Lauren Tschirhart | September 26th, 2026 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:30 pm
Today our Classic Whale Watch and Wildlife Tour got to witness some family bonding in Buoy Bay! An early morning report alerted us that 19-year-old T049A2/Jude and 28-year-old T049C/Neilson were seen heading north in Rosario Strait. We left Friday Harbor and headed east in Upright Channel, eventually cruising through Obstruction Pass leading us into Rosario Strait. As we headed north along the Orcas Island shoreline, we started to see two large dorsal fins in the distance. Both of these males have extremely recognizable dorsal fins. T049C/Neilson has a double notch half way up the trailing edge of his dorsal, while T049A2/Jude has a significant lean to his dorsal fin, almost giving it a candy cane like appearance. It seemed like we had caught up with these whales during their lunch break. These two were circling each other, taking shallow arched dives and splashing around a lot. We observed as these whales continued to swim northeast, often splashing around and making small changes in direction. After a terrific encounter with these boys, we headed back west and passed a shoal of harbor porpoise in Lopez Sound. We made one last stop near Turn Rock to view several hauled out harbor seals, a bald eagle and then ended our trip with viewing a fluffy sea otter hanging in a kelp forest.
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/