Maxx | M/V Kestrel | August 31st 2024 | 10:00am

A loose rumor of whales ignited our tour today- s share based report as we left the harbor claimed a small family had been spotted over Salmon bank, south of San Juan Island. We have a heading. 

Kestrel flew south through the San Juan Channel, stopping only briefly at Goose Island to admire a small haul out of Harbor seals and of course all the incredible pelagic birds that call this tiny island home. Double Crested cormorants sunned themselves atop...

Maxx K. | M/v Osprey | August 28th, 2024 | 12:20pm 

Bigg’s Killer whales have a typical range from SE Alaska, straight down the coasts of Washington and Oregon to Northern California. However, they don’t seem to follow a typical “migration” in the ways our Humpback visitors do. Different families seem to pass through at different times of year. Were still learning about how they move and with all the incredible data collection that happens in this region, we may begin to further understand...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | October 7, 2021 | 12:00 pm

Today’s weather was spectacular. The water was glassy and calm everywhere we ventured, and the sun was shining with the blue sky and puffy clouds above. We began our tour southbound to scan the shallow banks within the Strait of Juan de Fuca. As we made our way through Cattle Pass, Steller’s Sea Lions bobbed up and down in the water. We saw even more of these blubberous beasts lying on Whale Rocks, some roaring while others...

Haleigh | M/V Kestrel | September 15, 2021 | 2:00 pm

Today’s adventure tour was a blast! We left Friday Harbor headed southbound through the San Juan Channel. We stopped to hear the sounds of Pelagic Cormorants and California Gulls nesting on Goose Island and then followed the smells of Steller’s Sea Lions across the channel to Whale Rocks. One curious sea lion was jetting through the kelp and jumping up and out of the water like a missile! Others were hauled out on the rocks with...

Haleigh | M/V Kestrel | September 4, 2021 | 10:00 am and 2:00 pm

Both our morning and afternoon adventure tour began cruising south through the San Juan Channel. One observant guest on our AM trip picked up a Minke Whale almost immediately with our guest spotting the elongated body and hooked dorsal fin poking up through the water. This Minke Whale surfaced a few times but seemed to be cruising northbound, so we said our goodbyes and continued the search. 

This took us towards...

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 09/03/2021 | 2:00pm

    Today was a pretty cold day. Grey clouds covered the sky and seemed to block out the sun as Kestrel raced down the San Juan channel towards the Juan De Fuca. In my time working on boats however, I’ve learned to really value a grey day. I find it’s much easier to spot whales or even simply disturbances on the water when there’s not an intense glare from the sun. A sharp black orca dorsal fin can be pretty hard to miss on a day like...

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 07/12/2021 | 2:00pm

Captain Sarah and I decided to head south this afternoon, trying our luck in finding whales off the various banks that rise up in the Juan De Fuca. After passing Goose Island to admire some nesting Pelagic Cormorants we continued out of the San Juan Channel. 

We then slowed over Salmon Bank at our first baitball, gulls and Rhinoceros Auklets flocking tightly over an unseen ball of fish below. The anticipation built as we waited, hoping...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 07/28/19 | 1:30pm

Today was magical! So many exciting things happened.

Captain Sarah and I headed out of Friday Harbor, down the San Juan Channel and towards Cattle Point.

We stopped by this small island called Whale Rocks and found some Steller sea lions! I was incredibly excited to see these huge marine mammals because they’ve been up in Alaska for their mating season for most of the summer! They lumbered around the island as their harbor seal cousins...

Erin | M/V Sea Lion | Saturday, July 13, 2019 | 1:30 PM 

It was a sunny, lovely day in the Salish Sea. We began our day with no whale reports from other vessels in the area, so we went out on a true whale seeking adventure! We headed south out of Friday Harbor toward Cattle Point. On our way to Cattle Point, we got an excellent example of currents and upwelling. There were white caps and eddies right near Cattle Point, and there were birds feeding in the area. They were most likely...

Erin | M/V Kestrel | Sunday, June 2, 2019 | 3:00 PM

Today was an adventurous day aboard the M/V Kestrel. We began the trip with a decision of which way we wanted to go, as there were reports of great wildlife in many directions. We decided to head towards Victoria, because there were some promising reports of orcas that way. On the way, we went through some coastal upwelling, which was very fun, and then we got into some awesome waves. As I said, it was a grand adventure!

Once we...