfied regardless of who you use. From what I could see they cooperate and share information of the locations of the whales. On both occasions, there were several tour boats and zodiacs observing the same whales. The zodiacs are fast but they are limited to the same exclusion area around the whales and the viewing angle is of course very close to the water. IMHO you get a better viewing experience from the larger vessels. I don't have the pictures of Springtide ready to post but here are some from 2011.

This was the vessel in 2011.

Just a few of the other boats watching the same whales

Zodiac type vessel, still watching the same whales but from the lower angle.

These pictures were taken in 2007. Not sure if they still have this same boat but the pictures may help. I'm pretty sure they had this boat in 2011 along with their zodiacs.

One of the other operators in 2009 watching the same whales as we were on the SpringTide boat.

Thanks for the info and great pictures. Definitely going to book with SpringTide. Also, I was a little disappointed that my DH will not go on a zodiac - but after really looking at the pic posted on this thread - I wouldn't be happy in a zodiac. We did go whale watching in Bar Harbor on a larger boat and now I realize that we did have much better viewing up higher. I'm glad the pics and comments reminded me of that :)

I know you will have a great time. We have been to Victoria 3 times and love the city and its attractions. One trip was in early May with weather that was very cool for Victoria, the locals were complaining it was Feb weather. We still enjoyed the trip and loved Burchart Gardens in its spring blooms. The other two trips were during the summer months, very nice indeed. On the most recent trip in 2011 we flew back to Vancouver on one of the float planes ( a turbo Otter ) operated by Harbour Air. That was very cool, a flight at just 700 feet over the islands and sights. Have a great time.

The staff and my experience with Springtide was incredible. I was on the Norwegian and had lots of questions about little things like getting from the boat to their office, timing, etc. They never got tired of my questions and were always gracious.

Then comes the Zodiac tour itself!

It will be a day I'll never forget...a dream come true! We saw Orcas, Humpbacks, etc. Our captain/tour guide was so skilled that when the Humpbacks went under for about three minutes, he sped up the zodiac. We were right beside them when they emerged again!

Thanks Springtide for an unforgettable day!! :)