Kelly | M/V Osprey | Saturday, June 14th 2025 | 1:00 PM
We had no time to waste! The only whales reported in our area were very far away in the Canadian Gulf Islands. We took a hard left out of Friday Harbor and pointed north up San Juan Channel. We enjoyed the gorgeous scenery as we slipped over the border and into Canadian water. Some guests were lucky enough to catch a few looks at harbor porpoise as we crossed Boundary Pass and entered Plummer Sound. Thankfully, we heard from other boats in our network that the whales had turned into Active Pass. This is exactly what we needed! If the whales had continued south, it would be near impossible for us to make it to them in the 4 hour time frame. As we made our way closer and closer to Active Pass, tensions ran high... it appeared that the whales had stalled out right in the middle of the pass. Perhaps they were having trouble fighting the strong countercurrent? What ever the reason may be, the whales did eventually turn back around and point toward the open water in the Straight of Georgia. Oh no...this was looking bad. It was cutting it extremely close, but after making our way through the entirety of Active Pass (my first time EVER doing that on the M/V Osprey), we did FINALLY make it to this group of killer whales identified as the T075B's:
- T075B / Pebbles — female, born in 1994
- T075B2/Jasper/Fifi — born in 2015
- T075B3/Rubble/Kasnikyu — born in 2017
- T075B4/Petra — born in 2021
We were treated to some beautiful looks at the family of 4 as they continued north up Galiano Island shoreline. It felt so serendipitous that those whales briefly turned west and into the pass, if not, we would've never been able to make it up to them. A long but very special trip on the M/V Osprey!