Laura C. | 8/2/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

Today was a prime example of marine mammal hunting specialists at work!  We made our way north on M/V Sea Lion towards Patos Island to find killer whales enjoying an afternoon meal!  Our Bigg’s killer whales closely circled a carcass and passed it around to fellow family members.  This family, the T65As, have been seen frequently throughout the summer season in the Salish Sea and are taking full advantage of our plentiful harbor seal and...

Olivia | July 30th, 219 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

This afternoon we had a full boat of wonderful passengers. Captain Gabe, Co-Naturalist Laura, and I talked about how much we loved everyone we chatted with and had such a variety of backgrounds on board. We set out north through the San Juan Channel towards Boundary Pass. We were lucky enough to leave the dock today with a potential whale report that was north of Saturna and heading southeast towards Tumbo and East Point.

On our way to...

Olivia | July 23rd, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30pm

Starting off our evening sunset trip, Captain Erick and I headed north with our passengers through the San Juan Channel passing between Spring Passage and up to Presidents Channel on the east side of Waldron Island. This island area is a hot spot for Harbor Porpoise which did not disappoint as we saw heaps swimming about the entire way. So much so, that we continued seeing them everywhere in high volumes up until we stumbled across a T...

Olivia | July 21st, 2019 | M/V kestrel | 11:00am

Every day is completely different and unique, especially with whales that can travel over 100 miles in a day. Today, however, they decided to make our job very easy! Just as we left Friday Harbor, and I mean barely out of the harbor, we came across the T46B’s of Bigg’s Killer Whales. They continued to hug the shoreline and travel north. Captain Gabe and I adore seeing this family because their young calf has Leucism, a condition where...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 07/15/19 | 5:30pm

Today was so amazing! It was just 12 of my guests, Captain Gabe, and me! It felt like such a nice little group. Everyone was so sweet and it was so much fun making friends with the really bright nine-year-old on board, Caileen. Exiting the harbor, we had high hopes for some good orca sightings based on reports we were receiving from other whale watching boats! They were headed towards us!

So, we took our boat and headed north through the San...

Laura C. | 6-27-2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

Passengers boarded M/V Sea Lion today with vigor, in hopes of either witnessing whales in their natural environment for the first time or reconnecting with these charismatic leviathans once again!  And we were not disappointed!  Captain Pete manned the helm as we ventured north through San Juan Channel and rounded Orcas Island to join fellow whale-watching vessels near Sucia Island.  We were elated to see a familiar family in the area...

Olivia | June 16, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am / 3:00pm 

What an incredible adventure Captain Gabe and I had out on the water today! For our 11:00am tour we headed north around Spieden Island where we viewed many Harbor Seals and Bald Eagles. We didn’t hang out too long, as we wanted to continue towards our whale sightings. As we traveled through Swanson Channel near Moresby Island, we caught our first glimpse of a lone male Bigg’s Killer Whale known as T77A who is often seen...

[Sunday, 6/10/18 - M/V Sea Lion - Noon - Naturalist Erick]

On Sunday, Captain Pete, myself, and one of the new Naturalists, Jordan, left with a super group aboard M/V Sea Lion to search the Salish Sea for all it’s wonderful critters. First, we made our way towards the outer islands of the San Juan archipelago. These Islands are where the U.S. and Canada border is located and are more sparsely populated then the four main islands a little bit south. Just north of PAtos Island with...

Lauren Fritz, M/V Kestrel, 7/17/17, 2:00 pm Tour

M/V Kestrel had a smooth, eventful tour today. The weather was perfect, light breeze, glassy seas. We were in high spirits as we pulled off the dock in Friday Harbor, ready to search for whatever wildlife nature wanted to show us. In such a biodiverse area as the Salish Sea, almost anything is possible. We had barely picked up speed before we spotted our first bald eagle! I took it as a good sign for the rest of our trip - and wow, we...

[7/12/17- M/V Kestrel- 2:00PM]

Wednesday’s are hump days, and hump days are meant for humpback whales! It was another beautiful day with sunny skies as we moseyed outside of Friday Harbor from San Juan Island and headed north to Canadian waters. We cruised over the calm waters with no problems at all, simply enjoying the scenery and the windless skies.  We slowed down and approached a small little outcrop of rocks by the East Point lighthouse on Saturna Island, and we saw a plethora...