September whale watching in Anacortes is here! September is easily my favorite month of the year to be on the water…not necessarily because the whales are better, or more plentiful, but because the boat traffic dies down after Labor Day, and most of the time the wind is very calm.
We encountered all four species of whales this week! We had not seen a gray whale since June, but we had a tiny juvenile gray whale hanging around this week, and we were fortunate enough to spot him on monday morning’s tour. It is extremely rare for us to see gray whales this time of the year, as they are typically a spring time sight. So it was awesome to see this little guy, and we hope he’s finding food!
We had visits from the T041, T065, T065A, T037A, T137, T018, and T046 families of killer whales this week! So many orcas hanging around. Our encounters were highlighted by ou encounter with the T065A family on Tuesday mornings tour, when we saw T065A “Artemis” initiate the hunt of a Minke whale! It was an intense moment when she took of after a nearby Minke whale. She porpoised at high speed after the fleeing Minke, trying to catch up. Unfortunately for her (fortunately for the Minke), the rest of her family wanted nothing to do with the hunt, as they sat in the same spot where she took off after the Minke, just playing around and socializing, while mom was off trying to kill a Minke whale. Needless to say, without the help of her family, Artemis was no match for the fast moving Minke, and the chase ended after only about ten minutes. It was a crazy and raw experience. Check out our instagram page (@bluekingdomtours) for a couple of pictures/video clips of the encounter!
We also had an incredible humpback whale watching encounter, with a humpback named “Victory” who has been hanging around the area. We caught up with him down in the strait of Juan de Fuca. As we were just getting on scene, he started breaching, over and over again, and he never stopped! It was incredible. Normally we are ecstatic when we get to see one or two humpback breaches, as it is an incredible sight to behold. But Victory was full of energy and over the course of a half an hour, probably breached at least thirty times! Amazing!
What an incredible week it was, and we can’t wait to continue our salish sea adventures next week!
