Lauren Tschirhart | May 30th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm
We often say that every day, and more accurately every hour is different out here on the Salish Sea. These animals are constantly moving in and out of the region, so you truly never know what you’re going to see. Today was the perfect example of that. We are in constant communication with other Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) vessels, so we knew there were no orcas sighted anywhere in our range yet today. It’s not every day we see orcas, and when you are working with wildlife, nothing can ever be guaranteed. Although our guests know that, today in particular we had TONS of orca lovers aboard. I’m talking hardcore orca lovers… Like folks with orca with tattoos! We crossed our fingers, not wanting to let these fanatics down, and the M/V Osprey departed Friday Harbor.
Although there were no orcas sighted yet today, we were hoping to see some big beautiful baleen whales. Both Gray Whales and Humpback Whales had been sighted today in Rosario Strait! We headed towards Upright Channel, beginning our adventure with an inter-Island cruise. Our first stop was to a navigational marker, as there were three Steller’s Sea Lions hanging out on the large red can. We viewed these massive Steller’s Sea Lions and then continued on to look for the Gray Whale report. We searched and searched and searched, but never caught a glimpse of the reported gray. Gray whales are known to be elusive and hard to spot. They don’t have a true dorsal fin, instead they have knuckles that run along their backs, and sometimes they truly just look like rocks. Since we couldn’t find this whale, we headed a bit further south to join some other PWWA boats who were busy watching a humpback whale. Although we were not able to get a firm ID on this humpback, based on its size, we knew it was a juvenile. We watched as this humpback cruised around Rosario, getting the opportunity to witness several fluke up dives. Suddenly Captain Gabe got on the microphone with an unexpected announcement. Killer Whales had just been picked up near Eastpoint. Eastpoint is the most eastern point on Saturna Island, which is an island in British Columbia. This report was admittedly far, but we decided to give it our best shot. We waved goodbye to our humpback friend and headed north. This decision was risky. These whales had to continue traveling southeast, or else they would be too far for us. After about 40 minutes of travel, we finally started seeing exhales in the distance. We were then rewarded with the most beautiful looks at 7 Bigg’s Killer Whales. Members of the T124A4’s and the T123 matriline were surfacing right under the Vancouver city skyline. These whales were on a mission, some of the youngsters were even porpoising across the surface of the sea. We couldn’t stay long as this report quite literally took us to a different country… But the journey was beyond worth it. What a blessing for all aboard the M/V Osprey!
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