Olivia Esqueda | M/V Kestrel | August 28th, 2024 | 2:00pm

Today was an amazing day out on the water with the family of Bigg’s Killer Whales known as the T049A’s. We first started our tour off by traveling from San Juan Channel into New Channel, just north of Spieden Island, where we saw Bald Eagles, swimming Harbor Seals, and Mouflon Sheep grazing by the water. It wasn’t too long after that when we first spotted the Transient Orcas swimming around in the North Haro Strait. 

Soon after we arrived...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | August 27th, 2024 | 12:30pm

Today’s afternoon trip was certainly one to remember! We left Friday Harbor with an excited group of passengers and started our search for whales to the east. As we followed along the ferry route between the islands of Shaw, Lopez, and Blakely, we got some looks at a bald eagle and adorable harbor seals swimming through the channel. We maintained our course to the north east following up on some reports of whale activity, and as we rounded...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel | August 26th 2024 |10AM

We took a left outside Friday Harbor and pointed north up San Juan Channel. First stop, Flattop Island, one of our national wildlife refuges. Almost immediately we laid eyes on a group of harbor seals resting on the rocky shoreline. After cruising down the north side of the island for a few moments, we noticed a full grown bald eagle perched in the trees. 

Next stop, killer whales! We took a sharp left turn and cruised through Spiedan Channel to...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | 8/13/2022 | 12:30 PM 

What an epic day! Dare I call it the trip of the summer? Today our 12:30 Classic Whale Watch & Wildlife Tour had one of those unforgettable moments... a key memory if you will?  

With no firm whale reports in the area, we had no idea what was in store for us when leaving the dock. Shortly after cruising out of Friday Harbor, we got word that there were some rumored killer whales in Rosario Strait. I say rumored because we were working off...

Elle | M/V Osprey | 7/29/2022 | 12:30 PM

Today was a lucky day! Just about 15 minutes after leaving Friday Harbor and heading north, we encountered a group of Bigg’s killer whales, and turned around to accompany them south. We spent some time watching this majestic family, the T37As travelling through San Juan Channel. The whales followed a bait ball, a big group of fish under the surface which attracts tons of birds and smaller marine mammals like seals and porpoises which are prey...

7/29/22

MV Kestrel

Helena

10am

Our morning adventure tour on MV Kestrel left the sunny harbor eager for all the Salish Sea has to offer. As we are one of the first boats on the water each morning, our main focus is scanning broadly, making sure to not miss any blows or dorsal fins along shorelines! We headed south down San Juan Channel towards Cattle Pass. With views of beautiful Cattle Point Lighthouse off of our starboard side, our first stop was Whale Rocks. These small rocky...

Abby | M/V Osprey | 8/10/2021

It was our second tour of the day and so far no orcas had been within our range. That was all about to change, however, as a new matriline I had never seen before was trending northeast past Victoria. We could potentially make it in time if they didn’t change direction. As we headed south through San Juan Channel and out into the Strait of Juan De Fuca, we saw a minke whale, who ended up doing laps around our vessel. The minke whale was a great first...

Maxx K. | M/V Osprey | 07/07/2021 | 5:30pm

    Today’s sunset tour started like they often do: Osprey left Friday harbor in search of whales, following up on rumors of whales nearby. I was not prepared however for just how spectacular the trip would end up being. 

Rumors of killer whales led us north, through the San Juan Channel and into the Wasp Islands that separate the west coasts of Shaw and Orcas. Osprey then turned left into West Sound and towards the family of Bigg’s Killer...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 5th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Leaving the dock today, our Captain decided to push north towards some whale rumors creeping in from Speiden Channel. This made the easy decision to move north through San Juan Channel in hopes of seeing some large, black and white dolphins before they swam into Canada. With Covid-19 border restrictions still in effect, we are unable to view any whales in Canada as of right now, meaning we work as hard as possible to navigate around...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel | September 3rd, 2020 | 14:00

Every day feels unique and special with the mass diversity we have in the Salish Sea; however, some days stand out a bit more. A cloudless day, glassy seas, and Mount Baker standing sharp over the islands set the tone for a memorable day. Briefly stopping at Whale Rocks, we watched and listened to Steller’s Sea Lions bellow across the water and roll in the kelp bed. A few Harbor Seals sat quietly in banana pose looking towards the...