Lauren Tschirhart | October 22nd, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 1:30 pm
It was a perfect October day here in the Salish Sea. The sky was low lit and cloudly, but there were unbelievable pockets of sunshine cascading over the Olympic Peninsula. The M/V Osprey departed Friday Harbor and headed south. Our first stop was to Turn Rock to get a glimpse of a sea otter rolling around in the kelp bed. Next we headed towards Cattle Pass, in awe of the picturesque Cattle Point Lighthouse, which had sun beams dancing behind it. We got word that a fellow Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) Vessel had found a humpback traveling just south of where we were, so we started motoring that way. As we slowly made our way on scene, this humpback went on a deep dive, bringing its large tail fluke out of the water as it dove. I was able to snap a photo of its fluke and identified the animal as none other than BCX1358 “Frankenstein.” Frankenstein is a male humpback whale, who got its name after the patch like markings on the left side of its fluke. We were overjoyed that Frankenstein decided to join us here in the Salish Sea during “Spooky Season.” It felt like Halloween came early this year!
After spending some time with this incredible creature, we continued southwest following up on a report of a different species of cetacean. A group of four Bigg’s Killer Whales were found traveling in the Haro Strait, and due to the photo-identification work of our colleagues, we knew who they were before even arriving! This group was made up of the T037B’s as well as T049C/ Nielson! The matriarch of the T037B’s T037B/ Harold and T049C/ Nielson were both born in 1998! Which I thought was kind of adorable. We observed as T049C/ Nielsen and T037B1/ Lance swam side by side, while T037B/ Harold and her four year old daughter T037B3/ Slice swam together several yards in front of them. T037B1/ Lance is a 14-year-old sprouting male, so it was cool to see his growing dorsal stand next to T049C/ Nielson as his 6 foot dorsal towered above.
After spending time with these four orcas, we made our way back east, making one last stop at Whale Rocks to observe a large group of Steller Sea Lions. With trips this good this late into the year, it’s hard to believe our season will be over in just a little over a week.
Want 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/