Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Bigg's Killer Whales (T37As)
Steller Sea Lions
Harbor Seals
Bald Eagles

July 6, 2025 | 9 AM and 1 PM Whale Watch

Heading out of Cap Sante this morning, we decided to push north to search the outer island chain and the southern Strait of Georgia. Along the way, we came across a red navigation marker with a few sea lions hauled out enjoying the morning sunshine. Continuing on, we cruised up to Patos Island where we got stunning views of the lighthouse as well as a cluster of harbor seals hauled out on the rocks. Among them was an adorable mom pup pair! As we continued to east point, we got beautiful looks at Mt. Baker behind us. Traveling through the strait of Georgia, we kept our eyes peeled for any dorsal fins or exhalations, as nothing had been reported yet by other vessels in the area. While searching to the north, we had absolutely pristine conditions with calm seas and sunshine, and were even able to spot several larger clusters of harbor porpoise foraging nearby! Beginning our arc back down south, we passed Waldron Island and worked our way down the coast of Orcas Island. Cruising the shorelines, we spotted a mature bald eagle flapping around over the intertidal zone. As we made our way back into Rosario Strait after a gorgeous inner island route, we saw beautiful views of two Washington State Ferries. Throughout the entire morning, we were constantly scanning for any signs of whales and in communication with other whale watching vessels and additional boats in our search bubble. Unfortunately, there were no sightings of whales from east point to Victoria, and even down to port Townsend-- which makes up our search bubble. Cruising back into Guemes Channel and around the corner to Cap Sante, we ended our search. Despite not finding any whales, we still had a beautiful island cruise and got to see many other species that call the Salish Sea home. Sometimes, due to the constantly changing currents and ocean systems, there aren't as many whales around. Because of how much ground we can cover on our search, days like this are rare, but not impossible. It is the wild, after all! We gave it our all and covered about 60 miles on our search this morning, cruising over calm seas and under a sunny sky.

With new reports coming in in between trips, we pushed off the dock and aimed south down Rosario strait. We paused briefly at Bird Rocks where we spotted harbor seals, cormorants, and even a sea otter resting in the bull kelp! Continuing forward, we passed between Colville and Castle Island and shot out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It was a long journey, but just off the coast of Victoria, BC, we came across the T37A's, which had just come in from further west! Leading the family was T37A Volker. We were surprised and delighted to see that T37A1 Inyo, Volker's first born calf who often travels away from the family, was present and catching up with her mother and younger siblings. Also present was T37A2 Inky, who is growing bigger and bigger every month. Swimming alongside her older brother was T37A4 Crinkle. T37A3 Spinnaker was absent from the mix, however this is not a cause for concern, as he is sometimes known to disperse and go on solo adventures. We always love getting to hang out with this family as they provide a great example of how we ID killer whales (by examining their dorsal fins, saddle patches, and eye patches and comparing them to our ID guide) because each member has a very unique dorsal fin. We traveled slowly with this group as they swam in a tight knit unit. After these whales changed direction and turned to aim back out west, we decided to peel off. We were already far from home and these whales were slowly taking us even farther. We waved goodbye to Volker and her family and turned back east towards the San Juan Islands. We made one last stop at Whale Rocks where we spotted lots of sea lions, more cormorants, gulls, and even some black oystercatchers. Cruising back into Rosario Strait, we ended the day with beautiful views of Guemes channel and rounded the corner back to the dock!

-Amy