Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | June 7th, 2026 | 12:30pm
Once this tour left Friday Harbor, we went South down San Juan Channel. We had a beautiful view Cattle Point Lighthouse which sits at the southernmost point of San Juan Island, then got some looks at both Harbor Seals as well as Steller Sea Lions! We made these stops quick though because the race for whales was on immediately after leaving these pinnipeds! We entered some strong currents just outside of Cattle Pass as we wrapped around the bottom of Lopez Island, but nothing that the trusty M/V Osprey couldn't handle. As we entered Rosario Strait pointed towards Anacortes, the water calmed and we were rewarded with two families of Bigg's Killer Whales. These were actually two sisters (Elkugu and Sabio) each with their two children. Somewhat of a family reunion! The ID’s and details of these six whales are as follows:
T124A2 "Elkugu" (F) b. 2001
T124A2A "Agafia" (M) b. 2013
T124A2B "Litton" (F) b. 2016
T124A4 "Sabio" (F) b. 2010
T124A4A "Strix" (F) b. 2021
T124A1A "Sabine" (F) b. 2024 (Spyhopping Whale in Blog Photo)
These whales were spending a ton of time at the surface and giving us some awesome looks as they travelled South down Burrows Bay. The youngest whale present (T124A1A "Sabine") spyhopped shortly after we arrived. We also saw some flukes in the air, rolling, and porpoising throughout the encounter. There at one point was quite a bit of splashing followed by some sharp direction changes. This certainly could have meant that they snagged a meal under the surface while we were on scene! This group even treated us to an unforgettable view of Deception Pass Bridge in the background while admiring them (a first for me personally)! After some quality time spent with these individuals, we departed and followed a similar route back to San Juan Channel. We stopped to get some more looks at those massive Steller Sea Lions from earlier in the trip. There were some large males roughhousing in the water with each other (boys will be boys), and plenty of others sleeping up on the nearby rocks. From there we returned back to Friday Harbor to close out an awesome afternoon out on the Salish Sea!
We had such a great time with this group of passengers and thank them for choosing to spend their day with us here at San Juan Safaris!!!
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/