Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 06/30/19 | 1:30pm

Today was super great! Captain Erick, Naturalist Piper and I took the Sea Lion out of Friday Harbor and headed north to reports of orca whales coming from Canadian waters. We boated up through the San Juan Channel, passed by Orcas Island and Waldron Island and across Boundary Pass into Canada. Here, we went around East Point off of Saturna Island and headed west where we found orca whales!

We watched them swim into this beautiful area off of...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 06/29/19 |

Today was a great day full of adventures! Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel out of Friday Harbor and headed north to reports of whales up in the Strait of Georgia.

We sped up through the San Juan Channel and up towards Waldron Island. We stopped by a group of rocks jutting out of the water called “white rocks.” A few birds were sitting along the rocks and among them we spotted massive bald eagles! It was so cool! The adults had bright white heads...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 06/28/19 | 5:30pm

This evening was absolutely beautiful. Captain Pete and I took our vessel, the Sea Lion, out of Friday Harbor just as the sun decided to sink a bit lower in the sky.

Hearing hopeful reports up north, we headed up through the San Juan Channel. We passed between Waldron Island and Orcas Island as we boated towards the northeast. We went between Patos and Sucia Islands entering the Strait of Georgia up towards Point Roberts. Here we found the...

Olivia | June 28, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

It is always nice to leave the dock with potential whale sightings in our range. We decided to boat right between Shaw and Lopez Island and cut through Obstruction Pass to pop out over by Cypress Island in the Rosario Strait. On our way over there we passed many Harbor Seals which provided us with good set up conservation on balance in the ecosystem and how we start to see an increase in Bigg’s Killer Whales when there is a spike in the...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 06/27/19 | 5:30pm

What a gorgeous day out on the water! Although the clouds floated low towards the island, it didn’t take away any beauty from the surrounding islands. Captain Pete and I took the Sea Lion out of Friday Harbor for our sunset tour. We headed north through the San Juan Channel towards a report of wildlife up in Canada! We crossed under the southern bank of Speiden Island when we spotted our first animals!

On rocks close to the waters edge, we...

Olivia | June 27, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Our morning trip out on M/V Kestrel definitely started off as an adventure as we were getting everyone suited up in the rain. Despite the June showers, we wore smiling faces as we set out to find the whales we received word about. We traveled north through the San Juan Channel and made a pit stop at Flattop Island to look at some Harbor Seals who were napping on the coastline. Things heated up fast as we then saw a bunch of Pigeon...

Olivia | June 26, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

What a spectacular day on the water! We started off the trip heading north through the San Juan Channel and rounding the northern end of San Juan Island through Spieden Channel. Prior to this, we had already started to see Harbor Porpoises swimming around which was a fun start to the trip. These Harbor Porpoises are a common cetacean found in our waters. Since they are so shy, we tend to view them as we carry on at speed.

We continued to...

Erin | M/V Sea Lion | Sunday, June 23, 2019 | 1:30 PM

Today was a lovely day out on the water! We began the trip with a harbor seal in the harbor right by our boat! We then left Friday Harbor and headed north toward a report of a humpback whale. On our way, we saw harbor porpoises in San Juan Channel. We ended up near Patos Island and got an excellent view of the lighthouse. We then got to see a bald eagle's nest! Their nest can be 6 feet deep and weigh 2,000 pounds! There was even a...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 06/23/19 | 11:00am
 

The day started with clouds floating low in the sky. It wasn’t the typical overcast but somehow much more beautiful as they hid the distant mountains. Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel out of Friday Harbor and headed north through the San Juan Channel.

We sped towards this beautiful island called Flattop and stopped along its shoreline. Here we found a bald eagle perched high in a tree, its white head glowing in the light. Then we saw...

Laura C. | 6-22-2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30pm

The 5:30pm whale watch was gorgeous!  We headed north aboard M/V Sea Lion and were ecstatic to find two families traveling together near Patos Island, T36As and T65As!  There was no mistaking the large teenage male of the T65A family as he cruised along with his mother and siblings.  The calf seemed very energetic this evening and may have been excited to be a part of a special social gathering with another family.  Watching the...