Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | September 20, 2021 | 1:30 pm
For our classic whale watching excursion, we decided to travel north through the San Juan Channel. Reports of some killer whales were far up north towards Saturna Island, meaning we needed to make a straight shot there. We passed by Jones Island, Spieden Island, and eventually Waldron Island, leaving Saturna straight off of our bow. As we neared closer, we caught sight of some exhalations!
These Bigg’s Killer Whales were identified as the T65B’s. They entered an exclusion zone, so we watched them from just outside the boundary. They were moving steadily eastbound, continuing the path of direction from earlier reports. Eventually, the orcas rounded the southeast point of Saturna Island, making their way towards some harbor seals! We watched them mill back and forth, likely stalking some prey hiding on the shoreline. Before we were ready, we needed to turn back towards Friday Harbor, but had enjoyed some awesome looks at this family of killer whales and wished them luck on their hunt!