Erick | February 23, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | Noon

As the short month of February approaches its end we do our last weekend-only trips from Friday Harbor. Once March starts we will be starting daily trips aboard M/V Sea Lion departing from Friday Harbor at noon. This Saturday, Captain Mike and I had a wonderful trip with a very small group of passengers. I think folks were afraid of the cold so it ended up being only two hardy folks aboard wanting to go out and see what was out there in...

Sarah | 02/16/2019 | 12:00pm | M/V Sea Lion

Today we were treated to an amazing day on the water with great conditions and wonderful wildlife. Captain Mike and I left Friday Harbor and decided to head north. This time of year, the weather and sea conditions often create incredibly productive waters to our north yielding great wildlife sightings.

At Green Point we stopped to check out some Steller’s sea lions hauled out on the rocks. These massive sea lions are the largest species of...

[Sarah | 11/24/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

We had a lovely tour on Saturday, which, like many of our November tours, left us in awe of how fast sightings can change. Captain Brian, Naturalist Ryder, and I gathered our guests up and left Friday Harbor. To start the tour, we decided to head north through San Juan Channel towards the Canadian Gulf Islands. We stopped around Flattop Island to see if we could find any wildlife like harbor seals and bald eagles, before continuing north...

[Sarah | 11/18/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

 On Sunday the M/V Sea Lion had one of those perfect fall trips that will sustain this whale nerd throughout the rest of the cold, rainy, dark, and long winter ahead! We set out from Friday Harbor with blue skies up above and the potential glimmer of a rumor of some killer whales in the area. In November, sometimes you have to trust your gut and follow up on rumors. We decided to head south to see what we could find.

Pointing towards the...

[Sarah | 11/17/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

On Saturday we had a whirlwind of a trip that left the crew of the M/V Sea Lion giddy! This late in the season, both Captain Brian and I agreed that we had experienced one of our top two trips of the season.

Leaving Friday Harbor we pointed west towards the city of Victoria in British Columbia. Stopping briefly in Cattle Pass at the south end of San Juan Island, we were able to get a look at a group of Steller’s sea lions socializing...

[Sarah |11/11/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

We had an amazing day to go exploring for wildlife under clear November skies on a picture perfect day here in the San Juan Islands. Leaving Friday Harbor we decided to head south toward Cattle Pass and Haro Strait on the search for wildlife.

As we made our way through the narrow channel between San Juan Island and Lopez Islands we approached Whale Rocks, and out of nowhere the exhales of a group of orcas rose above the surface! We watched...

[Sarah |11/10/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

We had a wonderful day out on the water enjoying mild November weather and great wildlife. Starting out the day we had some reports of whales far to the west, but as we left the harbor our plans changed with a report of whales far closer to home. Leaving Friday Harbor Captain Brian got a call from another boat that drastically altered our plans.

Instead of heading south and west, Captain Brian steered the M/V Sea Lion inter-island...

Sarah | 10/30/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00

Today we welcomed a small group of great guests on board the M/V Sea Lion for an exploration of the Salish Sea in search of wildlife. Autumn forecasts are so fickle here in the San Juan Islands, we had no idea what to expect until we left the dock. The water was glassy and we had peek-a-boo blue skies with low hanging clouds over the islands.

We headed north through San Juan Channel towards Canadian waters in Boundary Pass. As we worked our...

Sarah | 10/28/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

We had an amazing fall day on the water on Sunday’s trip. With a varied weather forecast we weren’t sure what we’d get out on the water, but for the most part we were treated to sun and beautiful cloudscapes. Captain Mike and I decided to head north out of Friday Harbor on the search for wildlife, as other boats in the whale watching fleet left their docks as well. This is an incredibly valuable network of communication that allows us to...

Sarah | 10/27/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

This time of year you just have no idea what you’ll see out on the water here in the Salish Sea, and Saturday’s trip was a great example of the amazing array of wildlife you can see in a single trip!

After leaving Friday Harbor we started encountering wildlife. Almost immediately we encountered a pair of bald eagles and a Steller’s sea lion. After some great looks with the wildlife we continued north towards Canada. On the way we stopped to...