Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | June 6th, 2026 | 5:30 pm
We went the distance this evening for my first sunset tour of the season! When we departed Roche Harbor, we did not have any specific sightings we were heading in the direction of. Based on water conditions and where boats had previously searched, we decided to head north and scan the outer San Juans and boundary waters. We hoped that some of the whales that had been north the night before were still sneaking around somewhere that way, and I was especially hoping to find the T123s since they’ve been spending time this way recently. We scanned all along President’s Channel, and went up to Patos and Sucia to search the Strait of Georgia and among the islands. We saw many harbor porpoise through this area’s glassy waters, a great omen for possible activity from other species.
We were continuing around Sucia towards Matia, when we got a shore report of some killer whales on the east side of Orcas Island! With no boats on scene with them, we were eager to get over there for our best chance of finding them. As we cruised down the Orcas coastline, we spotted two bald eagles and many harbor seals among the Peapod islands but we maintained our course to reach the whales. We entered Obstruction Pass and knew we had to be somewhere in the area so began to intensify our searching… Soon enough, I spotted some exhalations ahead of us! A group of 4 Bigg’s Killer Whales, was my original prediction/manifestation correct? Yes, we found the T123s!! T123A Stanley always stands out and is easy to identify, traveling with his mom and sisters. The whole boat was very excited as we made our slow approach and began to hone in on their travel pattern. They started out slowly along the shoreline, but began changing directions a bit and criss crossing the channel. These changes continued as they even got a bit splashy! It was definitely possible that this family was hunting; they continued criss crossing each other and splashing at the surface, we even got to see two spyhops! We followed them along as they slowly moved west under a beautiful sunset. I love this time of day on the water, with limited boats and perfect conditions this was such a dreamy encounter. Eventually we had to begin making our way back to Roche Harbor, so we said goodnight to our whales and enjoyed the rest of our sunset together in our beautiful Salish Sea.
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/