Wednesday, May 23rd | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 PM

This afternoon, Captain Gabe and I assisted our guests aboard the M/V Kestrel and set out to find some whales! With only second-hand reports we headed north to check things out. We arrived off Jones Island and slowed to nearly a stop. Scanning the waters, we found a small pod of harbor porpoise frolicking nearby! We moved west toward Green Point on Spieden Island and found a couple of Steller sea lions soaking up the sun.

Continuing our...

[Sarah – 05/18/2018 – M/V Kestrel – 2:00pm]

Welcome home Captain Gabe! On Captain Gabe’s first trip of the season we had an amazing day! M/V Kestrel never fails to impress me with her range on a 3-4 hour trip. Friday’s afternoon Adventure Tour was a great example, just of what that boat can do.

We left the dock with no firm reports of whales in our area, by the time we were in the mouth of Friday Harbor a boat had called in… Orcas! We left the harbor cruising north through San Juan...

[Sarah – 05/13/2018 – M/V Kittiwake – 12:00pm]

Mother’s Day, and it was my first trip on M/V Kittiwake for the year! I love taking groups out on our smallest boat, because I really get to know the folks onboard, and we can tailor the trip to a smaller group’s needs. Captain Pete and I left the dock with no reports of whales in the area, so we decided to embark on our own search pattern. Soon into our trip we got a report of a humpback whale in the Strait of Georgia and decided to...

[Sarah – 05/12/2018 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

We had a lovely day out on the water full of wildlife and enlightening ecological discussion. Leaving the dock we steered the M/V Sea Lion north through San Juan Channel towards the Canadian Gulf Islands. We took a break in our journey north to check out some Steller’s sea lions hauled out on the rocks at Green Point, before pressing further on in our journey. Communicating with all of the other boats on the water, we decided to take an...

Monday, April 23, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 Noon

What a gloriously sunny Monday afternoon in the San Juan Islands! Sitting here writing this, I can feel the sunburn set in over what are probably some fresh freckles, and it makes me so excited that summer is finally (nearly) upon us! Today Captain Mike and I led a great group of folks all the way up to Point Roberts, a funny little peninsula of US land attached only to Canada, just south of Vancouver. It was a long haul up there...

Sarah – 04/18/2018 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

Wowza, what a day of whale watching! Pre-season is one of my favorite times to be on the water because we never know what we will find out on the water. Yesterday started out pretty normally for an April day with no reports of whales as we left the dock. Captain Brian and I decided to head north towards the Canadian Gulf Islands to try our luck finding whales and other wildlife. Here in the San Juans there is no “normal” spot to begin...

April 16, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

Today was a very stereotypical Pacific Northwest day, with a lot of cloud-cover producing a lot of rain, but the islands were dotted so beautifully with those wispy low-lying clouds just touching the evergreens, the type of scene that made me fall in love with this area. Captain Mike, myself, and a small group of great people left Friday Harbor and made our way north through San Juan Channel. We got a great look at a large group of harbor...

14 April, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 4:00 PM

On the noon trip this day Captain Mike, Erick, and I explored a large area north of San Juan Island so when Captain Mike and I left the docks on our second trip of the day we decided to go south, and boy am I glad we did.

On our way down San Juan Channel we got word that another vessel had picked up a little-seen gray whale near Cattle Pass that was headed towards us! We continued our heading and met up with the vessel, which, by the time we...

[Naturalist Sarah – 04/03/2018 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

April trips don’t often start with whale reports on the dock, but on Tuesday we had incredible reports of orcas be fore we left Friday Harbor. Captain Brian opted for a southerly route, so he steered the M/V Sea Lion right out of the harbor.

The original orcas that were reported on the west side of San Juan Island had been fairly non-directional… traveling north along the shoreline, and then south. With plenty of time to...

[Naturalist Sarah – 03/15/2018 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

Lately we have had some simply exceptional days out on the water. Not only have we been treated to insane whale sightings, but we have also had magical springtime weather.

While I was cooking breakfast this morning Captain Brian called me, “Want to go find some whales? Get down to the harbor in 15.” I quickly downed my breakfast, gathered my gear, called Naturalist Rachel, and zoomed down to the harbor. With fresh cups of...