June 9th, 2022

Abby Dahl

12:30pm Osprey

We boarded Osprey on a typical, rainy northwest afternoon. Cruising out of the harbor, we turned northbound and entered the San Juan Channel. Reports loomed of a humpback whale mother and calf heading through Boundary Pass, so we thought we’d give it a go, scanning for orcas along the way as the misty air hung in a still balance amidst a lush island backdrop.

We cruised along while harbor seals seemed to drift in and out of sleep on the rocky...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | June 8, 2022 | 12:30 pm

Today’s Classic Whale and Wildlife excursion began like most days out on the water, a few reports guiding our direction but no guarantees for what wildlife we’d find. The early-on reports directed us north up San Juan Channel towards feeding grounds known to host feeding Humpback Whales. As we made our way along Orcas Island, through President's Channel and past Waldron Island, a report of Bigg’s Killer Whales came in only 15 minutes...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel | June 2nd, 2022 | 2:00pm
Today marked the first truly “warm” day on San Juan Island for the year 2022! Not ideal for standing around in our extra warm exposure suits… but delightful once we picked up speed and started cruising in our high-speed vessel.
First stop on this tour was a humpback just south of Saturna Island. The unmistakable 15–20-foot blow in the distance indicated the cetacean’s exact location. Guests were delighted to watch this impressive animal...

Lauren | M/V Kestrel | 6.1.2022 | 10:00 AM

Captain Eric and I were off the dock at 10:00 am today with our boat only half full… A post Memorial Day lull if you will? With an entire boat to themselves, our eight passengers still packed into the front of M/V Kestrel. The front of our zodiac proves to be the bumpiest spot during the ride. It seemed we had true adventures seekers on our hands, and we were excited to show them around the Salish Sea!

Our first stop was at Flattop Island to...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel | 5/30/22 | 2:00pm |
It was overcast and a bit foggy as we suited up in our exposure suits and prepared for our Adventure tour on the M/V Kestrel! This exciting tour operates on our smallest and fastest vessel in the fleet, a zodiac style ridged inflatable that allows us to zip around the islands and maximize our chance of wildlife sightings during this 3–4-hour excursion.
As we slowly puttered out of Friday Harbor, almost instantly we were greeted by a perched...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 05/29/2022 2:00pm

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Today was such a special day out in the Salish Sea.

Captain Eric and I greeted out guests and headed out of Friday Harbor towards the north. We cruised past Orcas Island and Waldron Island then across into Canadian waters.

As we saw the city of Vancouver in the distance, we spotted the Orca whales! Swimming speedily through the deep green waters, 9 Transient (Bigg’s) orca whales seemed to be headed towards Saturna...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | May 29, 2022 | 12:30 pm

The island has been filling up with visitors as Memorial Day rings in the start of the summer season! Our classic whale watch was no disappointment for those coming to view some of the stand-out species found in our waters. 

Early reports had us off the dock headed straight towards the outer islands (Patos, Sucia, Matia, Clark and Barne). With gusts of winds up to 12 knots, our vessel trudged through wavy waters spraying the port...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | May 24, 2022 | 2:00 pm

Today was a classically gray Pacific NorthWest day for our Classic Whale Watch and Wildlife tour. We left the harbor excited, knowing a Humpback Whale was spotted just North of Friday Harbor. As we approached the scene, guests on our vessel had their heads on a swivel in search of the cetacean on a long dive. Eventually we heard blows off the starboard side of the vessel and had our first looks at the massive hump making its way...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | May 23, 2022 | 12:30 pm

Humpback Whales are the largest whales regularly seen in the Salish Sea. Their migratory path leads them to Hawaiian waters for the winter months where many females will breed with males or give birth to full-grown fetuses. After a few months in those breed grounds, they begin their migration towards feed grounds along the coastlines of Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska. 

Having whales migrate to the Salish Sea is not...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | May 23rd, 2022 | 12:30pm

The Pacific Northwest decided to pull one of her most cliché moves by raining on a day that didn’t call for it; but off we went with happy faces ready for whatever the day brought. Heading north, we stopped at Flattop Island admiring heaps of Pigeon Guillemots with their red feet bold against the green water. Nearby we found several Harbor Seals swimming along the basalt rock as well as an adult Bald Eagle stoically looking across the...