Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | June 15th, 2026 | 2:00pm
We left Friday Harbor aboard the M/V Kestrel and headed East towards a report of whales. We quickly admired a huge Bald Eagle's nest, then continued our transit. We travelled roughly along a similar route as the Washington State Ferries do. In fact, we at one point were able to see the Anacortes Ferry Terminal! We then pointed South though, and crossed Rosario Strait. As we neared the East side of Rosario, we began to see spouts on the horizon! We slowly approached "Scuttle", an eight year old male humpback whale. Scuttle is a regular visitor of the Salish Sea, as he comes up to feed here each year from his breeding grounds down in Mexico. Scuttle was moving South against some pretty strong tides, but showing off how powerful of a swimmer he is by still making great progress. We got some great looks at this whale, and got to turn off our engines a couple of times to really hear him breathe! This is one of my favorite parts of any whale encounter. From there, we departed and crossed Rosario Strait heading West. It only took a few minutes to get eyes on another whale species though, a Gray Whale! I personally was super excited to see this species, as I have spent a season researching them in the past and they are not seen very often in these waters! The water was absolutely flat near this whale, and we were the only boat present. This gave us some beautiful looks with our engines off once again. These whales forage on the seafloor, sifting mud and sediment out of their mouths as they feed on small crustaceans. This whale was likely doing that, as they swam back and forth along the same path several times during our brief viewing session. The ID's and details of the two whales that we saw are as follows:
BCX1795 "Scuttle" (M) b. 2018
Unidentified Gray Whale
After departing from our new Gray Whale friend, we took the same route as earlier but this time heading West. We at one point were surprised by a Steller Sea Lion not far off of our left side. This individual was swimming along the coast of Shaw Island. We stopped for a quick look, then continued on our way. As we neared Friday Harbor, we searched a nearby kelp bed and spotted a Sea Otter lounging on the edge of it! This little guy has taken a liking to this particular spot this season, but it is a toss-up whether he is there each day or not. We spent a few minutes watching him float on his back as he groomed himself; so cute! From there, we entered the harbor and recapped our fun day together.
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/