Today deviated from the norm for Captain Jim and I today, since we had a charter on M/V Kittiwake that didn't start till around 6:30 pm. Both of us are fairly use to being out on the water earlier in the day, and this was a great chance to see the changes in nature and the surrounding wildlife...oh and did I mention the sunset? With the slowly fading light, navigating the waters can become a bit more challenging, but when you look up and see brilliant orange and pink sunsets with...

The M/V Sea Lion went North today in hot pursuit of a Transient Orca. What's funny is that we started out heading south, but as Captain Mike pulled a U-Turn in the San Juan Channel we knew something was up! He informed us that there was a report of T-21 heading north in Canada and we were in reach of seeing her! A lot of times, we head out with no Orca reports then change our course throughout the trip because Transient- mammal hunting Orcas- popped up!

As we headed into Canada...

M/V Kittiwake departed with positive reports of Resident Orcas! Our 13 guests and myself were very excited due to the fact they have been gone for a few days. Captain Mike headed straight to the Orcas that were heading north in Boundary Pass. Once we got on scene we could see all the blows and lots of splashing, right away I knew we had a playful group. We were right in the middle of Boundary Pass when the Orcas decided to split. At that moment we had a large adult male surface near...

With another beautiful day in the San Juans, Captain Mike, Caitlin, and I were thrilled to have great guests on board the boat and positive reports of resident orcas. Captain Mike steered us north toward the south end of Pender Island in Canada. We encountered a group of about 14 orcas consisting of member of L pod and K pod. These orcas were displaying resting patterns traveling slowing north. We were able to drop the hyrophone in and listen in on their conversations! After...

Today was another one of those magical days, sunny skies, flat water, and family groups of Resident Orcas everywhere. When the M/V Sea Lion got on scene with the whales we saw numerous dorsal fins and spouts in the distance, and they were all coming our way! As it turned out, all of LPod was there traveling together in the Haro Strait. I quickly calculated the number of dorsal fins and surmised that it had to be LPod since they have the largest pod size and most male Orcas. Male Orca...

With dense fog rolling into Friday Harbor, Captain Mike, the guests, and I headed north toward reports of Resident Orcas in Boundry Pass. The fog made everything very quiet and it was interesting to see the Islands through the wisps. Luckily, once we motored into Boundry Pass, the fog cleared and we were left with blue patches of sky and glassy waters. Once on scene, we were pleased to find that there were a plethora of whales in the area! We first viewed the L-12 matriline, and...

This has been the summer to see Transient Orcas, which for me has been an absolute blast! Transients, unlike Resident Orcas, are much stealthier and tend to be more elusive in their feeding patterns. Since the Southern Residents Orcas seem to be feeding elsewhere for their fill of Chinook Salmon, it has created a gap in the population. Unlike past years where Residents were the "go to" whale to watch, now the Transients have filled that void.
Overall, Residents and Transients have an...

The other day, our guests on M/V Kittiwake settled in for a long boat ride up north into Canada. There were reports of six Transient Orcas, but they were far North and moving away from us. Captain Jim and I decided to go for it though, there's no stopping us when there's Orcas involved! The best part about it was that the "long ride" didn't actually feel long at all since going north comes with some of the best scenery and aesthetically pleasing views I have ever seen. Great people...

M/V Kittiwake, Captain Jim, and myself had a busy day! We had early morning reports of our Resident Orcas moving south in Haro Strait. Our guests were very excited to hear the news and begin our trip.
Along the way to the Orcas, we were lucky to see Harbor Seals and Steller Sea Lions! On Whale Rocks there were two large male Stellers that jumped into the water and another that was laying on the rocks! Since these guys are known as Grizzly Bears of the ocean, it was awesome to see...

Guests of M/V Kittiwake departed the docks with Captain Jim and myself, and we headed north. We had our resident orcas move into the Salish Sea late last night/early this morning. We saw members of L pod today in front of Patos Lighthouse with Mount Baker in the background. It was the perfect setting for these whales to "show off" for our guests, and they did just that! With tail slaps, pectoral fin slaps, breaching, and spy hopping our guests were thrilled with what they were...