Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | June 29th, 2026 | 12:30pm
We left Friday Harbor feeling very hopeful this day, as there was a great report not too far South. We started travelling down San Juan Channel, briefly stopping for a look at some huge Steller Sea Lions on a small group of islands called Whale Rocks. The report was that 11 Bigg's Killer Whales consisting of individuals from four different matrilines were moving West below Lopez Island. It first appeared that they would continue moving West and continue along the South side of San Juan Island. However, just as we were getting our last looks at those Steller Sea Lions, we suddenly spotted several dorsal fins behind them! The group of 11 whales had turned up into Cattle Pass and began moving North! Cattle Pass is a small section of water that connects San Juan Channel and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There is almost always quite strong currents and tides moving through this area, and today was no exception. Whales began popping up in every direction. We sat with our engines turned off as the water moved our vessel through these currents. The whales were taking advantage of these currents, as they were moving QUICKLY past us pointed North. The group was made up of the T75Bs (4), T123s (4), T77D, and brothers T128 and T125A. We got especially awesome views of those huge brothers as they made their way through some whirlpools in the water.
Eventually, all 11 whales got through Cattle Pass and began travelling through San Juan Channel. The water was much calmer, and they slowed their speed quite a bit. The T123s continued moving North in the lead at a faster pace, but the other seven whales remained in the same general group. We watched the big brothers T128 and T125A hangout with a couple of members of the T75Bs, as the other members stayed closer to shore with roaming female T77D. Eventually, they all joined up to make one tightly knit group of seven. After some amazing time spent with these whales, we decided to head North and try to get a few quick looks at the T123s before we headed back to town. We caught up with them near the top of San Juan Channel. They were still moving quite fast! At this point the sun had poked out, and the water looked incredibly blue as this fan-favorite family of four cut through it. After a few minutes with them, we turned back South to return home.
The IDs and details of the 11 total whales that we saw are as follows:
T75B "Pebbles" (F) b. 1994
T75B2 "Jasper" (F) b. 2015
T75B3 "Rubble" (M) b. 2017
T75B4 "Petra" (F) b. 2021
T77D "Alcyon" (F) b. 2009
T123 "Sidney" (F) b. 1993
T123A "Stanley" (M) b. 2000
T123C "Lucky" (F) b. 2012
T123D "Darcy" (F) b. 2018
T128 "Flotsam" (M) b. 1988
T125A "Jetsam" (M) b. 1998
This was an absolutely epic day FILLED with Bigg's Killer Whales. Each and every person including our crew was stoked to be out there to witness it. We had such a great time with this group of passengers and thank them for choosing to spend their day with us here at San Juan Safaris!!!
Wanting 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/