Lauren | M/V Kestrel | August 25th, 2024 | 10:00 am
As our 10:00 am Kestrel tour rolled out of Friday Harbor and into foggy San Juan Channel, we decided to head south to follow up on some shore reports that came in earlier this morning. By the time we entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we could see blows in the distance. It was a pair of humpback whales! Most of the time we encounter humpbacks in the Salish Sea they’re solitary, so getting to see two swimming together was a treat. After getting a few good looks, Captain Eric got a call on the radio that some killer whales had been picked up near Turn Island. As we cruised back north through Cattle Pass, we stopped at Whale Rocks to look at some Steller Sea Lions. Whale Rocks is a favorite stop on our tours, as it’s one of the only places in the Salish Sea where you can see Steller Sea Lions year-round. What made this morning’s Whale Rocks stop special was the curious sea lion that kept circling our boat. Normally when we encounter Steller’s they are hauled out on the rocks, but this inquisitive sea lion swam back and forth from our vessel to the kelp bed for a good five minutes. It was hands down the best sea lion experience I’ve ever had in my four years working with San Juan Safaris! Not only were we having an epic sea lion encounter, but suddenly on the other side of the kelp bed we came across two unreported humpback whales.
Although it was hard to leave the whales we just found, we wanted to make sure we could catch up to those killer whales. We made one quick stop at Deadman Island to look at some hauled out harbor seals, and then off we went. We spent the rest of our tour viewing the Bigg’s Killer Whale family to T075B’s. The T075B’s are a family of four, made up of mom, T075B/Pebbles and her three kiddos. Luckily these whales were found right outside of Friday Harbor Marina, making our transit back short and sweet. Who doesn’t love extra whale time? Humpbacks, killer whales and a curious sea lion…?! What a dream trip!