Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | August 2nd, 2026 | 12:30pm
We were gifted absolutely perfect weather on this day, as well as extremely calm seas. This was a great start to the trip as we cruised North up San Juan Channel. We made an early stop at White Rock to view some adorable Harbor Seals that were hauled out and resting. From there we continued a bit further North in the area of Waldron Island towards a newly developing report of whales. As we were approaching, we were so excited to spot two black dorsal fins above the water! It was a pair of Bigg's Killer Whales. These whales were T37A "Volker" and her son T37A2 "Inky". Volker is a 38 year old mother and matriarch, and Inky is a 17 year old male. These two have almost identical notches about halfway down the trailing edge of their dorsal fins, which I think is quite cute. Inky is nearly a fully grown adult male, but he may have a couple of more years of growing to do. Regardless, his dorsal fin is already quite big, likely towering between 5-6 feet above the water. These two were travelling Southwest in some of the calmest water I've seen all season. This made for perfect viewing conditions, and we were even able to turn our engines off several times to hear them surface and breathe. This is always one of my favorite parts of viewing these whales. After spending some quality time with this mother and son, we eventually said goodbye and made our way South. We did some sightseeing of Johns Island as we cruised through Johns Pass. We were treated to several cool bird sightings during this time, including a Great Blue Heron! We then did a pass of Spieden Island's South shore and were lucky enough to spot three bald eagles and so many Mouflon Sheep! The sheep were right down by the edge of the water which allowed us to get great looks at them without needing to use binoculars. From there, we made our way back down San Juan Channel and returned to Friday Harbor. As we docked we recapped an amazing trip in stunning conditions, what a great day out on the Salish Sea!
The IDs and details of the two Killer Whales that we saw are as follows:
Bigg's Killer Whales (2):
T37A "Volker" (F) b. 1994
T37A2 "Inky" (M) b. 2009
This group of passengers was full excitment and tons of amazing questions. We 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/