Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | April 1st, 2025 | 12:30pm
We left Friday harbor with nothing but a loose shore-based report of killer whales far up north which was now unfortunately now 2 hours old…Yikes! I stayed hopeful that something would be discovered either by us or the other whales watching vessel’s searching during our 3-4 hour tour. Something was found indeed! 5 Bigg’s killer whales were reported in Sansum Narrows, the passage between mainland Vancouver Island and Saltspring Island. This location was over 2-hour transit from our current location, but thankfully these whales were swimming south, slowly helping us close in on the travel gap. We wasted no time cruising up San Juan Channel, into Spieden channel and over the Canadian border. Weaving through small Canadian islands as the scenery started to feel more and more remote. Saltspring island’s gorgeous forest Mount Maxwell towering over our starboard side. We quickly cruised by intricate rock formations peppered with harbor seals, bald eagles and various sea birds. We were officially off the map! The marine chart we have on board did not cover the location we were exploring today. My very first uncharted day!
We slowed our boat to under 7 knots as we approached the reported location of this group of whales. Suddenly blows appeared! Three whales at 12:00, one whale at 1:00 and another at 3:00. This group of five whales was identified as:
T65A’s
- T65A Artemis 1986 F
- T65A2 Ooxjaa 2004 M
- T65A3 Amir 2007 F
- T65A4 Ellifrit 2011 F
- T65A5 Calisto 2018 F
It was fascinating to see this family of 5 split up and spread out across the channel. The most notable whale in this group is undoubtedly T65A2 “Ooxjaa”, he is the only full-grown male in this family and sports the signature 6ft tall dorsal fin. Ooxjaa seemed to be in his own world separate from the family. We primarily watched this impressive male as he lingered at the surface and turned toward our vessel. We shut out motor off and watched him turn on his side and give us a good long look. Who’s watching who? Ooxjaa is a fan favorite amongst the naturalist community due to his lovably curious personality. In 2021 he a viral video emerged of the (at the time) teenager playfully nudging a small boat for over 10 minutes in Saratoga Passage (you can watch that video here: https://ftw.usatoday.com/story/sports/outdoors/2021/07/01/tense-moments-for-family-as-orca-pushes-and-spins-boat/81467196007/ ). After those unforgettable looks, myself and the passengers on board all agreed that the 2-hour transit was well worth the wait.
On our way back to the harbor we were treated to close looks at Spieden island, crawling with non-native species such as mouflan sheep, sika and fallow deer. A rare spring treat, the baron southwest side of the island was covered in purple wildflowers. Its rolling contours accentuated by the purple glow. An absolutely lovely day on the water!