Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Bigg's killer whales (T37As, T34B, T37, T34As)
Steller sea lions
Nesting cormorants, gulls, etc.
Harbor porpoises
Harbor seals

July 13, 2026 | 10 AM and 3 PM Whale Watch

10 AM

We enjoyed a sporty adventure today, with one of the most extreme tidal exchanges of the year creating some wicked currents and eddies within our inland sea.

Our wildlife encounters started as we left the marina. Great blue herons were fishing in the shallows, and a mature bald eagle was being harassed by a glaucous-winged gull near the breakwater. Williamson Rocks was bustling with bird activity, with nesting double crested and pelagic cormorants, nesting gulls, swimming pigeon guillemots and more! Not to mention all the harbor seals hauled out amongst the rainbow of algae exposed at this incredibly low tide. Oh, and a charming little Steller sea lion hauled up atop a navigational marker.

We traveled with the gently flooding tide through Deception Pass, making for remarkably smooth sailing. As we passed beneath the bridge, we spied belted kingfishers in the tree-line, bald eagles soaring above the water and active pigeon guillemots chasing one another off the bow.

We ventured south to Saratoga Passage where Bigg’s killer whales Volker (T37A) and Inky (T37A2) were working their way north up the Whidbey Island shoreline south of Snatelum Point. They were spread out and hunting, their jet-black fins slicing through the placid emerald waters. Inky wowed us with an investigatory pass following one of his deeper dives.

Our return trip through Deception Pass was a wild one! The flood tide was raging by this time, creating 7+ knot currents through this bottleneck. Captain Tyson expertly navigated through the roiling waters, bringing us back into the Strait of Juan de Fuca where we enjoyed a push from the tides towards home. -Sam

3 PM

Water was rapidly filling the Salish Sea basin this afternoon, and the wild currents this extreme tidal flux created were ripping up Rosario Strait as we began our adventure. Harbor porpoises seemed to be delighting in the feeding opportunities this presented. We witnessed some of the most incredible harbor porpoise activity of the season from Burrows Pass all the way down to the Deception Pass bridge. The flood pushed us through the pass with ease and we continued south towards Saratoga Passage.

As we neared Oak Harbor, we saw backlit blows on the horizon. The T37As we’d seen this morning (Volker & Inky) had met up with some of their extended family! Seven Bigg’s killer whales in total from three different pods were in the mix, but all related to one another in some way. Rocky (T37) was the eldest amongst them, the mother of Volker (T37A) and grandmother to Inyo (T37A1) and Inky (T37A2) who were also present. Rocky was also traveling with her presumed sisters Pachamama (T34A) and Sonder (T34B), and her niece/nephew Amaru (T34A2). With a consistent spread between them, this gathering led us deep into Penn Cove, all the way to the mussel farm where they seemed to be hunting for seals.

Our return journey home was smooth sailing, and we enjoyed some spectacular evening lighting. Pigeon guillemots fished for dinner in the emerald waters of Deception Pass, showing off their catches as they surfed the eddies. A haze hung over the Olympic Mountains, their layered peaks every shade of blue, the glassy waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca stretched out beneath them. We admired the Burrow’s Island Lighthouse as we passed, then rounded the corner to Guemes Channel and continued towards port.

-Sam