Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | August 28th, 2026 | 12:30pm
We were blessed with very fortunate whale reports on this day, as there were multiple Bigg's Killer Whale families moving down San Juan Channel as we left the dock! The two families were the T100s and T101s. The matriarchs/mothers of these two families are T100 "Hutchins" and T101 "Reef". Years after these two whales were discovered several decades ago, it was actually presumed that T101 was the mother of T100, so this was a sort of family reunion! "Reef" is one of the oldest living whales in the population at the moment, being born around 1969. "Hutchins" was joined by her two sons "Laurel" and "Estrella", and "Reef" was joined by her son "Lagoon". "Laurel" and "Lagoon" are both fully grown adult males, so they have massive six foot tall dorsal fins. "Estrella" at 12 years old is likely going to start sprouting his big fin in the next couple of years, but we will see if he is as big as his brother and uncle once he is done growing! We got some amazing looks at these five whales as they cruised down the Channel, eventually passing right by the entrance of Friday Harbor! Seeing whales surface with town in the background was a true reminder of how special of a place this is. Eventually, we said goodbye to these whales and made our way further south to Cattle Point at the bottom of San Juan Island. In this area we checked out Goose Island which had tons of Harbor Seals and Cormorants on it. We then entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca to search for any other wildlife. We noticed a couple of huge bait balls of small schooling fish nearby, with lots of birds grouped up on the surface above them. We then made our way back into San Juan Channel, stopping at Whale Rocks to admire the Steller Sea Lions that like to haul out there. There were so many, and a couple were even splashing and leaping out of the water! From there we kept pointing North and made one finals stop at a kelp bed near Turn Rock. There was a Sea Otter resting in the kelp on this day. This little guy has taken a liking to this spot this season, and can be seen here at least a couple of days per week! We've grown to love him here at Safaris. We then returned to Friday Harbor and recapped a super fun trip as our crew docked the M/V Osprey!
The IDs and details of the five Killer Whales that we saw are as follows:
Bigg's Killer Whales (5):
T100 "Hutchins" (F) b. 1979
T100C "Laurel" (M) b. 2002
T100F "Estrella" (M) b. 2014
T101 "Reef" (F) b. 1969
T101B "Lagoon" (M) b. 1997
This group of passengers was a joy to be out on the water with. We thank them for joining us this afternoon!
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/