Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | June 26th, 2026 | 12:30pm
This tour left the dock in calm conditions, with the occasional light rainfall for a few minutes at a time; a very "PNW" type of afternoon! We thankfully had a very short transit to our first group of whales though, and the rain stopped just as we arrived! The T49As were moving East through Cayou Channel, so we chose to wrap around the bottom of Shaw Island and meet up with them on the other side of it. We timed this perfectly and were welcomed with the sight of six black dorsal fins cutting through the water! This family is led by the 40 year old mother/matriarch "Nan". "Nan" is known for being a fantastic mother. She has had an astounding seven children thus far, and all are alive and thriving! She was joined by her five youngest offspring today (her two oldest usually travel separately from her). These whales were changing directions quite often, then chose to rest and were logging for a few minutes in some very calm water. Near the end of this encounter I noticed a small black/white object sticking up out of the water while looking through our camera lens. Upon inspecting the photos, I determined that T49A6 "Charlie ll" was just barely lifting his rostrum and face out of the water. This whale is extremely adored for having a very prominent underbite, and I thought it was lovely that we got a look at it just as we were leaving!
We left because another report of Bigg's Killer Whales popped up very close by. We travelled just a few minutes into San Juan Channel and were met by the T65Bs! This family of four whales is one of my absolute favorites in the entire Bigg's population. They are led by 33 year old mother/matriarch "Chunk". These whales veered East a bit, and we watched them pass closely by Crane Island. After some great looks, we eventually departed and began back towards home.
The IDs and details of the ten total whales that we saw are as follows:
T49A "Nan" (F) b. 1986
T49A3 "Nat" (M) b. 2011
T49A4 "Neptune" (M) b. 2014
T49A5 "Nebula" (F) b. 2017
T49A6 "Charlie ll" (M) b. 2022
T49A7 "Nimbus" (?) b. 2026
T65B "Chunk" (F) b. 1993
T65B1 "Birdsall" (M) b. 2011
T65B2 "Corvis" (M) b. 2019
T65B3 "Rook" (M) b. 2023
We had such a great time with this group of passengers and thank them for choosing to spend their day with us here at San Juan Safaris!!!
Wanting 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/