Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Bigg's killer whales (T77C & E)
Minke whale
2 Humpback whales
Harbor seals & pups

July 14, 2026 | 10 AM and 3 PM Whale Watch

10 AM

What better way to celebrate World Orca day than spending time with the whales themselves and learning about their importance in ocean ecosystems? We were DELIGHTED to be the first boat to find orcas in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca this morning, and were riding the high of seeing those inky fins rise from the depths far off on the horizon for the rest of the day. The orca duo we sighted turned out to be sibling duo Neftali (T77C) and Misneach (T77E). They were traveling side by side as they checked out the various banks in the strait, the jagged peaks of the Olympic Mountain range setting a stunning backdrop for the encounter.

After our time with orcas, we ventured over to Hein Bank where many bait balls were forming up! There were thousands of birds gathered here, gulls, cormorants, rhinoceros auklets and common murres amongst them. At times we could see the fish bubbling at the surface with our naked eyes, their scales and movements giving the illusion that the water was sparkling. An elusive minke followed the western contour of the bank, and we caught several looks at this slinky minke before making our turn for home.

Earlier on in the day we’d enjoyed a visit to Bird Rocks. The ragging ebb tide was creating the most incredible eddies and tide lines near this National Wildlife Refuge, but Captain Tyson safely navigated through them and we were able to visit with the harbor seals, cormorants, gulls and pigeon guillemots utilizing the islands. The highlights were the harbor seal pups and quickly growing glaucous winged gull chicks! We also had the pleasure of visiting with two Steller sea lions snuggled up on the Hein Bank navigational marker, who slept through the pelagic cormorants above them dropping nesting material on their heads. -Sam

3 PM

The flood tide was raging as we embarked on our afternoon adventure, making for excellent feeding opportunities around Burrows and Allan islands for harbor porpoises and sea birds. We felt the pull of the eddies and currentlines as we worked our way south against the flow into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Slowing near Castle Island, we spied many pigeon guillemots crashlanding at the surface and a great blue heron took off south of Blind Island. Swirl Rocks was living up to its name, with the currents wrapping around and through the rocky shoals. As we approached Whale Rocks, we spied dozens of Steller sea lions hauled out and sunbathing. A couple of large bulls dominated the scene, and we saw a few Stellers duke it out for space. On the neighboring island, well over a dozen black oystercatchers huddled together amidst Heermann's and glaucous-winged gulls.

We pushed out into the strait, angling toward Hein Bank where word of a rorqual had come in. Sure enough, a friendly humpback whale was showing its flukes in marvelous fashion. It turned out to be CRC-23115 a humpback first sighted in 2025 right here in the Salish Sea. We would end up meeting another large humpback not long after, working its way steadily west with a purpose.

We had some serious whale luck this afternoon, ending up with a third whale encounter near Eastern Bank. Bigg’s siblings Neftali (T77C) and Misneach (T77E) were traveling south towards Protection Island. Their blows were brilliantly illuminated in the evening light, and the Olympic Mountains made for a gorgeous backdrop to the encounter.

It was smooth sailing home from there, with a chilly breeze picking up from the west, we settled back into the heated cabins and enjoyed the cruise home, Kulshan guiding us all the way. - Sam