Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | September 1st, 2020 | 13:30

Every day and every trip in the San Juan Islands are completely unique. With such a strong diversity in the most productive waters in the world, we never truly know what is going to grace our presence. Today solidified that theory. Captain Sarah and I received word through the PWWA of Southern Resident Killer Whales in Haro Strait on the west side of San Juan Island. This was a big surprise since this ecotype of Killer Whales are...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel | August 16th, 2020 | 14:00

Our entire Adventure Trip today was one unexpected moment after another! Heading inner island, we started the trip feeling a warm wind [it was the hottest day all summer, after all] and headed south through Rosario Strait. Scanning the blue waters, we suddenly spotted a baleen dorsal fin! Turns out, we had a solo Minke Whale lunge feeding through the bait balls. This was a first Minke Whale sighting for all our passengers which made it...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 8th, 2020 | 17:30

Setting out on our sunset trip, Captain Pete and I decided to head south again in the direction of Hein Bank to follow up on a Humpback Whale rumor that was potentially traveling north in our direction. Being a long haul on our classic whale watching vessel, we decided to go straight there without stopping. Nearing the end of Salmon Bank, we came across a surprise Minke Whale lunge feeding off our port bow. We slowed down the boat and...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 8th, 2020 | 13:00

For our afternoon trip, we set out south through San Juan Channel in the direction of Hein Bank. Just outside Griffin Bay we spotted a sea lion whipping around an octopus, providing excitement right off the bat. Prior to emerging into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we made a stop at Whale Rocks to see not only Harbor Seals, but also those Steller’s Sea Lions! We are continuing to see the world’s largest sea lion return to our waters after...

Erick | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 | July 30, 2020

Today was another beautiful, sunny day here in the San Juan Islands. Captain Pete and I left the dock with some great guests in search of the marine wildlife here. We started by heading south towards Cattle Pass. We made our first stop at Turn Rocks just off of Turn Island. Here there were quite a few Pacific Harbor Seals and some pups basking in the beautiful sun. Many of them were holding their ‘banana poses’ where they hold their head...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel July 26th, 2020 | 10:00

On our morning adventure trip out into the islands, we first decided to stop at Whale Rocks to view about five Steller’s Sea Lions (!!) and many Harbor Seals. It is extra exciting to be seeing Steller’s Sea Lions this time of year because they migrate to Alaska during the summer months and return here for the winter. The fact that we had five belching, bellowing, and face biting in the water already started the trip with excitement.

We...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 4th, 2020 | 09:00 Charter

 Today was the most beautiful day on the water I have had yet this season. Good thing too because it was a holiday! We booked a 9:00am charter to head out in the morning in search of whales around the San Juan Islands. Being the first boat on the water this morning, it was our job to first scan and see what could be swimming around.

Captain Sarah decided to head south into the Strait of Juan de Fuca into the glassy, sunny seas in...

Olivia | September 12th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

What a great day near San Juan Island! Captain Gabe, Co-Naturalist Piper and I headed south through the San Juan Channel to aim for the Strait of Juan de Fuca in hopes of seeing potential whale sightings. We made a stop at Whale Rocks where we were able to view [and listen] to heaps of Steller’s Sea Lions! Loving these large Pinnipeds, it was so great to hear their deep bellows and watch them snooze, play, and swim in the high...

Olivia | August 26th, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

What a fun morning on the water! Captain Gabe received reports of several whales nearby, so we set out south through San Juan Channel. With our whales just south of Lopez Island, we decided to stop at Whale Rocks and check out the largest sea lions in the world- Steller’s Sea Lions! There were heaps of them bellowing over the water, swimming along the shoreline of this mini island, and snoozing in the sunshine. We also acquired some...

Olivia | August 19th, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 3:00pm

We had such an incredible morning trip that reassured us for an epic afternoon one as well! The T49A’s had traveled up and down the channel since we previously viewed them, and this time came right to Friday Harbor! We didn’t even have the chance to speed up and slowly motored under 7kts to go see them. We mentally prepared our passengers for one quick view before we left and came back later, wanting to reduce the number of vessels in...