Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | March 10th, 2024 | 12:30pm
Excitement was in the air as we left the harbor on our first tour of the 2025 season! The sky was an overcast grey but at least the forecasted rain was holding off. No whale reports just yet…so we were fully in scanning mode. Our first wildlife encounter was almost instantaneous. A bald eagle soaring overhead suddenly took a nosedive entrapping an unlucky fish in its talons. Gulls swarmed around the commotion as the massive raptor flew off and landed on the shoreline.
We motored north up San Juan Channel, checking every nook and cranny for any sign of a dorsal fin or exhale. Exiting San Juan channel, we made our way northeast into President’s channel--the narrow passage between Orcas and Waldron Island. On our starboard, Mt. Constitution(The tallest point in the San Juan Islands) loomed over us, its highest point obstructed by the low hanging fog. As we exited presidents Channel, I made my way into the wheelhouse after a curious guest asked about the water depth. Moments after relaying the question to captain Eric, something off the bow caught my eye. A massive 6-foot dorsal fin broke the surface! I quickly ran to alert our excited guests. More exhales appeared closer to Orcas island. “There’s splashing over there!’ a guest shouted and pointed to the northeast, more dorsal find in the distance! We had whales in almost every direction. Captain Eric identified this group of 8 whales as members of the T18’s and T49a’s:
T18’s
- T19 “Nootka” (born before 1965) F
- T19B “Galiano” 1995 M
- T19C “Spouter” 2001 M
T49A’s
- T49A “Nan” 1986 F
- T49A3 “Nat” 2011 M
- T49A4 “Neptune” 2015 M
- T49A5 “Nebula” 2017 F
- T49A6 “Charlie II” 2022 ?
We watched as these whales met up and socialized. At one point, we were able to shut our engines off and watch as T19B “Galiano” (the largest male in the group) as he surfaced off our port side, giving us a rare glimpse at his entire massive body under the surface. We kept watching as the group continued to travel together. Some fun behaviors observed included a spyhop, pec slap, and surface surg. To finish off the excursion, we were delighted to look at both harbor seals and steller sea lions. Couldn’t ask for a better tour to start off the season!