Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Bigg's killer whales (T100s & T101s)
Tufted puffin
Steller sea lions
Harbor seals

August 3, 2026 | 10 AM and 3 PM Whale Watch

10 AM

We left the dock this morning with flat calm blue waters and blue skies. The sun was beaming down on us throughout the whole trip. We made a turn straight into Rosario Strait and stopped at Bird rocks to see a Bald Eagle, Cormorants and a dozen or so harbor seals. We then made the turn towards the south end of Lopez and slowed down in between Lopez and Castle Island where we saw a few harbor seal pups and their moms. We then pointed towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca and McAruther Bank towards some reports of Biggs Killer Whales! When we arrived, we saw members of two pods traveling closely together. They were consistently surfacing grouped up close together. We were quickly able to figure out we were one scene with the T100’s and T101’s. After some quality time with these two pods, we made the turn towards Smith and Minor Islands. We saw a Tufted Puffin diving off shore of the island! What a rare find! We then made the turn back towards Rosario Strait where we also found 2 juvenile Stellar Sea Lions on the navigation marker by Lawson Reef. It was a wonderful afternoon full of wildlife out on the Salish sea! -Clare

3 PM

This afternoon we left the dock hoping that luck would be on our side. We had no reports of whales anywhere except the ones we saw this morning who were out by Victoria and moving the wrong direction. We decided to head out West into Haro Strait and head straight there! We were pedal to the metal the whole way there hoping to see the T100’s and T101’s. Our hopefulness paid off as they made a turn around and we were able to find them! We started our time with Lagoon, one of the T101 brothers who had separated a little ways away from the rest of the group. We then noticed that the rest of the pods were traveling to meet up with him. We eventually saw the T100’s and T101’s spread out but all within one area, we didn't know where to look! They had pairs and single whales spread up all along the port side of our boat! Our long journey out there was whale worth it. Once time had ran out, we had to make the turn East and head back the way we came. We did a slow down at Whale Rocks to see dozens of feisty Sea Lions on top of the rocks. We also did another slow down at Castle and saw a few harbor seals and a pup! It was a beautiful evening out exploring the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Canada! -Clare