Elle | M/V Osprey | July 18, 2022 |12:30PM

Today we followed reports of Bigg's killer whales up into Canada. We departed Friday Harbor and sped up to Saturna Island, hoping to find them before they left the area. Luckily, these whales got caught up with a hunt between Saturna Island, North Pender Island, and Mayne Island. When we arrived onto the scene, we saw two five-foot-tall black fins. This indicated to us that we were looking at two teenage male orca whales. They have been...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | 6/13/2022 |12:30PM

M/V Osprey left the dock with sunny skies this Wednesday afternoon. We took a right out of Friday Harbor and headed south towards Cattle Pass. We slowed to view a bald eagle and some harbor seals before cruising over to Whale Rocks to see some Steller’s Sea Lions. After leaving the sea lions, we decided to follow up on a report of a humpback whale in Haro Strait. And just like that we went from “Hump Day” to “Humpback Day!”

Born in 2006,...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | July 9, 2022 | 12:30 pm

This summer is proving to be a successful time to view wildlife, and today we were able to see two of our largest marine mammals found in the Salish Sea! As we departed from Friday Harbor, we first headed south to begin our search. Making our way through Cattle Pass, we could hear roaring Steller’s Sea Lions and squawking Pelagic Cormorants and Gulls atop Whale Rocks. We continued south towards a shallow area known as Salmon Bank where...

Elle | M/V Sea Lion | July 7, 2022 | 2:00PM

Today we followed rumors of orca whales into Canadian waters. We cruised across boundary pass and turned off our engines between Saturna Island and South Pender Island, where we watched harbor porpoises frolic around us and enjoyed the beautiful weather. After the break, we turned back south, towards Friday Harbor. On our way, we came across a young male orca whale, zigzagging through the water by himself near Waldron Island. Although it is...

7/7/2022

Helena

MV Osprey

12:30

We departed Friday Harbor for our Classic Tour at 12:30pm ready to explore all the Salish Sea has to offer! Our journey began by heading south down San Juan Channel, with San Juan Island to our starboard and Lopez to our port. We came into view of Cattle Point Lighthouse at the mouth of where the Channel meets the Haro Strait and the greater Strait of Juan de Fuca. This is one of my favorite views to see from the sea during our trip. First installed...

Haleigh | M/V Kestrel | July 3, 2022 | 10:00 am

Today’s whale and wildlife excursion aboard M/V Kestrel reaffirmed the title of our Adventure Tour! Guests suited up in the rain and endured the gusts of wind as we traveled north through the San Juan Channel. We made our way to White Rock to scan for wildlife. All along the rocky crevices, pelagic birds like Glaucous-Winged Gulls and Pigeon Guillemots burrowed into a nesting formation. At the water’s edge, Harbor Seals hauled out...

Elle | M/V Osprey | June 30, 2022 |12:30PM

Today we took a long trip up into Canada. After leaving Friday Harbor, we passed Speiden Island where we slowed down to look at its baren southern side, weathered by southerly winds. In the tops of the trees and soaring above us, we saw four bald eagles, likely two mating pairs, prompting us to start a bald eagle tally for our trip. As we neared the northern end of Speiden Island we passed a haul out of harbor seals resting in the sun. Our...

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

Today we took a trip to Canada! We left Friday Harbor towards reports of Bigg’s Killer Whales near Victoria on Vancouver Island. We headed north, then west through Speiden Channel. As we approached Sidney Island, we started to see tall, black dorsal fins in the distance. We headed slowly towards them and came across a total of six whales. Brothers T128 and T125A, Flotsam and Jetsam were quickly identified by the deep notch in Jetsam’s nearly...

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 06/27/2022 | 2:00pm

    It’s was a bomby summers day. Kestrel absolutely flew threw the San Juan Channel, cutting through the velvety water with ease. We raced up and around through Waldron Island, stopping briefly once to scope out Skipjack Island and dozens of Harbor seals that rested along its rocky shorelines. 

Harbor seals haul out onto rocks for a variety of reasons such as rest, thermoregulation, birthing and nursing. This gives us a great opportunity...

10:00 am

Today’s adventure tour started out as a shockingly hot morning on land. Our guests, and myself, were eager to zip around on the water and cool off. We departed from Friday Harbor scanning the exposed shorelines due to the low tides hoping to find some Harbor Seals. We came across a reef nearby Yellow Island with some curious Harbor Seals hauled out and a Bald Eagle watching from the reef marker. We made our way around the island and across San Juan Channel where we found a...