Couldn't have asked for a better day on the water. Captain Mike, Naturalist Kevin, and myself were lucky enough to take out a great wedding party. The rainy skies cleared away for a beautiful sunny day and we only had to turn the corner out of Roche Harbor to spot J Pod. Couldn't get any easier! While watching off of Henry Island, J Pod seemed to be moving quickly along the coastline. We got to witness lots of porpoising and the occasional breaching. It was great to see these whales...

With our noon departure today Captain Mike and Naturalists Aimee and Kevin headed south with their guests. While heading south guests spotted a Sea Lion surfacing in the water. After getting a few good looks, Kevin and Aimee determined they were looking at a California Sea Lion. California Sea Lions are smaller than the Stellar Sea Lions however full grown males can get up to eight feet long. Moving along, a bald eagle was spotted on Whale Rocks and we decided to stop and get a...

After leaving our slip in Friday Harbor we were greeted with beautiful calm waters in San Juan Channel. Our destination today was north in to the Canadian waters hopefully to catch up with a Humpback whale spotted earlier in the day.
After a scenic ride north we entered the Strait of Georgia around East Point of Saturna Island where the Humpback was spotted just north of Tumbo Island. This whale was fairly non-directional possibly in a feeding behavior. This has been a excellent...

Heading North out of Friday Harbor the weather was looking slightly bleak, but once we got going on the water in turned into a beautiful day with smooth seas. When Captain Mike and myself came across a group of 7 transient orcas traveling through Active Pass, we were pleasantly surprised when a young calf popped up next to its mother. We got an excellent look at the pod when they decided to change directions and head within excellent photo range! After spending a good portion of time...

On the waters of the Salish Sea near Saturna Island we encountered a lone humpback. This humpback was found in similar region as the other humpbacks reported this week, and it is quite possible that this is the same humpback hanging around. Curiously enough, we seem to be seeing more humpbacks in this region than usual. This could be from a growing number of humpbacks or possibly an expansion of their migration patterns. It will be interesting to see how many stick around this summer...

With our noon departure today out of Friday Harbor, we had both the Sea Lion and the Kittiwake going out. Captain Mike with Naturalists Kevin and Caitlin on the Sea Lion and Captain Jim with Naturalist Aimee on the Kittiwake had full boats. We left the harbor and headed south toward whale rocks. This is a common place to find Harbor Seals hauled out and see Stellar Sea Lions. On our trip today we saw both Harbor Seals and Stellar Sea Lions hanging out down there. Stellar Sea...

With a report of a Humpback whale on the south end of San Juan Island we departed our Friday Harbor location with a full boat of eager guests. Approaching Cattle Pass we started seeing the blow of the Humpback. After watching the typical behavior of 3-4 surfacings before the fluke up dive followed by around a 4 minute down time, the humpback began an amazing display of breaching and pec slaps.
Humpback whales have the largest pectoral fins of all the great whales measuring 1/3 the...

Great day on the water today! Captain Mike, Naturalist Kevin, and myself started our trip off right when we came across a group of 6 transients orcas. After watching them surfacing and cruisin' along for a bit we decided to head up further North, off of Moresby Island, in the canadian waters, to watch our friend, the humpback, that was spotted yesterday! After watching this humpback at a distance for a while, he decided to give Naturalist Kevin a bit of a scare when the humpback...

After leaving Friday Harbor, the Seal Lion landed in the majestic waters of Open Bay on Henry Island, where Captain Brian and myself, encountered a young Humpback whale.
Humpback whales breed in warmer waters during the winter and then migrate along the west coast up to colder nutrient rich water during the summer months. Generally, mother humpbacks will stay with their calf for a year. It is likely that this young humpback just left his mother recently. Hopefully this young whale...

I saw my first Dall’s porpoises of the season today. The most playful of our two porpoise species, Dall’s porpoises are known to go out of their way to surf the bow wake of boats. Despite this reputation and our best efforts to entice them, the porpoises we encountered were uninterested in our wave. Their black and white markings can often fool the uninitiated observer into believing they saw orcas. But these meaty cetaceans are a mere 6.5 feet as adults. When first born, an orca...