Abby | M/V Sea Lion | April 26th, 2026 | 12:30pm
The beautiful weather never gets old! Another sunny day with calm waters. As we headed south in San Juan Channel, we had a very quick glimpse of what we think was either a harbor porpoise or minke whale. So many of us on board had a split second before it went under again. It just goes to show how much everyone on board works together to spot things because it can happen so quickly! We turned west to travel along the south end of San Juan Island. Our first stop was a report of a humpback whale! When we arrived on scene this individual was just hanging out at the surface. Perhaps they were sleeping or just resting. After a few minutes we were lucky enough to watch as it went on a deep dive. We had incredible views of the tail fluke! It helped us identify it as Scuttle!
BCX1795 - Scuttle, Male, migrates to and from Mexico
We only saw one deep dive from Scuttle as the rest of our time with him he was resting at the surface. Not too far away was a report of three Bigg’s Killer Whales! This group was already identified as the T18’s (or T19s).
- T019/Nootka/Mooyah — female, born before1965
- T019B/Galiano — male, born in 1995
- T019C/Spouter — male, born in 2001
They were transiting along the south end of San Juan Island. Folks on shore would have had great looks! We traveled alongside them for a while and had wonderful views of their dorsal fins. The sunny day made their fins shimmer in the sunlight. Truly a beautiful sight! They were traveling in generally the same direction we needed to go to get back to Friday Harbor. So, after spending some time with them, we made another stop at Whale Rocks to view some Steller’s Sea Lions. Luckily, we couldn’t smell them today! We cruised north in San Juan Channel and made it back to Friday Harbor. Another day filled with wildlife! And numerous whale species at that!
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/