Sarah | 05/09/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today we had an awesome day on the Salish Sea. We were graced with just incredible spring weather, so much sunshine and smooth water. With an early morning report of gray whales to our southeast, Captain Pete and I decided to point that way! As we traveled south through San Juan Channel and then out into confluence of Haro Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca we were treated to awesome views of our surrounding mountains, including Mt...

[Sarah | 04/25/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

Today was the day! The day we have all been waiting for! Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you that I have been talking about the day we would finally see a humpback whale in the 2019 season and that day was today!

Captain Pete and I had no reports of cetaceans when we left the dock in Friday Harbor. Undiscouraged we decided to head east, interisland, to search some waterways that hadn’t been looked at by any whale watchers yet...

[Sarah | 04/14/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

Today was a stark difference to yesterday’s stormy weather. We had high clouds and some rain squalls rolling through the area, but the strong west wind had disappointed a bit. Leaving just some residual breeze. Captains Erick and Brian and I decided to head north of Friday Harbor towards Canadian waters to search for some wildlife. We shot north to put ourselves in prime position in nutrient-laden waters with other whale watching boats...

[Sarah | 04/7/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

Today Captain Brian and I took a lovely group of guests out to explore the Salish Sea. After a few days of windy conditions, it was nice to be out on the water in relatively calm conditions. We started our day by taking a left out of Friday Harbor, pointing north on the hunt for wildlife. This time of year is still considered early season for orcas, but we have enjoyed over 75% success rate this spring, so spirits and optimism were high!

W...

[Sarah | 03/17/2019 | M/V Seahawk | 12:00pm]

What a beautiful day in the San Juan Islands! Captain Erick and I got to take out the M/V Seahawk from Friday Harbor under bright blue skies on the search for wildlife… and what the search we had. We decided to leave the dock and head south to start, motoring our way towards Turn Island to search for some seals as well as to look for whales and other wildlife in Griffin Bay. We got some great looks at harbor seals, our most numerous marine...

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Sarah | 03/02/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Captain Mike and I had a whirlwind of a trip on Saturday that was so incredibly wonderful. Leaving the dock here in Friday Harbor there was a whisper of the potential of some whales spotted from shore far to our south. We decided that it was worth the trip, and pointed in their direction! Traveling down San Juan Channel we stopped to check out some bald eagles and harbor seals before continuing to travel south.

We rounded the bottom of...

[Sarah | 11/18/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

 On Sunday the M/V Sea Lion had one of those perfect fall trips that will sustain this whale nerd throughout the rest of the cold, rainy, dark, and long winter ahead! We set out from Friday Harbor with blue skies up above and the potential glimmer of a rumor of some killer whales in the area. In November, sometimes you have to trust your gut and follow up on rumors. We decided to head south to see what we could find.

Pointing towards the...

[Sarah | 11/17/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

 

On Saturday we had a whirlwind of a trip that left the crew of the M/V Sea Lion giddy! This late in the season, both Captain Brian and I agreed that we had experienced one of our top two trips of the season.

Leaving Friday Harbor we pointed west towards the city of Victoria in British Columbia. Stopping briefly in Cattle Pass at the south end of San Juan Island, we were able to get a look at a group of Steller’s sea lions socializing...

[Sarah |11/11/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

We had an amazing day to go exploring for wildlife under clear November skies on a picture perfect day here in the San Juan Islands. Leaving Friday Harbor we decided to head south toward Cattle Pass and Haro Strait on the search for wildlife.

As we made our way through the narrow channel between San Juan Island and Lopez Islands we approached Whale Rocks, and out of nowhere the exhales of a group of orcas rose above the surface! We watched...