Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | August 16th 2025 | 10:00 am
I hadn't been in Lopez Sound all season, so today was definitely a fun time exploring the beautiful shorelines while watching one of our favorite Bigg's Killer Whale families. When we left the harbor, we had heard about this report of whales traveling inter island so we decided to go that way for our best chance of catching up to them. We zoomed by Shaw Island, and made a brief stop to search for bald eagles by a nest. We got great looks at the massive eagle nest, but no eagles nearby so we continued east. Once we rounded Lopez, we continued into Lopez Sound where this group of whales was being watched by a few boats. The whale family had been identified as the T109As, so it was no surprise to find them patrolling tight to shore in the sound. As soon as we got on scene, the family began showing signs of hunting as they circled around and even showed us a few tail splashes. Soon enough they slowly continued traveling around the area, making a few direction changes as they stayed close to the shorelines. Since they weren't traveling very far around us, we were able to sit in one spot and listen to them exhale as they traveled through the area. This was such an amazing way to appreciate everything about them, especially since this family is known to be close to shore and often hunting. Once they continued traveling up the Sound, we slowly made our departure.
We continued our travels to the south, planning to go around the rest of Lopez and loop back to Friday Harbor while still scanning the coastlines. Along the way, we heard a report of a humpback whale south of Lopez, so we decided to go check it out! We left the Lopez coastline and continued towards the Juan de Fuca, and eventually reached one of the shallower banks to begin scanning. We quickly saw the blow of this whale, and then the arch in the back before a beautiful fluking dive! This was an amazing first look, and based on photos of the fluke we were able to identify this whale as the humpback named Victory! We didn't have to wait too long before Victory surfaced again and we enjoyed seeing her circle around the area taking dives to feed on the bank. After a little while it was time to once again say goodbye to the whale and continue back north. We made a stop at Whale Rocks to see the Stellar's Sea Lions before zooming up San Juan Channel to Friday Harbor. Today was a perfect (and lucky) morning out on the water!