Lauren | March 21st, 2022 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:30 PM
We were off to a gloomy start this Monday morning, with constant rain showers and no reports of whales within our reach. As we began boarding, our luck started to turn around, the rain started to slow, and the mood brightened up. M/V Sea Lion was full of inquisitive and excited kiddos today, and we were eager to show them The Salish Sea! Captain Eric heard there were some Bigg’s Killer Whales up near Prevost Island, but the report was hours old with no updates… We decided to go for it in an effort to not let these kids down.
As we headed north up San Juan Channel, we were surprised by a glistening black dorsal fin right next to Flattop Island. As we slowly approached, we started to see more. Relieved we were no longer working off a hunch, we notified our guests, and they were stoked! It’s not every day you find unreported whales, not far from the harbor. We happened upon the T123s, a frequent Bigg’s Killer Whale family to these waters. The T123s consists of Sidney and her three offspring. Stanley a 22 year old male, Lucky a 10 year old female, and Darcy a three year old female.
We were lucky enough to be able to stay in reach of these whales for the duration of our trip, while also getting the chance to view plenty of other wildlife! We saw swimming Steller’s Sea Lions and two Dall’s Porpoise by Shaw Island; Harbor Seals near Cattle point and four Bald Eagles on our journey south. This rainy day turned into one of our favorite trips of the season thus far!