Olivia | M/V Kestrel | July 26th, 2020 | 14:00

After having an exciting morning trip, we were already enthused for our afternoon adventure! We immediately went south towards Whale Rocks in hopes to see the Steller’s Sea Lions to which they greeted us with lots of water wrestling and face biting! Seeing the world’s largest Sea Lions brawling in our waters was exhilarating.

As we are watching Steller’s Sea Lions, we found the same Minke Whale in the channel that we saw on our trip back...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel July 26th, 2020 | 10:00

On our morning adventure trip out into the islands, we first decided to stop at Whale Rocks to view about five Steller’s Sea Lions (!!) and many Harbor Seals. It is extra exciting to be seeing Steller’s Sea Lions this time of year because they migrate to Alaska during the summer months and return here for the winter. The fact that we had five belching, bellowing, and face biting in the water already started the trip with excitement.

We...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel | July 13th, 2020 | 11:00 Charter

Baleen whales in the sunshine, how neat is that!? Captain Brian and I started our private charter by heading south through San Juan Channel, briefly stopping in Cattle Pass to scout for Harbor Porpoise, and eventually dipping down into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Shortly after nearing Salmon Bank, a shallow area of the large waterway, we found an elusive Humpback Whale! This whale was initially averaging dives of around 7-minutes...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 4th, 2020 | 09:00 Charter

 Today was the most beautiful day on the water I have had yet this season. Good thing too because it was a holiday! We booked a 9:00am charter to head out in the morning in search of whales around the San Juan Islands. Being the first boat on the water this morning, it was our job to first scan and see what could be swimming around.

Captain Sarah decided to head south into the Strait of Juan de Fuca into the glassy, sunny seas in...

Piper | Sunday, September 29, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

On today’s voyage into the Salish Sea, Captain Erick took me, Alexandria, and a great group of people down south through San Juan Channel toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Along the way we stopped at Whale Rocks in Cattle Pass where a huge haul-out of Steller’s sea lions was lounging about the rocks, soaking up the bits of sun poking through the clouds. They were so much fun to watch and we noticed while we were looking...

Olivia | September 20th, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

We love our Adventure Trip on M/V Kestrel! The great thing about it? High speeds which means further distances in our time frame! We started the trip by heading south through the San Juan Channel to see some Steller’s Sea Lions bellowing their burping noises all the way across the water and swimming about in the currents around Whale Rocks. From there, Captain Gabe informed us of some black and white whales very far away past...

Olivia | September 12th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

What a great day near San Juan Island! Captain Gabe, Co-Naturalist Piper and I headed south through the San Juan Channel to aim for the Strait of Juan de Fuca in hopes of seeing potential whale sightings. We made a stop at Whale Rocks where we were able to view [and listen] to heaps of Steller’s Sea Lions! Loving these large Pinnipeds, it was so great to hear their deep bellows and watch them snooze, play, and swim in the high...

Olivia | August 26th, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

What a fun morning on the water! Captain Gabe received reports of several whales nearby, so we set out south through San Juan Channel. With our whales just south of Lopez Island, we decided to stop at Whale Rocks and check out the largest sea lions in the world- Steller’s Sea Lions! There were heaps of them bellowing over the water, swimming along the shoreline of this mini island, and snoozing in the sunshine. We also acquired some...

Olivia | August 4th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

Captain Erick, Co-Naturalist Jordan and I, along with our full boat of passengers, decided to head south for an opportunity to see some Bigg’s Killer Whales in the Strait of Juan de Fuca south of Hein Bank. Along the route, our captain was thrilled about seeing heaps of Phalaropes! These small birds are not often seen this close to shore, and typically feed on plankton. One female breeds with multiple males and leaves them to raise...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 07/12/19 | 3:00pm

Today was such a good day! As Captain Pete and I set out of Friday Harbor, we headed south towards potential sightings of something cool near the Olympic Peninsula.

We headed south down through the San Juan Channel, passed Cattle Point and across the Strait of Juan De Fuca! Miles away from home, we spotted a couple boats in the distance. Then our orcas! Yay! Upon looking at the unique dorsal fin patterns and shapes and scratches, we identified...