[Friday, 5/4/18 - M/V Sea Lion - 12:00 - Naturalist Erick]

May the Fourth Be with you!

Today, Captain Pete and I headed north to ply the waters of the Salish Sea and look for incredible wildlife. Yesterday, we heard of some Humpback Whales hanging out in Birch Bay so we headed in that direction. On the way there just as we exited Presidents Channel we saw a fairly large group of Harbor Porpoises hunting in a prominent current line. These little ones are the area’s smallest...

[Sunday, 4/29/18 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00 – Naturalist Erick]

This Sunday we Captain Mike and myself journeyed into the spring mist covering the San Juans. With us, we brought along a great group of folks aboard the M/V Sea Lion. We headed north through San Juan Channel and made our first stop at Green Point on Spieden Island. Here there is a colony of mostly adult, male Steller Sea Lions. Every day they take up different positions on this rocky point, I assume, mostly due to the...

[Sarah – 04/22/2018 – Earth Day – M/V Kestrel – 12:00pm]

Sunny Spring days were made for M/V Kestrel! Speeding through rocky islands at water level under beautiful clear blue skies after a long grey winter is near to the top of my list of favorite things in the whole wide world. Captain Brian and I were so excited for Sunday’s cruise, and to share the Salish Sea’s wildlife with all of our guests!

We left Friday Harbor and headed north, opting to weave through the Wasp Islands as we...

[Sarah – 04/21/2018 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

We had a classic Pacific Northwest spring trip on the M/V Sea Lion on Saturday! With a little bit of every weather condition, and lovely wildlife everywhere, it is a trip I will not soon forget.

M/V Sea Lion left Friday Harbor and headed north cruising towards Spieden Island, and other wildlife hotspots. We checked out harbor seals, Steller’s sea lions, and bald eagles before pressing further north. After talking with the other members of...

[Sarah – 04/20/2018 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

Friday's whale and wildlife tour was OFF THE HOOK! We saw a little bit of everything!

We started the day by heading north out of Friday Harbor towards Spieden Island. Before even reaching its grassy slopes and rocky shores, we encountered harbor porpoise and Steller’s sea lions feeding in the rich upwelling water. We checked out some sea lions hauled out Green Point before heading across the island to see what we could find. There were ba...

[Sunday, 4/22/18 – Sunday – M/V Sea Lion – Naturalist Erick]

This Sunday, we were again blessed with another high-pressure system bringing cool, blue skies, and a sunny day. There was only on teeny cloud that traveled its way across the islands. Captain Mike, myself, and great group of humans hopped onboard the M/V Sea Lion and headed out to do what we do every day…to find some amazing things! We headed north towards the outer islands and the Canadian border. Since it was a nice...

[Saturday, 4/21/18 – M/V Kestrel – 1:00PM – Naturalist Erick]

The past few weeks we have started running trips on our adventure vessel, M/V Kestrel. This craft is a RIB, a Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat, and can go pretty fast, around 30 – 40 knots. We suit up in these dope red and black exposure suits and head off. Captain Brian and I took a full group of folks northward to go search for somefun and exciting wildlife. This Saturday was sunny with a little breeze. We made our first...

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...

[Tuesday, 4/17/18 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00 – Naturalist Erick]

Another day goes by as the season of spring boldly brings us into a season of unpredictable weather, beautiful flowers and northward migration. Captain Mike and I took some folks out on this wonderful April day to go find some great wildlife. Our first stop was at Green Point on the eastern tip of Spieden Island. It was a little bit of a breezy day so all the sea lions that normally cover the rocky shore here were all in...

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...