Olivia Esqueda | May 18th, 2025 | M/V Osprey | 11:00am
Today was one of our favorite days out on the water, as we were joined by many of our own community members! Not often do we have the pleasure of leaving the dock with a reported whale sighting, but right before we boarded passengers, there were Bigg’s Killer Whales found in Spieden Channel, just north of San Juan Island. We left the dock and headed north, with the wind trying to steal our hats and the sun kissing our cheeks. Not long after, we caught our first glimpses of a Bigg’s Killer Whale matriline known as the T18’s [also referred to as the T19’s with the recent loss of T18 herself]. This is one of my personal favorite families and seems to be a favorite for many others in the whale community. It is comprised of three transient orcas: the matriarch known as T19 [Nootka, a female born sometime before 1965] and her two sons, T19B [Galiano, a male born in 1995] and T19C [Spouter, born in 2001]. They are well known for being expert hunters and even predating on Minke Whales!
We watched for a while and then decided to slowly slip away and look at other wildlife nearby, such as Harbor Seals, Bald Eagles [and a nest!], Mouflon Sheep, and a raft of Steller’s Sea Lions swimming along the shoreline. This opened the door for such a big conversation on the history of our islands, geology, and conservation.
Working our way back towards Friday Harbor, we were able to see those same orcas one more time and then played the “Galley Games” with all the kiddos! In other words, we spoiled them with some free popcorn in trade for answering wildlife questions about our trip on the microphone for all the passengers to hear- it was a huge hit! This is always so much fun, especially when we have so many kids on board. Today left us all smiling, and honestly- isn’t that what it’s all about?