Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 15th, 2020 | 17:30

The Transient Orca families we watched on our 13:00 trip traveled too far southeast out of our range to view again, but to our delighted surprise, ANOTHER family group of Bigg’s Killer Whales swam into U.S waters that earlier were milling southeast of Victoria, B.C. Initially, these whales traveled into U.S waters near Lime Kiln Lighthouse and were heading northeast at about 8kts. We made the decision to head north around San Juan...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 11, 2020 | 13:00

It was an exception treat this morning leaving the dock. We had reports of Bigg’s Killer Whales within our area that swam in quickly from Victoria early this morning. They moved up so far and fast, that leaving the dock they were milling near the south western part of San Juan Island. In order to give our passengers, the best possible opportunity to view Transient Orca, we decided to head straight for this family before they moved too...

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 | August 9th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

It was a gorgeous day on the water today as Captain Erick, Co-Naturalist Erin and I headed south with our passengers through the San Juan Channel. We caught word of a lone male Orca traveling near Victoria, B.C. and decided to make the trek southwest to see if we could view one of our favorite Bigg’s Killer Whales. On our way there, we passed heaps of Harbor Porpoises and bait balls, making it an entertaining trip through the Strait...

Piper | Saturday, July 13, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM & 3:00 PM

On today’s trips aboard the M/V Kestrel Captain Gabe and I took two awesome groups of folks down southwest of San Juan Island in the Canadian waters off Victoria on Vancouver Island! Down there we got to check out two humpback whales on both trips! On our morning voyage got to see two adults swimming separately. The first was a report from another vessel and the second one was spotted by a guest with a keen eye! They...

Piper | Saturday, June 8, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 PM

On this evening’s sunset whale watch we headed out of the marina to go north again, with a very different destination in mind compared to our afternoon trip; the same orcas we were watching by Jones Island were now in Cordova Bay off of Victoria, BC! So we cruised up San Juan Channel and into Spieden Channel to go over the top of San Juan Island and just as we were pointing down the Haro we spotted two humpback whales which were...

Guests aboard Kestrel along with Cpt. Gabe and I were excited to get on the water with two great reports already within our reach. Headed out the harbor, we decided to go south towards Victoria, where a report of transients, not yet ID’ed, had been picked up. Taking the challenge and curious to see who these animals were, we quickly went down San Juan Channel. 

As we exited the channel through Cattle Pass, we made a pit stop at Whale rocks to greet our Steller Sea lions and even got...

[Sarah C. 8/7/17 10am and 2pm Kestrel]

Humpback whales are probably most well-known for their impressive flukes, featuring complex patterns varying from all black to all white, and everything in between. Displayed on every deep dive, humpback whale flukes are used as their main identifier in the field. Each individual has a unique pattern displayed on the underside of their tail, making for a remarkably convenient built-in tracker. Thanks, nature!

Sometimes, though, these flukes...

[8/2/17- M/V Kestrel- Kelsey, Naturalist- 10:00AM & 2:00PM]

Today presented a blanket of fog in the surrounding waters of San Juan Island, and smoke from wildfires burning up north in Canada was also thrown into the mix of fog. This meant that today’s visibility was less than clear or sunny, but that actually created some stunning whale watching! The grey paired with the smooth, glassy waters made for a mirror-like effect, and it was almost an ethereal feel as we glided effortlessly...

The whale watching season is coming to an end here on San Juan Island, and in the Salish Sea. The weather is getting colder, the days shorter, but that doesn't seem to have an effect on the transient orcas! When we left Friday Harbor, we headed south then west traveling off the shores of Victoria to catch a glimpse of some transient orcas. When we arrived on scene, the T46b group of five orcas were traveling close together. After waiting in anticipation for over an hour to see orcas...