[Thursday, 8/16/18, M/V Sea Lion Noon & 5:30PM]

On Thursday, the M/V Sea Lion had two wonderful trips out on the Salish Sea. Naturalists Sarah and I on both trips took great groups of people out. On our first trip we saw a bunches of Harbor Seals swimming around and resting on rocks on Whale Rocks in Cattle Pass. Then we went to Lawson Reef in Rosario Strait and saw a group of Transient (Bigg’s) Orcas. These orcas are the ecotype that live on the west coast of North America that...

August 16- M/V Kestrel - 10:00 am

For our first trip out on the water we headed out towards British Columbia to go and find some orca whales.  We went up to Saturna Island to find a group of transient orcas called the T2C’s.  This particular day our guests were very lucky to get a great look at some of our mammal eating orcas.  Not only do we always want to find whales on our trips we also always try to highlight other wildlife in the area as well.  Harbor seals are definetly are...

Jordan | August 11, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 trip

This afternoon trip was incredibly lovely as the bright blue skies mingled with beautiful wispy clouds. Captain Mike and I jumped on the Kestrel and booked it north through the San Juan Channel in our speedy vessel.

We went around the north side of Spieden Island and checked out a beautiful bald eagle perching perfectly in a tree! At three feet tall and seven pounds, this massive bird surveyed the land and the sea for any food as we...

Jordan | August 11, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00 trip

The early morning clouds burned away as the sun rose higher in the sky. We knew right away it was going to be a great day as we received reports of whales along the west side of San Juan Island! Captain Mike and I sped off on our Kestrel vessel and headed south through the San Juan Channel and through Cattle Pass.

We passed by Whale Rocks and took the opportunity to check out the harbor seals and Steller sea lions that were lounging...

[Thursday, 8/9/18, 5:30PM, M/V Sea Lion]

On our sunset tour on Thursday we left with a smaller group to go find some wonderful wildlife later in the day. We headed out during my favorite time during the summer. A few hours before sunset when the sky is turning all golden and orange. M/V Sea Lion took us south through San Juan Channel through Cattle Pass. We took a quick stop to see some Harbor Seals on Whale Rocks. These blubbery friends are the most common marine mammals in the...

Jordan | August 8, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30 trip

What a wonderful day out on the water! The skies were clear and blue and the water was especially gorgeous. Captain Pete, Mariana and I headed out of Friday Harbor with reports of a whale up in Canada!

So, we headed up through the San Juan Channel and boated along the east side of Stuart Island and past Turn Point, the most northwestern point in the continental U.S.! Then we traveled across Boundary Pass and into Canadian waters up...

Jordan | August 7, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 trip

Today the sun was out and shining and the water seemed especially calm as we headed out of Friday Harbor in our search to find whales! We headed south down through the San Juan Channel and through Cattle Pass past the southern point of San Juan Island.

We then spotted some Steller sealions on the Whale Rocks! These massive creatures lumbered around this tiny island barking at each other and rolling around, trying to get as much sun as...

Leaving the harbor with a full boat Captain Mike, Alexandria and myself were excited to get out on the water and see what orcas were hanging around the San Juan Channel! It’s really a treat and a weight off our shoulders when the whales are right outside the harbor since sometimes we must travel two hours to even catch up to them! With high spirits, we headed North up the channel hugging the east side of San Juan island. About two miles up the coast, we saw some faint spouts coming...

Jordan | July 27, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 10:00 & 2:00 trips

Today was another long and but successful day out on the water with our whales!

On our first trip, there were multiple reports of whales around the San Juan Island. Captain Gabe and I set out of Friday Harbor to find some wildlife! We headed south through the San Juan Channel, through Cattle Pass. We found the Southern Resident whales off the southeast side of San Juan Island. Here we found the J17s and J19s who were perusing...

Aboard Kestrel, Captain Gabe, myself and a full boat of excited guests, headed out for our second trip of the day! We had reports of Transients orcas down south and were curious to see what group of whales were present. We had been with a group of Southern Resident Orca earlier that morning and now were hoping to encounter some other killer whales! It’s crazy to think that in just one day, we can see two different ecotypes of killer whales in the inland waters!!

We headed down the...