[Naturalist Sarah – 10/26/2017 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

Today was a great example of why we never stop scanning the water as we travel through the Salish Sea. After a whirlwind adventure north into the Canadian Gulf Islands, our persistence was rewarded by an encounter with a pair of humpback whales.

The Plan

Leaving Friday Harbor we headed north on the M/V Sea Lion. Captain Mike and I decided to head up into waters that hadn’t been covered by any whale watchers today. There had...

[Naturalist Sarah – 10/16/2017 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

Yesterday was a great day out on the water enjoying the beautiful scenery and wildlife of the San Juan Islands. We started the day by heading south through San Juan Channel from Friday Harbor.

Just south of Griffin Bay we found some Steller’s sea lions feeding on chum salmon. We watched the large pinnipeds shaking the fish and ripping them apart above the surface. In the turbulent water we also got great looks at harbor...

[Naturalist Sarah – 10/15/2017 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

This time of year leaving the dock we don’t often have reports of whales or other wildlife when we leave the dock. Sunday was not one of those days! Just as we untied the boat, we received a report of killer whales on the west side of San Juan Island! We quickly transited north and around the north end of San Juan, and then down along the west side of the island.

We encountered the orcas just off of County Park. Usually during...

[Naturalist Sarah – 10/12/2017 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

October continues to impress in the Salish Sea. Weather-wise we have come to expect rain in the morning clearing to beautiful, sweeping cloudscapes in the afternoon. Yesterday, Captain Mike and I steered the M/V Sea Lion south through San Juan Channel towards Haro Strait on the search for whales and wildlife.

We ventured out into the wide-open water of the straits on the Westside of the island. The water was wonderfully glassy...

[Naturalist Sarah – 10/08/2017 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

Today’s whale watch was a picture perfect October day, and certainly not a typical what-to-expect day this time of year. Captain Mike, Naturalist Piper, and I left Friday Harbor under sunny blue skies with no reports of whales. We elected to head south through San Juan Channel towards Whale Rocks to see what we could find in the wide-open waters south of San Juan Island.

Sea Lions

At Whale Rocks we had the opportunity to view a...

[Sarah M – 10/04/2017 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

Today was a perfect fall day, and we experienced quintessential San Juan Islands wildlife! Leaving Friday Harbor we headed east for Upright Channel between Lopz and Shaw Islands. The water was glassy and we had crystal clear, panoramic views of Mt. Baker. We wove inter-island, taking in the scenery, before popping out into Rosario Strait.  Mt. Baker was breathtaking across the sweeping Strait.

Humpback Whale

In Rosario we encountered a...

[Naturalist Sarah – 10/01/2017 – M/V Kestrel – 02:00pm]

Going into October we start to see magical light out on the water and special encounters with wildlife. Leaving the dock in Friday Harbor we didn’t have a report of whales in our area, but at this time of year that rarely means anything for the day’s sighting. Sunday’s trip was a perfect example of how our sighting network, the Pacific Whale Watch Association, works to our customer’s advantage.

Captain Mike steered the M/V...

[Naturalist Sarah – 09/30/2017 – M/V Kestrel –  02:00pm]

Saturday was a beautiful illustration of the varying weather conditions we can experience here in the Pacific Northwest. On M/V Kestrel, wearing Mustang Survival Suits, we keep you prepared for the huge swings in weather conditions we can receive in the Fall and Spring! As we prepared to leave, we experience a deluge of rain, which weakened into a slight on and off drizzle as the trip progressed.

Heading south from Friday...

[09/12/17- M/V Sea Lion- Kelsey, Naturalist- 12:00PM]

Boy, was today foggy! As we left Friday Harbor on M/V Sea Lion, the day was overcast, but visibility was great! Then juuuust as we hit Cattle Point on the south side of San Juan Island, we hit a wall of fog in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. But, that wasn’t going to dampen our spirits! We were determined to find orca whales.

We were talking with boats out on the water who were with Southern resident killer whales, but we even had to...

[09/08/2017- M/V Kestrel- Kelsey, Naturalist- 2:00PM]

Today brought some drizzle, fog, and cloud cover (which has brought the smoke down quite a bit, yay!), but by the afternoon we had some better visibility and could forge our way south to an orca whale report!

M/V Kestrel zipped down to Port Townsend, but not before stopping at a Tufted puffin in Cattle Pass! It’s very rare to be seeing these clownish birds in our range, much less on the south point of San Juan Island! It was so...