Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | July 25th, 2026 | 12:30pm
We ventured South down San Juan Channel on this trip, and were immediately greeted by an adorable Sea Otter just minutes in! He was swimming around the outside of a kelp bed just off of Turn Island. As we were arriving, he swam into the kelp and began wrapping himself in it so that he wouldn't float away. We then watched him roll around for several minutes as he groomed himself. Sea Otters are obsessive over keeping their fur clean, as it is the densest in the entire animal kingdom. This is how they stay warm in such cold waters. After that we continued South and saw some Harbor Seals resting on Goose Island, and tons of Cormorants around their huge nests on the top of the island. From there we wrapped around Cattle Point Lighthouse and entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This massive waterway extends all the way out to the Pacific Ocean, and is a great place to find whales. We pointed towards Victoria, British Columbia as there was a report out of that area recently. We covered several miles then eventually slowed down as we saw the massive exhalation of an adult male Humpback Whale! This was a whale named "Trident", and he is 21 years old. He migrates here from Mexico each year to feed for several months before heading back down to his breeding grounds. This was my first time seeing this Humpback, and I always get excited to meet new whales! "Trident" gave us tons of awesome surfacings, as well as a beautiful look at his fluke as he took a deep dive. The water was abnormally calm down there on this day, and there was almost no boat traffic. This allowed us to hear almost every single breath that the whale took, which always feels magical. Eventually, we turned around and said goodbye to "Trident". On our way back, Captain Gabe suddenly stopped the boat because another species had popped up off of our starboard side, a Minke Whale! Out of the several species of whales that we see out here, Minkes are the least seen by far. They are extremely quick and unpredictable, so you often don't get looks at them. This was only the second Minke that I've personally encountered all season! We got two quick looks at this baleen whale before continuing our trek home. We made one more stop at Whale Rocks to view a large group of Steller Sea Lions. This is the biggest Sea Lion species in the entire world. They have remarkably good mobility on land, and we even got to watch two of them climb out of the water and scale the steep face of the rock. So impressive! After that we made our way back home to Friday Harbor and said goodbye as our crew docked the boat.
The ID and details of the two whales that we saw are as follows:
BCY0524 "Trident" (M) b. 2005 (Humpback)
Unidentified Minke Whale (Minke)
These passengers were an absolute joy to be out on the water with and we want to thank them for choosing to spend their morning 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/