Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | June 15th, 2026 | 1:30 pm
This afternoon’s windy forecast could not deter us in our search for whales! We began heading south, and had beautiful views of Mount Baker and even Mount Rainier in the distance, but quickly began to feel the wind and waves a bit more as we neared Cattle Pass. We got some looks at the Stellar’s Sea Lions on Whale Rocks among the strong current, but we definitely were rocking! Soon we moved on from the sea lions and followed along Lopez to the east, making for Rosario. The winds were not as strong in this area yet, so we had better scanning conditions that continued improving as we got further east. We crossed Rosario and ended up near Allen Island when we spotted the exhalation of a humpback whale! This individual was traveling slowly south east, and we got to see it with peekaboo views of Mount Baker in the background. With a few fluking dives, this whale could be identified as Scuttle, a male that is part of the breeding population in Mexico! I have seen Scuttle recently in other areas of the Salish Sea, so it was wonderful to be reunited with a familiar fluke. We watched Scuttle dive for some time, before we had to begin heading back towards Lopez Island.
We had some hours old reports of a Grey Whale in the area that I was keen to get some looks at, so we cruised towards the area to search for signs at the surface. Suddenly we saw this whale’s exhalation in the shallows, and it was great to quickly see the differences between grey and humpback whales. Grey Whales are typically harder to spot as they lack a dorsal, and we rarely get to see them on our whale watches so I was very excited. We watched a few shallow dives – Captain Gabe told us we were only in about 17 feet of water! These were some of the best looks I’ve ever had a grey whale, really letting us admire the splotchy coloration on the back and even getting to see a bit of its head come up out of the water. Right before we left, we were treated to a rare fluking dive as well! What a special whale encounter. We continued on along Lopez, eventually turning west and arriving back in Friday Harbor. It’s not every day we see 2 species, let alone 2 baleen species, so I will definitely be remembering this day at sea!
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/