Lauren | M/V Kestrel | Tuesday, July 8th, 2025 | 2:00 PM
Today was my first day back to work after a five day Fourth of July vacation, and what a brilliant welcome back it was! Our Adventure Whale Watch & Wildlife tour had an incredible encounter with the Bigg’s Killer Whale family the T046B’s. The M/V Kestrel departed Friday Harbor and headed north into San Juan Channel. We made our way into President‘s Channel, between Orcas and Waldron, making a pit stop at Parker Reef to view some harbor seals. After our pinniped stop, we aimed towards the north east corner of Orcas Island to follow up on a killer whale report. As we got on scene we noticed this family of eight was milling around, circling each other rapidly. The captains that were with the whales before we arrived notified us that it seemed like they had killed something and we’re in the middle of prey sharing. Shortly after being there, we inferred the same thing, as these whales suddenly became very surface active. We started seeing a bit of splashing, several tail lobs, and even a fluke wave. Then things started to get even more exciting… In the distance we witnessed several spy hops, cartwheels and back dives. We got an epic pass of these whales off our stern and watched as they continued southeast further into Rosario Strait. This was by far one of the best tours I’ve had all season and a fantastic welcome back after the holiday weekend!