Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | July 13th, 2025 | 12:30 PM
The whales were a bit further away today, but they definitely made the trek worth it! When we left the dock, we had reports of Bigg’s Killer Whales pretty far south in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Since these were the closest sightings at this point, we decided to head straight that way for our best chance of catching up with them. We viewed harbor seals along San Juan Channel, got beautiful views of Cattle Point Lighthouse, and began traveling through the larger body of water towards the Olympic Peninsula. It was such a beautiful, clear day that we could even see Mount Rainier in the distance. We scanned the area for any possible baleen whales in the banks along the way, but kept pushing south. Eventually, we reached a few other boats and finally saw some black dorsal fins spread through the area! We soon got closer to the area, and could see glimpses of the eight members of the T46B matriline! I love seeing this family with 46B Raksha traveling with her kids and a few grandkids! The youngest member, T46B3A, was born this year so it was amazing seeing this tiny whale among so many older relatives. This family was very exciting to watch, it seemed almost like they were putting on a show for us! We got to see many tail splashes, a full body breach, some spy hops, and lots of surfacings as they moved around the area! Six of the family members were traveling closer together with one mom and calf trailing behind, and it was beautiful to watch them surface with Mount Baker in the distance behind them. The family swam right past our boat giving us incredible last looks. Once they moved further west, we began to leave the area to begin our travels back to Friday Harbor.
Along the way back, we were excited to find an elusive Minke whale feeding on one of the banks! We only got a few looks at this individual, but it was an awesome bonus sighting. We spotted a few Stellar’s Sea Lions resting on a channel marker, and then got some looks at many more of them when we reached Whale Rocks on our way back up Cattle Pass. These sightings really rounded out our trip, showcasing so much of the biodiversity in marine life we get here in the Salish Sea.