Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Bigg's Killer Whales (T49As)
Humpback Whales
Steller Sea Lions
Harbor Seals

May 3, 2026 | 1 PM Whale Watch

So many whales in the area today!! We barely made it out of Guemes channel when we saw our first blows in Rosario Strait. Three humpbacks, two mature individuals and a juvenile, were making their way north. After getting oriented with their speed and direction, we were able to get some absolutely gorgeous looks as they surfaced and dove, and even got an ID for CRC-19171 Olympus, assumed granddaughter of the famous Big Mama! We traveled with these whales until they reached Guemes Island, then peeled off to search for more wildlife.

Around South Lopez, we spotted some harbor seals swimming in the shallows around Castle Island and one more hauled out on the rocks basking in the sunshine. On our way to Cattle Pass, guests on our bow spotted a blow off to our left-- another humpback! Surrounded by glassy waters stretching all the way out to the Olympic mountains in the distance, it was an absolutely stunning encounter. But just a little ways to the west, more reports were coming in of another whale species, so we waved goodbye to this humpback and pushed up into the San Juan islands. After a short stop at Whale Rocks to check out a large haul out of Steller sea lions, we cruised through Cattle Pass and along the Lopez Island shoreline.

Here, we met up with a very well known family of Bigg's killer whales-- the T49As! This pod is led by T49A Nan. Traveling with her were her kiddos, T49A3 Nat, T49A4 Neptune, T49A5 Nebula, T49A6 Charlie II, and her newest addition T49A7, born just a few months ago! This adorable little one stuck close to mom as they traveled north. Shortly after we got on scene, these whales pumped the breaks and circled up, leading us to believe they had found some food and were prey sharing. All of the sudden, an explosive movement made us all jump as Neptune porpoised towards the rest of the circled up family. He must have gotten distracted with something then heard his family eating and didn't want to miss out on lunch! Neptune made a beeline for his family and joined the meal before the group continued north.

Shortly after, they paused again and we had another massive porpoise from Nat! At 15 years old, Nat is starting to look much bigger than his younger siblings, so watching him launch out of the water was so cool to see. Nan's oldest offspring, T49A1 Noah and T49A2 Jude, were of course nowhere to be seen. These two males often travel separate from their mom and seeing them away from the family was no cause for concern. Even without her two oldest present, Nan leads an incredibly impressive family, and we were so delighted to see her newest addition keeping right up with the group and showing lots of energy and spunk. This calf certainly has a strong family looking out for them! After waving goodbye to Nan and her pod we cruised up upright channel and back through thatcher pass, headed for home. What a dazzling, sunshine filled day!!

-Amy