Abby | M/V Sea Lion | May 1st, 2026 | 12:30pm
A beautiful day to be on the water! We turned left out of Friday Harbor and traveled north in San Juan Channel. We rounded the north end of San Juan Island with beautiful views of Roche Harbor on our port side and Spieden Island at our starboard. We were headed to a report that was traveling north along the west side of Henry Island. As we rounded McCracken Point on the northwest side of Henry Island, we could see some other vessels that were on scene! The report was of 6 Bigg's Killer Whales! this group was already identified as T023 and the T023D's!
- T023/Janice/Warmsprings — female, born in 1964
- T023D/Axle/Brightly — female, born in 1993
- T023D3/Robin — male, born in 2012
- T023D4/Sixx/Ross — born in 2015
- T023D5/Wildside — born in 2019
- and a new baby?!
- T023D/Axle/Brightly — female, born in 1993
As we approached, we had great views of their exhales contrasting on the dark background of the cliff face. They traveled north along Henry Island and turned right, heading east, into Spieden Channel. They picked up a bit of speed on some of their dives and surfaced a way ahead of us. As we were viewing them today many passengers on board noticed that there was a significantly smaller individual with them. The report was of 6 individuals, but the information we have on this family only lists 5. There must be a new calf! In addition to spending time with this multigenerational family, we also had great looks of that young calf! It is not every day that I see groups traveling with grandma's and grandkids, so today feels extra special. Because we were already in Spieden Channel, we decided to cruise along the shoreline of Spieden Island to see if we could find any other wildlife. Sure enough, on Green Point we saw some Steller's Sea Lions hauled out. Before I could even leave the wheelhouse, I could hear their barking sounds. We also had a pair of Bald Eagles perched in a tree right on the shoreline! Towards the end of our Spieden Island tour, we were able to spot some Harbor Seals hauled out on Sentinel Rock. These rock sausages are some of my favorite creatures out here! We had an incredible day filled with so much wildlife and spectacular views of those Bigg's Killer Whales. I am so glad I could share today's trip with all of our guests on board!
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/