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Writer's pictureJaela Deming

September 15, 2023: Whale Watching on the Puget Sound

Updated: Oct 13, 2023

DID YOU KNOW? Orcas, commonly known as Killer Whales, are actually part of the

dolphin family and can live up to 90 years? Biggs Orcas, such as those in the Puget Sound, eat other smaller marine animals such as porpoises, sea lions, otters, and more…in fact, the

average-sized orca (4-6 tons) will eat about 500 pounds a day!


It's a beautiful day on the ocean

On Saturday, the weather dawned bright and beautiful…perfect for a day at sea, which

was good since we had reservations in Port Townsend to go whale watching in the Puget

Sound. One hundred and twenty passengers loaded up on the Saratoga, a catamaran with four 950 horsepower engines. This boat can travel up to 35 knots (40mph) while minimizing

underwater noise in an attempt to avoid scaring away sea life.


Meet the Saratoga

The front of the Saratoga

Once the boat was underway, passengers were allowed to exit the cabins and wander

the decks. Of course, we preferred the adventure of the upper deck…particularly once Captain

Pete opened the throttle to full speed. Try walking normally against 40mph winds, or with the

wind at your back as you then make your way toward the rear of the boat (man overboard?).

We had to keep a tight hold on hats, glasses, and little people lest they blow away. On the way out of the harbor, several harbor porpoises were spotted swimming together near the marina.


Playing in the wind

Can you tell it's windy :)

Our first stop was to investigate a large group of birds on the surface of the water.

According to the naturalist onboard, that often means there’s a school of fish directly below

them…which is a prime area to find a minke whale. Although we waited and watched for about ten minutes, no whales decided to show themselves.



We continued on for a ways until the first whale fin was spotted off to our right. It was

the large fin of Galiano, a large male orca in the T18/T19 pod (you can actually Google

them!)…which is made up of three generations. Galiano and his brother Spouter are the

grandsons of Esperanza, who was born sometime before 1955 and was one of the few who

survived the hunting of Washington orcas in the 1960’s. We trailed this big orca for quite a

while and were blessed to get to see his mother Nootka and grandmother Esperanza as well.

Based on their behavior, our naturalist explained that they were in the midst of a hunt…probably of a harbor porpoise. About 15-20 minutes after we first spotted them, their

paths converged together and engaged a common behavior called ‘food sharing.’ This meant

that their hunt had been successful, and they were now sharing the remains of the unfortunate

prey with the other two members of the pod. Several passengers, looking through binoculars,

reported seeing blood and chunks of flesh floating in the water. Shortly before they took their

leave of us, a fourth male orca fin was spotted nearing the other three. Although the naturalist

didn’t tell us the name of this orca, my theory is it was probably Spouter, as orca families tend

to stick together and travel as a pod through their entire lifetime.


Galiano is a legend in the Port Townsend area because of how large he is

Another whale watching boat from the U.S.

Galiano, his mother Nootka, and grandmother Esperanza

Fun side note: Our boat was the first to spot this pod, so Captain Pete reported it. The

Saratoga’s sister ship and two others quickly arrived in the area. As one of them, a little yellow

Canadian boat joined us, Captain Pete received a radio call alerting us that there was a man on the boat who, if they spotted whales, was going to propose to his girlfriend seated next to him. Needless to say, those of us on the other boats began watching for the whales for more than just the sake of seeing them…we wanted a proposal!! The whales surfaced several times, but nothing happened on the little boat beside us. Passengers began wondering if the gentleman had lost his nerve…but, eventually, their boat captain radioed to be on alert the next time the orcas surfaced. Sure enough, they surfaced, and the guy went down on one knee in the front of the boat. Their captain radioed her answer and boat horns blared, passengers cheered and clapped, and the newly engaged couple waved. It was very sweet!


The happy couple!!

Shortly after this proposal, the orcas made their final appearances before disappearing

beneath the surface. We continued on to a location where humpbacks are occasionally spotted, but apparently none felt the need to show themselves for our benefit. We did get to see a rock outcropping full of stellar sea lions sunbathing and, a short distance further, a sea otter playing in the waves. Our naturalist said that in all her time on the boat, they’d never spotted a sea otter…apparently, they are a pretty rare sight, unlike the harbor otter.


Stellar Sea Lions sunbathing on the rock

Our sea otter visitor

By this time, our tour was ending and Captain Pete was starting to think about heading

back towards the dock…but suddenly, a humpback whale breached near us! All thoughts of

returning to shore were delayed and we began to follow this beauty who breached every five to seven minutes, heading toward a large grouping of birds. Unfortunately, he never breached

long enough for Dominic to get a good picture, but to see this whale was a special treat!

Eventually, it was time to open the throttle and head for home. This time, the D-Team shifted

back and forth between the warm cabin and the brisk wind.


I know, it doesn't really look like a humpback whale..I guess you'll just have to take my word for it :)

Personally, for a girl used to the city/suburbs, being out on the ocean and getting to see

these large mammals in their natural environment was an experience I won’t forget anytime

soon. The longer we are on this RV trip and the more places we go, the more I wonder at the

unlimited creativity of God!


Next up…the spooky tunnels and batteries of Fort Worden Historical State Park!


Until next time, God Bless!

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2 Comments


Noah Ballard
Noah Ballard
Sep 16, 2023

Whoa, that looks COLD! And great post BTW!

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Jaela Deming
Jaela Deming
Sep 22, 2023
Replying to

Thanks! Yea, it was kinda chilly😄

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