Meet Schooner

5/3/25 | Tyson Reed | Rosario Strait, WA

On May 3rd, Island Adventures 10 AM whale watching tour came across a humpback whale near Anacortes, WA. We were shocked the first time the whale fluked to see that it had a partial tail! Island Adventures Naturalist Tyson Reed identified the humpback as CRC-19888 "Schooner", a whale that unfortunately lost its left tail fluke as the likely result of a ship strike in 2024, and who was also seen off the coast of Maui this winter by former Island Adventures Naturalist Lexi Jeffers.

It's not a fluke that Schooner has returned to the Salish Sea for another feeding season. Schooner, a 4 year old whale, is the 2021 calf of humpback whale BCX1193 "ZigZag", an individual that the professional whale watching community have viewed for nearly 20 years. According to Happywhale, ZigZag was first sighted off the coast of Maui on March 7, 2006 and since has been documented over 80 times between the Hawaii and Salish Sea regions. We're coming to learn that these whales have high site fidelity; a strong loyalty to their feeding and breeding grounds that extends to their offspring.

On February 11th, Naturalist Lexi Jeffers, now working with Ultimate Whale Watch and Snorkel in Maui, identified Schooner through Happywhale during a whale watching tour near Lahaina. Schooner had returned to the same breeding grounds as its Mother ZigZag, an amazing connection made possible through the observations of professional whale watching companies across the Pacific Ocean. “It does make my heart really happy to know the ID of the whale to be the calf of ZigZag, who l know personally from when I started doing whale watches in Washington" said Lexi, "These whales amaze me more and more every day".

Despite having just one fluke, Schooner successfully traveled an approximate 2,677 miles between Lahaina and Rosario Strait where our Island Adventures team sighted it this May. We were in awe of Schooner’s successful migration despite fasting in Maui for months and with such a significant injury to its tail.

Boating season started May 3rd, the same day we encountered Schooner. Schooner is a reminder to always be on the lookout for whales and the whale flag displayed on commercial whale watching boats indicating whales are in the area. When In doubt, follow the example of professional whale watching boats, and when you see a blow go slow.

We’ll continue to follow Schooner as more encounters are documented on Happywhale, and you can track Schooner too by following sightings on Happywhale’s website. We’re hopeful for the future of this remarkable whale with a partial tail!