Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Friday, July 31, 2026 | 2:00 pm
Today was certainly among my top 3 favorite tours of the season so far. Let me tell you why.
The first stop of the day at Goose Rock in Cattle Pass did not disappoint; the rock was blanketed in pelagic and double-crested cormorants towards the top, and rock sausages (Harbor seals) on the bottom, all with Cattle Point Lighthouse in the backdrop.
Then, M/V Kestrel headed southeast towards Smith Island to reports of four Bigg’s killer whales. And sure enough, there they were:
- T075B / Pebbles — female, born in 1994
- T075B2/Jasper/Fifi — female, born in 2015
- T075B3/Rubble/Kasnikyu — male, born in 2017
- T075B4/Petra — female, born in 2021
Minutes after coming on scene, the water’s surface became a party: the killer whales slapped their tails on the surface countless times, the “booms” echoing across the ocean. They milled in kelp beds, surfacing with beautiful drapes of macroalgae across their dorsal fins. A spyhop. And even…BREACHES!!! This family of killer whales had just made a successful kill as we were coming on scene, so it is no surprise that they wanted to celebrate! It truly does not get much better than this.
We concluded the already awesome day with Stellar sea lions at Whale Rocks before returning to Friday Harbor through San Juan Channel.
Hope you guys enjoyed as much as Captain Gabe and I did!
Check out the photos from today at: https://sanjuansafaris.smugmug.com/
More information on the Pacific Whale Watch Association: https://www.pacificwhalewatchassociation.com/