Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | August 5th, 2026 | 2:00 pm
Today’s adventure tour brought us to one of my favorite areas to find whales in… all the way in Saanich Inlet in Vancouver Island! When we departed Friday Harbor, we had some reports of Bigg’s Killer Whales near Salt Spring Island and other rumors in the Gulf Islands. We decided to get out as fast as we could to that area, so we zoomed up San Juan Channel and took the north side of Stuart Island as we continued northwest. Along the way, we scanned for any other wildlife or whale activity and got to see two bald eagles. From there we continued towards Swartz Bay, and then began to slow down once we reached Satellite Channel. Another PWWA vessel was with a pair of Bigg’s Killer Whales here, and from far away we had seen a brief look at one of their tall dorsal fins. We waited in the vicinity they were expected to be for some time… they seemed to be taking some sneaky longer dives. Captain Vaun ended up spotting them a half mile south of us, meaning they had decided to begin traveling down into Saanich Inlet. This unique area slowly narrows until a dead end, so we wondered what these whales were up to. We have seen this pair a few times this season, a mom and son duo known as T37A “Volker” and T37A2 “Inky”. They continued taking 7 minute dives and slowly traveling, changing their path a few times. In the glassy calm waters, we enjoyed seeing these whales during their long surface intervals and even got to hear their exhalations across the water before we had to depart.
Since Saanich is quite far for us, we were traveling straight back towards Friday Harbor. However, on the way back we spotted a pair of humpback whales south of Stuart! We slowed down to get some looks at them, and got to see multiple fluking dives from them as well as some harbor porpoise that were also traveling and feeding in the area. This pair had been identified as individuals known as Octo and Seltzer. I have actually seen Octo before, about two years ago in this region! They continued taking short dives in the area, and soon it was time for us to continue on. We took Spieden Channel and saw harbor seals and moufflon sheep along the way. What a rewarding afternoon in the Salish Sea!
Want 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/