October 7- M/V Sea Lion- 12 PM

Right before we left the dock we got a report that one of our kayak guides, Clai, had found whales in Spieden Channel.  We headed that way and came across a group of whales looking for food.  We got to see them make a quick kill.  They were traveling at about 9 knots, which is a pretty fast travel pace for our orcas.  The water was so calm, it was so nice to see the whales break the surface of the water.  We headed back towards some of the other island...

What a beautiful day on the water!  Guests aboard the M/V Sea Lion, along with Captain Mike, Naturalist Brendan, and I departed the dock in Friday Harbor with word of orcas near the south end of San Juan Island.  Naturalist Brendan was the first to spot these whales on his ferry commute from Shaw Island!

After viewing harbor seals hauled out on the rocks and Steller Sea Lions rafting in the water, we motored out towards the group of 8 transient orcas located near Hein Bank.  With...

Today we headed north in the San Juan Channel. We had a few sightings of orcas earlier at False Bay on the west side ofSan Juan Island. We were originally considering going south. But as we motored out of Friday Harbor, we heard that the orcas were moving up on the west side of San Juan Island - fast.

So we went north and cruised past the south side of Spieden Island, which is just north of San Juan Island. As we looked for big black dorsal fins or a big blow from the bow of our...