Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | August 3rd 2025 | 10:00 am
The morning searches were tough! This whole week it has been hard to find whales in the San Juans but today we succeeded!
We started with a search North with little success. We did however enjoy time with many harbor porpoise and a seal north of Spieden Island. We then began a trip south alogn the West side of San Juan to follow new rumors of whales in the area.
Going deep in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we found 5 whales who were later identified to be the T065As. This family consists of the mother, Artemis, and her children including 2 large older males. These whales were amazing to see and made the search worthwhile! For some reason this past week there hasn’t been much orca activity aside from one family that passed through until today.
In our search, we did get great views of the entirety of San Juan Island—even circumnavigating it! Seeing Lime Kiln lighthouse was stunning in this morning and then Cattle Point lighthouse on our way back from whales was breathtaking. This area has some of the most stunning scenery for whale watching from the beautiful island to the backdrop of mountains on three sides of us. It’s too bad the smokey air obstructed some views today but normally the Canadian Coastals, North Cascades, and Olympics can be visible in a trip.
Another beautiful day in our beauty of an archipelago!