Kelly | M/V Osprey | August 6th, 2026 | 12:30pm
Hot hot summer day here in the San Juan’s! It felt amazing as the boat picked up speed and cooled us all off with a gentle ocean breeze. We took a left turn out of Friday Harbor and pointed north in San Jan Channel, setting our sights for a whale report off Stuart Island. Slipping into Spieden Channel and catching looks at non-native Mouflon sheep, harbor seals and bald eagles close to the shoreline. A we approached Stuart Islands scenic Turn Point Lighthouse (the most northwest point in the continental united states) and noticed exhales in the distance. This was a group of 7 whales identified as:
- T036/Flapjack — female, born before 1970
- T036B/Tattertip — female, born in 1998
- T036B1/Bhotia — female, born in 2009
- T036B1A/Maple — female, born in 2025
- T036B2/Greenfelder — female, born in 2013
- T036B4/Auk — born in 2024
- T137A/Jack — male, born in 2002
Full grown male, T137A “Jack” a clear standout amongst the group with his 6ft tall fin towering over every member of the T36’s. We watched these whales split into two groups and travel across the Canadian border, inching closer to Saturna Islands shoreline. Just behind the group of orcas, we noticed an extra tall exhale in the distance… a humpback whale! This humpback was identified as BCX1795 aka Scuttle! First spotted in 2016 and a known Baja migrator. We watched him surface gracefully off our starboard side before turning back to Friday Habor.