Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | July 19th, 2026 | 10:00am
We left the dock with no whale reports yet at 10am, but this is not abnormal for morning trips. Each and every day is a clean reset when it comes to sightings, and the morning tours usually have some searching to do to find whales. We went Northwest to search. We started by wrapping around the top of Spieden Island where we spotted a Bald Eagle flying just over us. We then made a stop at Sentinel Rock to view some Harbor Seals, and saw some adorable pups within the group. These babies stay with their moms for no more than six weeks, so these babies were likely only a couple of weeks old! From there we headed West across Haro Strait entering Canadian waters. We searched near Sidney Island and D'Arcy Island before making a stop at Mandarte Island. This island has a very rich bird history. It has been used for Song Sparrow studies since the 1960's, and is home to massive nesting colonies of both Cormorants and Glaucous-Winged Gulls. We saw plenty of these birds, as well as tons of Pigeon Guillemots around us in the water. These are one of my favorite birds in the region, especially their bright red feet! We then took a look at Turn Point Lighthouse, which is the most Northwest point in the entire lower 48 states. We searched a bit more, but unfortunately didn't come across any whales species. As we were searching though, a report of a Humpback Whale in Rosario Strait popped up! We travelled around the top of Orcas Island and went down Rosario Strait to see a huge blow in the air! It was a Humpback travelling Northeast not far from the Anacortes ferry terminal. After just a couple of breaths, I was talking to Captain Vaun when I turned around and saw a huge splash! We had both missed it, but the whale had breached! Several of our passengers were fortunate enough to see it though. We watched this whale as it travelled for several breath sequences. They even showed off their fluke several times before taking dives. This does not always happen during Humpback encounters, so it was special to see it that many times! Not very much is known about this specific whale. Before this day, it had only been seen one other time in British Columbia last summer. We do not know the gender or where they migrate from, and they do not yet have a nickname. After some awesome looks at this mysterious young whale, we headed back towards Friday Harbor. We took a similar route as the ferries do, but made one final stop just outside of town. There was a Sea Otter resting in a kelp bed! This little one was wrapped up in kelp and appeared to be sleeping, looking absolutely adorable. It is not very common to see this species in the Salish Sea, so it was an awesome way to end the trip! From there we entered the harbor and docked the boat before saying our goodbyes.
The ID and details of the humpback whale that we saw are as follows:
CRC-23519 "Unnamed" (?) b. 2025
This trip was truly an adventure. These passengers were an absolute joy to be out on the water with and we want to thank them for choosing to spend their morning 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/