(6/28/17 - Kittiwake 12:00 PM Departure)
Today M/V Kittiwake went out for a private charter with Amy, Steve and their Evergreen guide Justin, and what a delightful group they were! We moseyed to Hein Bank, a common feeding ground for the larger baleen whales in the area, and looked at other wildlife along the way. We stopped to see some harbor seals hauled out. Those pups should start appearing on the rocks anytime now. After getting that load of cuteness we continued on towards...

(6/21/17 - Kittiwake 10:00 am & 2:00 pm Departure)

On M/V Kittiwake we had two private charters for the day, both wonderful trips!  Our first trip was with Skagit Valley College and our second trip was with a family visiting the San Juan’s for their annual family vacation.  Both trips we saw the T75B’s and the T77’s, with a total of about 7 whales between the two families.  On our earlier departure the whales were first spotted under the deception pass bridge, which was very exciting...

The last two days have been spectacular working on M/V Kestrel, and have truly made me appreciate the capabilities of the vessel.

On Friday Captain Mike and I took our guests over towards the city of Victoria to find a pair of humpback whales travelling out to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. WE enjoyed watching those incredible creatures surface and fluke-up, raising their giant tails in the air, as they traveled. Humpback whales are a fairly recent re-addition to the Salish Sea...

Today was one of those days where you look out at the water and think, "Wow, the world is magical." The temperature was perfect, a light breeze was blowing through Roche Harbor, and there was barely a white puff in the sky. As Captain Pete and I prepared the boat for our whale watches, I could sense the feeling of peace that the San Juan Islands bring to residents and guests alike. After our passengers boarded, we headed out of the harbor, ready for whatever came our way. With some...

There's definitely a fever of excitement rippling through the Salish Sea right now. J Pod is still hanging around! With sightings of these orcas few and far between this season, it's wonderful that these animals have been around for the past few days. Hopefully they've been finding plenty of salmon in the area - their wellbeing depends on it. 

M/V Sea Lion cruised away from Friday Harbor with warm, sunny skies above and sparkling green seas below. After pausing off of Turn Island to...

What an absolutely beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest! M/V Sea Lion left the dock early this afternoon with the sun sparkling on the water and a light breeze blowing - perfect conditions for whale watching. Instead of turning north today, we veered south, enjoying stunning views of the southern tip of San Juan Island on our way across the Straight of Juan de Fuca. We were in search of some transient killer whales that had been spotted earlier this morning. 

Along the way, we were...

No orca whale reports today, BUT as we pulled out of Friday Harbor the Captain received word of a humpback whale by Halibut Island, Canada. It took us nearly an hour to get to the location but there it was – a beautiful humpback whale. It looked as though it was feeding the entire time we were with it – almost ½ an hour. When it dove down, one could see many of the ‘knuckles’ on it’s back.  Two of the many dives it waved it tail gently before disappearing into the water...

  Today with beautiful weather the two Kenmore Air sea planes touched down at the dock and we were there waiting to take the guests for a wildlife tour.  The group included people from Denmark, Sweden and Japan.

We went down the east side of San Juan Island stopping a few times to view birds and harbor seals. We had a good look at a mature bald eagle, solo, at the top of a tree. As we neared the southern-most tip of the island, we stopped (turned off the engine) and sat to watch...

Headed south down the east side of San Juan Island.A single mature bald eagle was spotted up in a tree. We paused to view it, then off it went. We went a bit further south, then stopped a rock outcrop with TONS of Stellars Sea Lions. Lounging, posturing, snoozing, swimming. They where piled up with scads of  cormorants and a variety of gulls. You could smell that these animals were all fish eaters. (Hey, watch it, I kinda like that fragrance!) The boat sat with the engine off and...

Yes, we saw orca whales today on the 2nd of October - late in the whale watching season.  We took off from Friday Harbor, San Juan Island heading north toward Spieden Island.  As we neared Speiden, one of the guests spotted a large brown head which turned out to be a great big stellar sea lion fishing by himself.  We stayed on the south side of Speiden and Shelly spotted a mature bald eagle up in a tree. Down below the Mouflon Sheep and Sitka Deer were roaming about.

We pushed on to...