Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | July 5th, 2026 | 2:00pm
This tour had a rather short transit to whales, as the T100s that our morning tour saw were still circling Flattop Island hours later! This shoreline is packed with Harbor Seals, so it is likely that these three Killer Whales had multiple meals in that area throughout the day. Right after we arrived, the family veer off of the shoreline and began heading South down San Juan Channel. We got a couple of amazing looks as they made their way past our vessel. After a few breath cycles, we ventured West to continue searching for more wildlife. We explored the area around Turn Point Lighthouse which is breathtaking. It is the most Northwest point in the entire continental United States. As we floated just feet from a nearby cliff, we spotted multiple Moon Jellyfish in the water. After this, we decided to head a few miles even further West to investigate an area where we thought some whales may be. About an hour earlier, a boat had reported a different group of three Killer Whales coming down in the direction of this area. We positioned ourselves just Southwest of Moresby Island and began scanning the horizon. If the whales were in this area, they could have been in any direction. We spent about ten minutes looking before I finally spotted them about a mile away! The three whales were moving along the shoreline of Portland Island. We slowly approached them and spent some time watching them veer off of the coast. It was not clear at first which whales we were looking at, but it was later determined that this was a pair of sisters from the T46B family as well as one of their calves. They appeared to be taking a field trip away from the family, as there were no signs of any other members on this evening. We sat motionless as this trio made their way past our boat and begin to travel Southeast. We eventually left the area and said goodbye to these three. We split up the long trek back to Friday Harbor with a quick stop at Sentinel Rock for a look at some Harbor Seals. We spotted a couple of newborn pups in this group! From there, we returned back home and docked our vessel.
The IDs and details of the six total whales that we saw are as follows:
T100 "Hutchins" (F) b. 1979
T100C "Laurel" (M) b. 2002
T100E "Estrella" (?) b. 2014
T46B3 "Sedna" (F) b. 2011
T46B3A "Munro" (?) b. 2025
T46B6 "Sol" (F) b. 2019
This was such a fun trip full of beautiful views and wildlife. We want to thank this group of passengers 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/