Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | July 12th, 2026 | 10:00 am
As is usual with our morning adventure trips, our plan changed a few times as we joined the search for whales at 10:00. Before leaving the dock, Captain Brian was thinking we would start by searching south in San Juan Channel and then along the banks in the Juan de Fuca. However, once we were leaving the dock there were a few rumors of some whales in Canada so we began heading north with the plan to eventually search near Sidney. Once we reached Spieden Channel though, some new reports of rumors of whales near the south side of Lopez Island came in! With this report, Captain Brian decided to head in that direction (where he originally wanted to search) so we could see what was going on. We zoomed interisland, continuing to scan for anything else along the way near Orcas and Shaw Islands before turning towards Lopez Sound. We stopped at some great seal haul out spots in here; in such a low tide it was the perfect place for seals to be resting. There were even some adorable seal pups resting alongside their mothers! From here we continued south and were soon approaching the whale report.
A familiar group of 6 Bigg’s Killer Whales had been making their way north, and we soon began to see the smaller dorsal fins of the many young individuals in the T46B matriline! This family always holds a special place in my heart, especially with their newest baby known as Pi always giving us the cutest looks at the surface. T46B2 Akela and her 3 year old baby 46B2B Takaya were still traveling with her mother and 3 of her siblings. This mix of individuals is always fun since there are 3 whales that are 3 years or younger, and the majority of this family is female. The only confirmed male, T46B4 Quiver, was also in the mix looking about as big as his mom as he continues to grow in his teenage years. We followed along as they traveled somewhat split up, but overall seemed to be in a peaceful travel mode. They followed along the Lopez shoreline, picking up some speed and converging together near Frost Island. We got our final looks here, before continuing on. After this beautiful encounter, we made our way west over the top of Lopez and then south in San Juan Channel until we reached Whale Rocks to see many Stellar’s Sea Lions! These animals are always fun to watch as they crawl all over the top of the island, growling at each other and resting in the sun. We then made our way toward one of Captain Brian’s favorite “lazy rivers” in the area to ride the current up along the Lopez shoreline getting some close looks at harbor seals and a bald eagle. With today’s beautiful conditions on the water, this was the perfect morning trip. We couldn’t wait to get back out on the water for our afternoon to see what else we could find today.
Want 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/