Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | July 11th, 2026 | 10:00am
We left the dock with our options wide open on this morning. There weren't any solid reports within our range yet, which meant that we were going to start out in search mode. We decided to head Northeast and check out an area that consists of several small islands such as Flattop and Waldron. These islands are full of Harbor Seals, so we frequently see Bigg's Killer Whales here while they circle the islands in search of a meal. We admired other species of wildlife while doing this, such as Bald Eagles, Pigeon Guillemots, Harbor Seals, etc. After not finding any whales, we decided to chase a rumor of Killer Whales up in Canadian waters to the Northwest of us. There wasn't much info behind the rumor, but we were determined to find some dorsal fins. While we were flying in that direction, our luck suddenly changed. Another boat that is a part of the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) reported Bigg's Killer Whales off of Turn Island, which was just a couple of miles from us! We quickly turned left and were on scene within a few minutes. We were in the right place at the right time, and were so excited to see several dorsal fins sticking above the water surface immediately! It took some time to figure out who all was here, but the group was made up of three families of whales. The T123s, T37As, and T37Bs. The T123s are a fan-favorite family in the area, and can often be found here. This was my first time seeing either of the other two families this season though! We first watched the T37As, watching the other two families pass by in the background. We then admired the T123s for a bit, before shutting off our engine and watching the T37As pass by us. Just before we left, the youngest whale in the family, T37A4 "Crinkle" surprised us with a breach! The young whale fully jumped out of the water, writing an absolutely perfect ending to this tour by doing so. After saying our goodbyes as we slowly departed, we travelled back to Friday Harbor and returned to land.
The IDs and details of the 11 total whales that we saw are as follows:
T123 "Sidney" (F) b. 1985
T123A "Stanley" (M) b. 2000
T123C "Lucky" (F) b. 2012
T123D "Darcy" (F) b. 2018
T37A "Volker" (F) b. 1994
T37A2 "Inky" (M) b. 2009
T37A3 "Spinnaker" (M) b. 2012
T37A4 "Crinkle" (F) b. 2015
T37B "Harald" (F) b. 1998
T37B1 "Lance" (M) b. 2012
T37B2 "Slice" (F) b. 2022
This was such a fun trip with an epic ending. We want to thank this group of passengers 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/