Elle | M/V Kestrel | 8/9/2022 | 2:00 PM

Today was an absolute rollercoaster of emotions! We started our journey from San Juan Island and followed reports of Bigg's killer whales towards the Rosario Strait. In Obstruction Pass, we spotted an osprey! This fish-eating bird (and the namesake of one of our vessels) is rarely spotted here in the San Juans because bald eagles feed on similar prey and will chase them out of the area. Just around the corner, to our surprise, sat two adult...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | April 28th, 2022 | 12:30pm

Leaving the dock today, we were elated with the weeklong streak of sunny weather. Cool winds and warm skies guided us inner island towards Rosario Strait, passing heaps of bait balls and feeding Rhinoceros Auklets. Kissing the southern end of Lummi Island, we spotted black dorsal fins seemingly hugging the shoreline.

In my opinion, Lummi Island is one of the most breathtaking islands within the San Juan’s. The lush green, cliffy...

Haleigh | M/V Kestrel | July 29, 2021 | 2:00pm

I feel grateful for every day I spend on the water. On certain trips like today, it makes me think we all had some good karma in our favor. Calm waters and sunny weather made for an enjoyable departure headed inter-island. Passing through Orcas Island and Lopez Island, Mount Baker revealed itself for the most picturesque PNW image. We rounded through Peavine Pass, turning north towards Pea Pod Rocks. Lumped around the edges like a pack...

Jordan | M/V Osprey | 07/09/2021 5:30pm

This day was absolutely wonderful.

Captain Brian, Naturalist Alexandria and I booked it off the dock in our nice big vessel and headed out towards adventure. We cruised between Islands and northeast until we reached Peavine Pass. Slowly, we enjoyed the narrow channel and emerged into the Rosario Strait.

Then, just around the corner, we saw orcas! So cool! This beautiful family of orcas cruised along the shoreline and seemed to catch a seal...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 19th, 2020 | 14:00 

This Adventure Trip on M/V Kestrel was so fun with Captain Brian and our guests! At the dock we had a few guests that were extra excited to be going out with us today which always makes it more exciting right away. We set out on our sunny venture by heading inner island towards Lummi Island. Upon arrival we spotted the same family group of Transient Orca that we saw yesterday, the T37A’s. At first sight, we saw TWO full body breaches...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 07/18/19 | 11:00am

What am amazing morning! Captain Brian and I took the Kestrel out of Friday Harbor and headed towards reports of orcas! We boated south of Shaw Island across the south shores of Orcas Island, intertwining through Peavine Pass and then up Rosario Strait.

We stopped by some tiny islands called Peapod rocks where we found some seals! These harbor seals basked in the sunlight as they dried themselves from their watery hunting adventures. You had...

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...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 06/13/19 | 12:00pm

Today started as a beautiful day in Friday Harbor! The sun was shining, and it truly felt like one of the first real summer day here in the San Juan Islands. Captain Sarah, Naturalist Erick, Naturalist Laura and I took our beautiful boat, the Sea Lion, out for a day of adventure! We were incredibly lucky to hear multiple reports of whales. So, we set out to find whales, excited for what the day had to offer.

We headed northeast through...

[Naturalist Sarah C. 8/11/17 2pm Kestrel]

There was wildlife abound today in the Salish Sea! In a lovely continuation of a trend, we've been spotting orcas fairly consistently over the past week. Today's family was especially a sight for sore eyes - called the T65A's after their matriarch (and mother of the rest of the group), this family of five are frequent visitors to the San Juans but hadn't been spotted nearby for nearly a month... before today!

We left Friday Harbor today with...

(April 15, 2017)  Blue sky, warm sun, steep green slopes, electric blue water, and black and white whales.  That was the scene beheld by our guests today aboard the M/V Sea Lion.  Against the backdrop of Lummi and Sinclair Islands, transient orcas made steady headway up Rosario Strait.  Whale watching captains who had arrived before us observed seal munching and excited vocalizations, but by the time we glided in, the animals were back on the hunt.  We paralleled the impressive...