Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | August 24th, 2026 | 2:00pm
This tour left the dock with a report of whales moving North. They were first picked up near Waldron Island and were pointed towards the Canadian boarder. On our way up there we made a stop at a nearby kelp bed to check out a Sea Otter that has been frequenting it lately. He was resting while wrapped in kelp. We got amazing looks at this little guy as we floated past with our engines shut off. We then headed North and made one more stop at White Rock to view some Harbor Seals that were hauled out along the shoreline. There were several dozen, and we even saw one get washed off of a rock by a wave! From there we continued North in search of the whales. We encountered them just as they were crossing the boarder near East Point on Saturna Island. This group of passengers showed so much excitement as we got our first distant looks at these Bigg's Killer Whales, and that same energy stayed present for the entire trip which I loved! These black dorsal fins belonged to the T49A family. This family of six is led by their mother "Nan". She was joined by her five youngest offspring, including a calf named "Nimbus" who was born just earlier this year. Just minutes after arriving on scene we witnessed a huge spyhop from one of these whales! I only got a quick look at it, but my gut said that it was the oldest sibling "Nat". He is a sprouting male, meaning that his fin and body have begun growing and will eventually be huge in the next few years. This whale certainly seemed bigger than the others, so that was my best guess in the moment. We then watched these whales swim over to Tumbo Island and wrap around the South side of it. We then viewed them travel along the shoreline, with a beautiful background draped behind them. As they passed the West point of Tumbo, we got an awesome look at this family just before we departed. We said goodbye to these beauties and began moving South back towards Friday Harbor. Suddenly, Captain Vaun heard that another boat had just found more Bigg's Killer Whales near San Juan Island. We silently hoped that their timing would work out for us to stop and get a look. Our timing ended up being perfect, and we stopped for a few minutes to watch these three whales literally right outside of Friday Harbor. These whales were a 21 year old mother named "Tierna", her four year old calf "Drift", and a solo young male named "Indy". "Indy" is one of the most interesting whales in the entire population. He moved out from his family as a very young age, and has been seen getting into trouble constantly since then. He frequently liked to play with crab pots and show up in random locations with new scratches and scars on his body. He is a social butterfly, commonly hopping around from family to family and travelling and hunting with others. I had never seen him with "Tierna" and "Drift" before this day, but they seemed to be getting along well because they successfully hunted something just after we got there! We can't be sure, but it seemed to be a Harbor Seal. We saw one of the whales almost fully leap out of the water in pursuit of the prey, then they began doing very arched dives and circling, suggesting prey-sharing behavior. We saw two more spyhops in the next few minutes!! This was so special, and such a fun ending to this trip. We then departed these bonus three whales and returned back to Friday Harbor. What an amazing and fun trip!
The IDs and details of the nine Killer Whales that we saw are as follows:
Bigg's Killer Whales (9):
T49A "Nan" (F) b. 1986
T49A3 "Nat" (M) b. 2011
T49A4 "Neptune" (M) b. 2014
T49A5 "Nebula" (F) b. 2017
T49A6 "Charlie ll" (M) b. 2022
T49A7 "Nimbus" (?) b. 2026
T36A1 "Tierna" (F) b. 2005
T36A1A "Drift" (M) b. 2022
T65A5 "Indy" (M) b. 2014
This group of passengers was amazing and I enjoyed getting to know each and every one of them. We thank them for joining us out on the water!
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/