Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Thursday, August 20, 2026 | 2:00 pm
Every day we depart the dock, we always have a plan; however, that plan often changes. Especially when you find a group of killer whales! After heading south down San Juan Channel, we turned the corner into Haro Strait, where we eventually spotted a massive sail-like dorsal fin cutting through the water, with several smaller fins present in spread out groups. It was a family of six Bigg’s killer whales known as the T109As hugging the shoreline and making their way north from Eagle Cove on San Juan Island.
- T109A/Frio/Runaway — female, born in 1990
- T109A4/Garrett— male, born in 2012
- T109A5/Argyle — born in 2014
- T109A6/Riley — female, born in 2018
- T109A7/Wieland — male, born in 2021
- T109A8/Weiss — born in 2025
The search for wildlife continued back through Cattle Pass. We had to stop by Whale Rocks to oooo and ahhhh at the world’s largest species of sea lion, the Steller sea lion, and marvel at their ominous growls. Next, we got some great looks at another species of pinniped (that is much less agile on land and has a greater fear for Bigg’s killer whales), the Harbor seal. However, the cherry on top was the absolutely adorable sea otter that we spotted off Turn Island, who had wrapped itself in a piece of bull kelp to bask in the warm sun.
We continued north up San Juan Channel and through Wasp Islands after a report, where we saw a completely different matriline of killer whales, but similar in family structure:
- T049A/Nan — female, born in 1986
- T049A3/Nat — male, born in 2011
- T049A4/Neptune — male, born in 2014
- T049A5/Nebula — female, born in 2017
- T049A6/Charlie II — male, born in 2022
- T049A7*/Nimbus — born in 2026
After watching this family travel along Jones Island, we waved goodbye and thanked them for the experience before heading back home.
More information on the Pacific Whale Watch Association: https://www.pacificwhalewatchassociation.com/