Anacortes Extended Range Tour

Highlights

11 Hours
145 Miles
24 Bigg's killer whales (T46Bs, T49C, T100s, T64Bs, T65A3, T75Bs, T77s)
2 Humpback whales (BCX-1800 Gretzky & BCX-1795 Scuttle)
Harbor porpoise
Harbor seals
Steller sea lions
Bald eagles
Mouflon sheep & fallow deer
Tufted puffins
Starry flounders
Moon jellies
So many birds!

June 21, 2026 | Extended Range Whale Watch

Something tells us our guests and crew won't forget this particular extended range trip for a long time to come. As we slowly slipped out of Cap Sante, rumblings of rumors spread through the boat about a close by report. Sure enough, not 15 minutes after we got off the dock, we were on scene with our first killer whales of the day on the back side of Guemes Island. With flat calm seas and warm sun shining down, we gathered on our outer decks to get eyes on what turned out to be the T46Bs! This lovely family of Bigg's is well known in the Salish sea both for their family size and their history. T46B Raksha leads an impressive three generation family nine members strong with four little ones bumbling around in the mix. Traveling through placid water, we got to hang out with Raksha and her youngest kiddos, T46B7 Tala and T46B8 Pi (only four months old and absolutely darling). Raksha's young teenage son T46B4 Quiver was getting some guy time with a mature male, T49C Janet/Nielson, who had joined up with Raksha's family for the morning. Traveling slightly to the east was Raksha's second oldest daughter T46B2 Akela as well as Akela's sweet kiddo T46B2B Takaya. Further off, we also got to switch over and spend time with Raksha's third born T46B3 Sedna and Sedna's newest calf, T46B3A Munro. Sedna and Munro have taken to traveling slightly away from the rest of the family, which might indicate that Sedna is getting ready to break off and start her own pod. The littles, Takaya, Tala, Pi, and Munro, stole our hearts as we traveled with this family north. In between surface intervals with these whales we spotted a few harbor porpoises foraging nearby. Looking down into the water, we were also delighted to see several starry flounders sunning themselves near the surface and a high concentration of moon jellies collecting in the current lines.

As the sun rose higher, we decided to slowly slip off and continue searching waters to the north. We paused off Sinclair to view some rambunctious Steller sea lions, one of which trying its very hardest to hop up on a navigational marker it's friends were snoozing on. After several failed attempts, this guy stuck the landing and was met with a boat full of applause. Up by Waldron Island, we came across another family of Bigg's, the T100s! This family is much smaller, made up of four individuals-- three of which travel regularly together. Mother and matriarch T100 Hutchins led the way with her 24 year old son T100C Laurel and her younger offspring T100F Estrella. Her middle daughter, T100E Tharaya, is quite the independent soul and prefers to travel away from the family more often than not, so her absence today was no cause for concern. We traveled with this family as they zig zagged across presidents channel, getting some absolutely phenomenal looks. After our visit with Hutchins and her crew we began searching further west.

Off Stuart Island, we spotted a massive blow and slowed to investigate our second whale species of the day-- the humpback BCX1800 Gretzky! We were so excited to spot Gretzky as they're considered a Salish sea summertime local and loves spending the hottest months of the year in our beautiful archipelago. Because of how often they've been documented, we know they travel between here and Hawaii on his annual migration. We chatted all about our humpbacks while visiting with Gretzky, going over migration routes, development, and the importance of giving birth down south. During the encounter, Gretzky gave us some gorgeous sounding dives in glass calm water. We were also entertained by the sight of a very, very large boat (Zuckerberg's yacht) in the background, which offered a thought provoking juxtaposition between the natural world and human progression, especially these days.

After our visit with Gretzky, we waved goodbye and cruised over to Speiden Island, which was booming with life. We spotted mouflon sheep and fallow deer, with some little ones in the mix toddling after their mothers. We also spotted two bald eagles perched in a tree keeping each other company and several harbor seals hauled out along the thin shoreline. Turning west at Sentinel Island, we set our sights on something bigger far beyond the horizon. New reports were coming in from far out west that sounded too tempting to turn down. So we geared up for a longer haul out past Victoria, where we were greeted with a wall of white fog and rocking, slate gray waves all around us. We settled in for the voyage and made sure cameras and bags were fastened down tight. The swells surging against the fog looked like a scene from a dreamscape as we pushed further and further away from home. Our spirits were put to the test to get out this far, but everyone on board agreed that what we saw next made it all worth it and more.

Getting on scene, we spotted jet black dorsals piercing through the gray all around us. We'd made it to a proper T party, with several family groups in the mix. Most apparent was T65A3, Amira, who is now 19 years old and sports a tall, wobbly dorsal fin. Amira is one of many sprouter males we've had the pleasure of watching grow up. A few years ago, his dorsal was short and skinny, but this last year he's really filled out and up, which is so exciting to witness! Amira was in good company today, traveling with the T64Bs, led by T64B Ember. Ember's daughter, T64B1 Flame, was also present with her own daughter T64B1A Spark. But these weren't the only whales around. Joining the party were the T75Bs, led by matriarch Pebbles. T75B2 Jasper, T75B3 Rubble, and T75B4 Petra, Pebbles' kids, were also in the mix. What's more, T77 Asja and T77D Alcyon were present, making for 10 whales in total! Traveling with the swells, this group had a grand old time socializing. We cheered in awe as they breached, pec slapped, and tail slapped. We also got to see them surfing swells, their dorsals barely skimming the water and their saddle patches visible just below the surface as they rode the energy of each wave. I think it was safe to say that in this T party, the stoke was high. During this encounter, we noted that Amira and Flame were being a little flirty, twisting around one another, each showing off for the other. The matriarchs, Ember, Pebbles, and Asja, were also getting playful together. And of course little Spark was getting into the energy with lots of baby breaches and a few tail slaps and headstands. This kind of behavior is so rare and so special to see, and everyone on board knew it. We followed this party until they took us all the way to Beecher bay. Here, we waved goodbye after what might have been the most exciting encounter of the season. The energy of the whales and the people was impossible to beat, and watching it all while swallowed in dreamlike clouds of fog made this encounter nothing short of spectacular.

Breaking back into blue skies, we served dinner and got a look at a second humpback whale, another summertime local BCX1795 Scuttle. Against the evening sun, Scuttle's exhalations shot up clear and golden, a welcome view after our foggy adventure. Scooting back to the east, we intrepidly crossed the rolling strait of Juan de Fuca in search of our beloved tufted puffins. Shortly after arriving to Smith, we spotted one bobbing in the waves and sharing company with countless rhinoceros auklets, glaucous-wing gulls, and Heermann's gulls. Cruising back to the north with the swells pushing us, the water flattened out once again. Back in Rosario, under the protection of the San Juan Islands, the surface flattened out and looked almost like silk, glowing with the evening colors. We took in the golden views of the strait and the peachy-pink skies as we rounded the corner back into Guemes Channel, recounting our day and marveling at how lucky we were to get such marvelous encounters.

145 miles covered, the longest in our extended range history. With another extended range in the books, we can't wait for the next one. (August 23rd, book now before spots fill!) They truly are the way to pack days worth of encounters into one long, epic adventure. Thank you to our guests who joined us, you made the day so special!

-Tyson, Sam, Amy, Juliann, and Carolina