Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Friday, September 11, 2026 | 2:00 PM
Today was an adventure tour on Kestrel to say the least! The Strait of Juan de Fuca is essentially the Salish Sea’s mouth into the greater Pacific Ocean running east to west between the Olympic peninsula and Vancouver Island, and I had never been as far west into the Strait before today. We also call this body of water the “whale highway,” as it’s a common entrance point for any marine mammal traveling along the PNW coast to change lanes into the Salish Sea. We cruised south out of Friday Harbor down San Juan Channel and past Victoria BC into the Straight of Juan de Fuca, wasting no time towards distant reports. The transit on this moody afternoon was worth it, as we eventually met a humpback whale named Aerie! Aerie (BCY0983) was first seen in 2016 in British Columbia and is known to be apart of the breeding population in Hawaii (gender unknown). After getting several great looks at Aerie’s fluke before those deeper dives, we made our way back towards Cattle Pass off San Juan Island. A bonus whale popped up on the way home, a Slinky/Stinky Minke whale!! This minke was actively lunging at the surface; I had never seen that much of a minke whale’s body, and neither had Captain Vaun; this was honestly the highlight of my day! We stopped by Whale Rocks to see the biggest sea lion in the world, the Stellers! Last but not least, the sea otter that’s been hanging out in the kelp forest by Turn Rock twirled and spun about in those kelp blades to conclude our awesome day.
Big thanks to Aerie and all passengers onboard today!
More information on the Pacific Whale Watch Association: https://www.pacificwhalewatchassociation.com/