Abby | M/V Kestrel | 2pm | 9/8/2021

Captain Solan and I cruised out of the harbor with the intention of viewing what is known as a “T-Party,” where several families of transient, or Biggs, killer whales were playfully interacting with one another. We zipped in between Shaw and Lopez Island, through Obstruction Pass, and headed North through the Rosario Strait before seeing our first exhalations and dorsal fins dotting the surface of the water.

Below is a list of the matrilines we...

Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion | 09/04/2021 | 1:30pm

    Today was another grey day. It felt like 7:00pm all afternoon as the sun never seemed to be able to creep out from behind the clouds. Yet still, the seas were flat calm, glassy. These are perfect whale spotting conditions and myself and our boatful of guests were hyped to get out there and see what we could find. 

    There was only one whale report this morning: a family called the T100s that were currently foraging just south of Hein...

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 09/03/2021 | 2:00pm

    Today was a pretty cold day. Grey clouds covered the sky and seemed to block out the sun as Kestrel raced down the San Juan channel towards the Juan De Fuca. In my time working on boats however, I’ve learned to really value a grey day. I find it’s much easier to spot whales or even simply disturbances on the water when there’s not an intense glare from the sun. A sharp black orca dorsal fin can be pretty hard to miss on a day like...

Abby | M/V Osprey | 8/11/2021

Naturalist Jordan, Captain Gabe, and I set out on an adventure to find some orcas. We had already seen them on our first trip, but they were still quite far at this point. We decided to take a gamble and press on towards Canadian waters, hopeful they would directionally trend in our favor. We headed north through San Juan Channel, a bald eagle making an immediate appearance as it regally sat atop a tall pine. We made a quick pit stop at Flattop Island to...

Abby | M/V Sea Lion | 8/9/2021

As usual, Captain Pete and I have the best luck. With multiple matrilines traveling through the islands, we had our pick of the pod. We decided to travel towards the T037A’s, one of my favorite Biggs killer whale family groups, which has a total of six members, although only five were present:

• Volker T037A (Female, 1994)
  
  • Inyo T037A1 (Gender Unknown, 2007)—Not present today
  • Inky T037A2 (Male, 2009)
  • Spinnaker T037A3 (Male, 2013)
  • Crinkle T037A4 (Gender...

Abby & Maxx | Sea Lion | 6/23/2021

Whale, whale, whale. Hello there! Abby here.

I just got back from this stellar trip and am now on a complete orca high.

Captain Pete, Maxx, and I zipped out of Friday Harbor to find the T037A’s in San Juan Channel.

• Volker T037A (Female, 1994)
  
  • Inyo T037A1 (Gender Unknown, 2007)
  • Inky T037A2 (Male, 2009)
  • Spinnaker T037A3 (Male, 2013)
  • Crinkle T037A4 (Gender Unknown, 2015)

As we headed south through San Juan Channel, travelling parallel to our...

Abby & Maxx | Sea Lion | 6/23/2021

Whale, whale, whale. Hello there! Abby here.

I just got back from this stellar trip and am now on a complete orca high.

Captain Pete, Maxx, and I zipped out of Friday Harbor to find the T037A’s in San Juan Channel.

• Volker T037A (Female, 1994)
  
  • Inyo T037A1 (Gender Unknown, 2007)
  • Inky T037A2 (Male, 2009)
  • Spinnaker T037A3 (Male, 2013)
  • Crinkle T037A4 (Gender Unknown, 2015)

As we headed south through San Juan Channel, travelling parallel to our...

Abby | Kestrel | 7/15/2021

As if I thought my orca encounters couldn’t get any better, BAM! Today happened…

I suited up in fleece-lined pants, ready to take on the wind and waves that were about to disenchant the calm, put-together look I had so carefully compiled this morning. Weather reports came in of five-foot swells out in Haro Strait, and, as if right on cue, so did the killer whale reports. Captain Eric and I held on as we zoomed through San Juan Channel, 18 guests unaware...

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 07/12/2021 | 2:00pm

Captain Sarah and I decided to head south this afternoon, trying our luck in finding whales off the various banks that rise up in the Juan De Fuca. After passing Goose Island to admire some nesting Pelagic Cormorants we continued out of the San Juan Channel. 

We then slowed over Salmon Bank at our first baitball, gulls and Rhinoceros Auklets flocking tightly over an unseen ball of fish below. The anticipation built as we waited, hoping...

Maxx K. | M/V Osprey | 07/07/2021 | 5:30pm

    Today’s sunset tour started like they often do: Osprey left Friday harbor in search of whales, following up on rumors of whales nearby. I was not prepared however for just how spectacular the trip would end up being. 

Rumors of killer whales led us north, through the San Juan Channel and into the Wasp Islands that separate the west coasts of Shaw and Orcas. Osprey then turned left into West Sound and towards the family of Bigg’s Killer...