Lauren Fritz, M/V Sea Lion, 7/18/17, 6:00 pm Tour

Today's sunset trip was a real treat for those of us on M/V Sea Lion. As we pulled away from the dock in Friday Harbor, we were excited to venture out and meet up with some of our Southern Resident Killer Whales that had been sighted earlier near the southwestern side of San Juan Island. These whales were members of L-pod, one of the three Southern Resident Killer Whale pods that we see out here in the Salish Sea. J-pod and K-pod were...

Another beautiful day in Friday Harbor, but we were excited to depart and hit the water to see what adventures we had in store for us today. The M/V Sea Lion pushed off the dock and turned south today, with reports of residents frolicking and foraging near the south side of the island. Although the sky looked a bit gloomy, the rain held off for us, and the sun even popped out to say "What's up!" a couple of times. 

This is one of my favorite routes to take on our tours, because you...

This afternoon was absolutely, positively, hands-down magical. Our Southern Residents were heading in, and several members of K-pod and L-pod were foraging for salmon near Eagle Point. Sea Hawk left Roche Harbor with this report on our minds, and fair seas and sunshine ahead. We haven't seen our residents for the past few days, so it was exciting to have them back in the area!

But, of course, the best part about whale watching in the San Juan Islands is that you have a chance to...

We had a beautiful, full day of whale watching on the M/V Sea Lion yesterday. With three trips planned, we had the opportunity to spend the day all around the islands in search of our marine mammal friends. On our morning trip, we made a turn down south, basking in the views of Griffin Bay, Cattle Point, Cape San Juan, and American Camp before arriving near Eagle Point. Surprise, surprise...Spirit and Solstice were in the area! This mom and adult son pair have been foraging for...

Today M/V Sea Lion chartered a wedding group early on leaving from our Friday Harbor location. It was a little foggy as we headed out the San Juan Channel and into Cattle Pass, but that soon lifted just in time for our party to see some dorsal fins in the distance! It was soon to be one of the best wedding presents for the bride and groom to be!

Or Orcas were foraging along Eagle Point, off the West side of San Juan Island. Captain Brian and I quickly identified the whales as our...

Sunset trips happen to be Captain Mike and I's favorite trips to go out on with our guests. Tonight was great! We left Friday Harbor and went to the south end of San Juan Island, through Cattle Pass and into the Haro Strait. The whales were right off of Eagle Point and were spread out feeding. Mega (L-41) was there, as well as Ocean Sun (L-25) who happens to be the oldest female in L-Pod. These guys seemed to be on a course of their own hunting for the Chinook Salmon they prefer to...

We brought in the start of a new summer with great weather on the water today! Crew and passengers alike, busted out their shorts and sunscreen while we sped out of Friday Harbor to catch up with some of our favorite summer friends, our resident orcas,  L Pod.  We didn't have to go far since L Pod was grazing along the west side of San Juan Island searching for their favorite food, Chinook salmon. Chinook salmon makes up 80 percent of resident orcas diet and on average they eat about...

Today was sunny and beautiful for a whale watch. Captain Jim, Captain Chris, and myself departed with a full boat on the Kittiwake and made our way down and around San Juan Island. We experienced some strong currents going through cattle pass due to the summer solstice and full moon being so close together, but it made for a fun boat ride! We got to Eagle Point and spotted a mother (L77-Matia) and her calf (L119). Captain Jim put our boat into position for some great viewing and...

Well whale watchers, it’s been a great season! Today was my final tour and a memorable one. We started off with a Minke Whale sighting in the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Salmon Bank. This whale couldn’t seem to get enough of the crowd, surfacing more times than I’ve ever seen a Minke Whale do so. After traveling with him for a while, we decided to head further west in search of more critters. We soon found 15+ Dall’s Porpoise just a couple miles offshore of Eagle Point. This...

We met the first of J-pod at South Beach and watched as they hauled north toward Eagle Point, with some porpoising at the fast pace. On our way back toward Friday Harbor the rest of the pod came into view as we approached Cattle Point. This lagging group was full of youngsters and moving in a tighter formation, but slower pace. There were two mature males present that I believe were Blackberry (J-27) and Mike (J-26). The newest additions to the pod appeared to be practicing their lob...