[Lauren Fritz, M/V Kittiwake, 07/03/17, 1:30 pm Charter Tour]
M/V Kittiwake had a private charter today, and Captain Gabe and I were stoked to hear that a pod of Transient killer whales were headed to the west side of San Juan Island. We had a wonderful family on board, and after briefing them on the plan for the day, we headed out of Friday Harbor and turned south to see what these whales were up to!
The weather has been a bit hazy these past few days due to some large wildfires up in British Columbia, but that certainly didn't stop us from having some amazing wildlife encounters. Before we even caught up with the whales, we had a chance to stop near the south side of San Juan Island and hang out with some Steller's Sea Lions and harbor seals. These pinnipeds were having a grand ole time lounging in the sun and hopping in the water. I was a bit jealous; it's been pretty warm up here the past couple of days, and a dip in the Salish Sea was actually starting to sound refreshing!
After hanging with these critters for a bit, we continued on up the west side of the island, and before long we were off of the Land Bank watching four killer whales, the T18's, traveling up the shoreline. They didn't appear to be in much of a rush, and my guess was that they had just made a kill. We stayed with them for a good while as they cruised past Lime Kiln, past county park, and on into Mosquito Pass. We had to continue on to make it back to Friday Harbor in time for our evening trip, but we heard that the whales had continued right into Roche Harbor. Amazing! That's extremely rare!
I've posted my favorite photos from the trip below. There were two big males (brothers) in this group, and two older females. Thanks to the wonderful family that came on board today! We truly hope you enjoyed your experience.
Naturalist Lauren, San Juan Safaris
See all 7 photos
