September has arrived, and with it the chaos of busy Labor Day weekend. I was delighted to hear that the Salish Sea was matching the hustle and bustle energy of downtown Friday Harbor. Before leaving the dock, we knew of several whale reports in the region. M/V Osprey departed Friday Harbor and went north in San Juan Channel. We went to follow up on a report of Bigg’s Killer Whales that were heading southwest in Presidents Channel. Normally when we encounter our marine mammal eating killer...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | August 21st, 2024 | 12:30pm

Summer season out here in the San Juan Islands is considered peak season, bringing in the opportunity to see potentially two ecotypes of Killer Whales, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, and Gray Whales. While statistics continually reflect on that, every day is a brand-new adventure on where or what type of whale it is we are going to see. Starting off August, we had a bit of a Killer Whale lull in the Salish Sea, where Pacific Whale Watch...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | August 04, 2021 | 5:30pm

Each departure from the harbor, we set out to find as much wildlife as we can! We are in communication with other whale watchers and vessels on the water to ensure we can each create some of the best experiences the Salish sea has to offer. Though it can sometimes be a gamble choosing certain paths, our sunset trip did not disappoint! 

We decided to head north through San Juan channel in pursuit of some large black and white animals...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel | September 20th, 2020 | 10:00

Heading off into the foggy water opened our morning adventure to one big adventure. We traveled north into the cool morning, and shortly after crossing through President’s Channel, the sky appeared and the fog settled, bringing in the glorious morning sun. It was one of the first mornings in a while where we could see the surrounding islands since we have had so much smoke from the wildfires. All of this contributed to high spirits...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | September 12th, 2020 | 13:00

Our excursion today started off with no whale reports in the Salish Sea. This is a very normal way to start the day as we all leave the dock, divide along the waters, and check on what is occurring in the world’s most productive waters. Captain Erick and I decided to head north and scan all the areas where their prey hangs out, which in turn, are whale hot spots. We immediately saw Harbor Porpoise swimming throughout San Juan...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | September 11th, 2020 | 13:00

This smokey, yellow day started off a bit eerie in the San Juans due to the wildfires in Oregon, Washington, and California. We did not let this stop us from heading out in the water in search of wildlife that could be milling around. Shortly after leaving the dock, we saw a Steller’s Sea Lion swimming in San Juan Channel, coming up for big breaths in the golden haze. To start off our path, we decided to head north where there was...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 18th, 2020 | 13:00

We left the dock today with no whale reports in the area- a completely normal way to start any whale watching trip, especially when you are one of the first boats off the dock. Therefore, Captain Sarah and I agreed to head north towards some wildlife hot spots where we tend to see higher numbers of Pinnipeds and Cetaceans.

Aiming towards Waldron Island, we caught word of a whale rumor near Patos Island, but in Canadian waters. Due to...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 4th, 2020 | 17:30

After seeing the T018 family group of Bigg’s Killer Whales on our 13:00 trip, Captain Sarah and I were determined to see them before they moved out of range in order to provide our sunset passengers with the same opportunity. This meant a very quick dock talk and off we went heading north through San Juan Channel, crossing up President’s Channel, and aiming for Sucia Island. On the southeast side of Sucia, we saw the large dorsal fins...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 20th, 2020 | 17:30

For our evening sunset trip, we heard that the same Bigg’s Killer Whales from earlier this morning were still in range but traveling a bit further east closer to the edge of our scope. We felt it would still be worth it to our 11 passengers to see the black and white dolphins if at all possible, so off we went! Heading north through the San Juan Channel and cutting through Presidents Channel, Harbor Porpoise started swimming on the port...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | June 28, 2020 | 13:30

Today as quite the adventure, and a well needed one at that! We started off the trip with the fastest introduction speech of wildlife and the Salish Sea that I have done to date. The reason for the rushed speeches as we set off was because there were whale sightings far away and heading north. Captain Pete was anxious to start our travels as soon as possible in order to give our guests that black and white glimpse they were itching to...