Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Bigg's Killer Whales (T137A, T36’s)
Gray whale
Stellar Sea Lions
Cormorants
Gulls

September 23, 2026 | 1 PM Whale Watch

Today was a wonderful reminder of Mother Nature’s unpredictability and commitment to constantly surprise us! We set off out of Cap Sante Marina and pointed into Guemes Channel, immediately on the search for some reports that had been made over two hours prior. Within 5 minutes of being on the water, we got a call from the Guemes Island Ferry captain, who let us know there was indeed a larger cetacean nearby!! We followed his directions and held our breath as we waited for our first sighting - and there it was!! We spent the first two surfacings attempting to identify which larger baleen whale species we were visiting with (placing bets in the helm), and when the animal surfaced a third time we had our answer. It was a gray whale! We spent a little while alongside this curious creature, one of the lone Grays left in the Salish Sea at this point in the year. This was a new gray to this region, not yet given a scientific ID or nickname!

Soon, we waved goodbye and ventured out of the channel and into Rosario Strait, headed west towards some newer reports. We travelled quickly, and south of San Juan Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we spied our second blows of the afternoon! We met up with a pod of Bigg’s killer whales - with a surprise guest! Jack, T137A, had joined up with the T36’s (Flapjack, Tattertip, Bhotia, Greenfelder, Auk, and Maple) for the afternoon. The group displayed some impressive surface activity in the churning currents, wowing us with breaches, spyhops, and porpoising activity. At one point, 2-year old Maple (T36B1A) darted away from the rest of the pod, and had to be chased down by her mother Bhotia (T36B1).

A last tail slap was the whales’ wave goodbye as we turned and headed east once again. On the way home, we slowed by Whale Rocks for some stellar sea lion time - and whew, the rocks’ aroma was ripe today! Dozens of sea lions were hauled out on the rocks, thermoregulating in the first of the fall sunshine. We made the journey home through Rosario Strait and back into Guemes channel towards the marina! What a wild, fantastical day on the water!

-Juna