Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | October 24th, 2026 | 12:30 pm
What started as a rainy fall day on San Juan Island ended up as a trip full of wildlife around the Salish Sea! We left Friday Harbor with a report of Bigg’s Killer Whales pretty far to the southeast, so we headed in that direction with hopes we could reach them or find other whales along the way. We trekked south across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and luckily we got out of the rain even as we reached Cattle Pass. Despite the cloudy weather, our visibility was fantastic; we could even see Mount Rainier over 100 miles away! We continued towards the Olympic Peninsula, and eventually slowed down once we were within a half mile range of our whales… We slowly made our way on scene to 3 members of the T46 matriline! Siblings T122 “Centeki” (female born ~1982), T46E “Thor” (male born 2003), and T46F “Loki” (male born 2012) were traveling steadily southeast towards Port Townsend so we were very excited to get to see them today. This was actually my first time seeing them in over a year, so it was an extra exciting find! Thor stood out the most as a full grown male, but my favorite thing about him is that every time he surfaces he brings his full face out of the water (see photo above and full album on our SmugMug page!). Even while being such a large whale and apex predator, he appears so endearing. We enjoyed some beautiful looks at this trio as they traveled. Eventually, it was time for us to start to head north again, so we waved goodbye to the T46s and went back to exploring the Juan de Fuca.
The winds had picked up a bit heading this direction, so we braved some splashes until we reached the calmer waters of San Juan Channel. We stopped at Whale Rocks and saw so many fun Stellar’s Sea Lions, including one showing off his acrobatic skills jumping out of the water! While there were some resting on the rocks, many were swimming around the kelp and gave us a great understanding of their playfulness and curiosity. From here we continued up the channel, until we neared Turn Island and found the sea otter resting in the kelp. With the rain gone, this was an incredible day out on the water with so many amazing animals to see.
Want to see more photos from our trips? Visit our SmugMug page at: https://sanjuansafaris.smugmug.com/
More information about the Pacific Whale Watch Association: https://www.pacificwhalewatchassociation.com/