Piper | Sunday, August 11, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30 PM

On this lovely Sunday afternoon, Captain Erick, naturalist Erin, and myself headed out into the Salish Sea with an awesome group of guests to see what sorts of critters were hanging out in the area. We left the docks of Friday Harbor and headed north in San Juan Channel.

There was a report of a lone Bigg’s killer whale that had first been spotted to the east, between Blakely and Decatur Islands but had booked it northwest and...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/07/19 | 5:30pm

This sunset tour turned into one of my favorite tours yet!

It all started with Captain Pete, Naturalist Laura and I heading out of Friday Harbor. We couldn’t believe our luck! Immediately, we heard reports of orca whales literally swimming 15 minutes away from us!

We jaunted over to Jone’s Island and found the orcas right away! This amazing orca pod consists of T18 (grandma of the group and one of the oldest females in the region, estimated...

Olivia | August 3rd, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30pm

What an evening! We had a beautiful morning with two types of Baleen Whales (still in range) which made it an exceptional trip, and by the sunset trip, we found out about some Killer Whales sightings. The only problem was that they were just out of our range and we wouldn’t be able to make it within the 3-4 hour trip, and more importantly, back before it gets dark. We knew our passengers really wanted to see them, so with a lot of...

Olivia | July 31st, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30pm

This evening, the whales made our job very easy! Captain Pete and I brought our passengers around the northern side of San Juan Island, through Spieden Channel, and down towards Lime Kiln. Prior to getting there, we spotted the same family group of Bigg’s Killer Whales that we saw south of San Juan Island earlier that morning. The T46B1’s were feeding right outside of Mosquito Pass and comprised of three individuals, including the...

Erin | Sunday, July 28, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM

What an incredible afternoon aboard the M/V Kestrel! The sun was shining when we left the harbor, and we were all ready for a wildlife adventure! We left Friday Harbor and headed north toward some reports of orcas in Boundary Pass. Since the reports of the whales were so close to where we were, we figured we could go and search for some other wildlife before heading towards the orcas. We went to Spieden Island and cruised along...

Erin | M/V Sea Lion | Saturday, July 27, 2019 | 5:30 PM

It was a lovely evening of viewing wildlife around the Salish Sea. The Salish Sea attracts so many different types of wildlife because of the amount of productivity that occurs. This productivity creates phytoplankton and allows for the whole food chain to be present, especially throughout the summer months. Our first wildlife sighting was at Flattop Island. Flattop Island is northeast of Spieden Island, and it is designated as...

Olivia | July 24th, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 3:00pm

Starting out our second trip of the day, Captain Brian and I knew the group of Bigg’s Killer Whales we saw earlier today moved further north, pushing our range to stay between the 3 to 4 hour timeframe. We discussed this with our passengers and came to a group decision that even though there was a possibility we wouldn’t see these whales with the rate they were traveling, we were going to attempt the long trek anyway in hopes of an Orca...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 07/21/19 | 5:30pm

Today was extraordinary. I had a fantastic group of people with me that just loved asking all the really good whale questions!

It all started as Captain Pete and I headed out of San Juan Island and into the San Juan Channel. We headed north and crossed under Speiden Island. Here we slowed and checked out some lovely wildlife.

We were able to spot mouflon sheep, fallow deer and harbor seals all along the shoreline of the island! It was crazy...

Olivia | July 21st, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 3:00pm

PSA: Long Blog for an epic afternoon!

After having an incredible morning trip, Captain Gabe and I set out again to find the whales we had the opportunity to see in the morning, and potentially stumble upon some more. As we were leaving Friday Harbor, we already saw both a Bald Eagle and a Harbor Seal. We continued up towards Spieden Island and were able to observe some lazier Harbor Seals with their pups in addition to Fallow Deer...

Piper | Sunday, July 21, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30 PM

Today’s afternoon Classic tour aboard the M/V Sea Lion was crewed by Captain Pete, Jordan, and me! We had an awesome group of folks today with lots of families who asked some really great questions! We left the docks in Friday Harbor and headed north in San Juan Channel towards the top of San Juan Island, where we crossed to the west side of the island where a group of Bigg’s killer whales we reported to be hanging out!

When we...