Jordan | June 18, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 sunset

We had such a great group of people today! Everyone was full of enthusiasm and eagerness to see wildlife. It felt like the first real day of summer; sitting on the boat by the dock, it was actually hot! The sun shone brightly as we headed out of Friday Harbor for our 5:30 sunset tour. Captain Gabe led us south through the San Juan channel, past Cattle Point and into the shallow waters of the Salmon Bank.

Along the way, we found a...

Captain Mike and I were up early today and excited to see what was out there! Southern resident orcas had been hanging around the islands for the past couple of days and we could not wait to get a better look at them! We, along with our 11 smiling guests, headed down San Juan Channel to go look for some orcas. We first took a good look at the South end of Lopez and saw some harbor seals hauled out along with 3 bald eagles perched up in the nearby trees and rocks. We then headed...

It was a beautiful morning on the San Juan’s, starting to finally feel like summer! Sun shining and not too breezy! We had an excited crew on board and Captain Gabe along with naturalist Jordan and I were headed south down the San Juan Channel to go look for some orcas we heard were hanging out on the west side of San Juan. Talk was that this was Jpod (one of the southern resident orca pods) I had not seen them since September of 2017 and I was giddy about getting to see my favorite...

Jordan | June 15, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 noon

Today the Sealion journeyed out of Friday Harbor for the 12:00 noon tour with Captain Pete, Naturalist Rachel and myself. Reports of the J pod were coming in from the southwest side of San Juan Island, the same region this group was found yesterday! Perhaps there is a great group of salmon in that area.

Our boat headed south towards Cattle Pass and we stopped at Whale Island, a tiny island off the tip of Cattle Point. Here we saw...

Jordan | June 14, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 sunset

The Sealion, along with Captain Pete and myself, voyaged out of Friday Harbor for the 5:30 sunset tour. Luckily, J Pod just recently returned to the San Juan islands causing excitement amongst the entire region! Today, this large group of Southern Resident whales decided that the southwest waters of San Juan Island was the best place to be. So, Captain Pete led us south past Cattle Point and up to Eagle Point where we saw our first...

Jordan | June 13, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 noon

What a great day within the Salish Sea! The 12:00 noon tour had such a wonderful group of people who asked so many thoughtful questions! Before we even left the dock, our guests showed us they were eager to learn. Captain Pete, Mariana and I set off from Friday Harbor with high hopes of finding some orca whales and excited to teach everyone about our wildlife.

We ventured north and cut through the channel beneath Speiden Island...

June 10, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 Sunset 

Today the 5:30 sunset tour hosted a small group of enthusiastic whale lovers! Captain Pete and I heard reports of orcas heading north along the east side of San Juan Island so we decided to head around the north end of the island and down the east side to meet them.

As we neared Lime Kiln, the first spouts were detected! Eventually we realized that multiple groups were swimming around the boat: the T86s, T100s and T101s. These beautiful...

June 09, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 Noon 

What a fantastic trip we had today! The weather was super cooperative and shone sunlight on our entire journey. Captain Gabe, Mariana and I were all very excited to start the day and set off on the voyage to find whales.

Coming out of Friday Harbor for the 12:00 trip, we headed south towards Cattle Pass. As we boated through Griffin Bay and neared Cattle Point (the southern point of San Juan), we spotted the orca whales! Multiple groups of...

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...

[Wednesday, 5/23/18 - M/V Sea Lion - 12:00 - Naturalist Erick]

This Wednesday, Captain Pete and I headed north on another bright sunny day to the north. We made our first stop at Green Point on Spieden Island. Here, is a normal haul-out spot for Steller Sea Lions. Today, there was still around 8 left. They were all males of different ages lounging on the sunbaked rocks of the point. Soon though, all of these massive Steller Sea Lions will be gone as they migrate northward to their...