Levi Vandebunte | M/V Sea Lion | October 2nd, 2026 | 12:30pm
We left the dock and turned North up San Juan Channel on this tour. We wrapped around the top of San Juan Island and entered Mosquito Pass. We wanted to follow up on a whale report that had been submitted from shore along the West side of San Juan about an hour earlier. After searching in the general area for a bit we decided to cross Haro Strait and follow up on a different report from a fellow PWWA vessel. Shortly after crossing into Canadian waters, we spotted six black dorsal fins from a distance. It was the T109As! This family of Bigg's Killer Whales is beloved in this region, and are regular visitors to the Salish Sea. As we were approaching from a distance, I saw one whale repeatably raising their tail flukes above the water and slapping them down on the surface. At that moment I knew that this could be an awesome encounter, and boy was it ever! We observed this family of six whales circle the same area of water while being extremely social and playful. Several whales were tail slapping, rolling, pec slapping, and doing headstands over and over again! This family is led by their 36 year old mother/matriarch "Runaway". She has given birth to eight calves in her life, but her five youngest currently travel with her. "Runaway" was a bit further from us for most of the encounter with her five year old son "Wieland" and one year old calf "Weiss". While mom was babysitting, the three older siblings were as playful as ever! "Garrett" specifically blew us away with some amazing headstands and tail slaps (see above photo). After an absolutely amazing encounter, we eventually said goodbye to this lovely family of whales. We crossed Haro Strait again and went down San Juan Channel back to Friday Harbor. This was one of my favorite tours that I've been on in a while. I surely will remember this day for a long time!
The IDs and details of the six total whales that we saw are as follows:
Bigg's Killer Whales (6):
T109A "Runaway" (F) b. 1990
T109A4 "Garrett" (M) b. 2012
T109A5 "Argyle" (?) b. 2014
T109A6 "Riley" (F) b. 2018
T109A7 "Wieland" (M) b. 2021
T109A8 "Weiss" (?) b. 2025
This group of passengers was so much fun to be on the water with. We thank them for joining us this afternoon!
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/