Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | October 12th, 2024 | 12:30pm

We had a full boat of guests on this gorgeous fall afternoon. The sky was clear and the weather was especially temperate for this time of year. After quickly investigating a bait ball (tight concentration of small schooling fish) we took a sharp right turn and motored down san Juan channel past Cattle Point. We were heading toward a reported location of 5 Biggs Killer whales identified as the T35a's made up of:

• T35A "Lester" 1998 F
• T35A1 "Opal"...

Olivia Esqueda | M/V Sea Lion | September 25th, 2024 | 12:30pm

We are loving these fall days out on the water. Not only can we see the wildlife that spend the summer months here still hanging around, but we are also starting to see a return of the wildlife that will spend the winter months in these waters. These transitional phases bring in a broader biodiversity within the Salish Sea, making the shoulder seasons some of our favorite times of year to get out on the water. 

Today we felt lucky to...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | September 29th, 2024 | 2:00 pm

Today was the perfect afternoon as Captain Vaun and I headed out on our last trip of the season together. We left Friday Harbor and began traveling north up San Juan Channel to follow up on some reports of whales near Sidney, BC. As we passed Spieden Island, we stopped to look at a few harbor seals hanging out on some small islands before continuing to the Haro Strait. Once we were nearing the Canadian Border, we suddenly saw the dorsal...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | September 23rd, 2024 | 12:30 pm

Happy Monday from the M/V Sea Lion! We began our afternoon by heading south, excited to explore San Juan Channel and search for wildlife. Our first stop was at Goose Island near Cattle Point on the southeast side of San Juan Island. We got great looks at one of my favorite marine mammals, the harbor seal, as well as lots of cormorants and other sea birds along the rocks. It’s always a great sign to see this kind of activity in our...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | September 22nd, 2024 | 2:00 pm

Our afternoon brought us on another great adventure in the Salish Sea! We left Friday Harbor under cloudy skies, and quickly made our way north as we had some exciting reports in the Strait of Georgia in Canada. We made a quick stop to look at a group of harbor seals on some islands in San Juan Channel, but soon continued on to the north. As we neared the Canadian border, the rain began to pick up but we were not deterred! We continued...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | September 21st, 2024 | 12:30 pm

Today’s Classic Whale Watch was another perfect September day on the water! We left Friday Harbor with reports of some whale activity to the east in Rosario Strait, so began our trip by heading in that direction. After traveling interisland and seeing great views of Shaw and Lopez Islands, we soon slowed down to approach the scene of some killer whales! As we approached, we could see there was a family of five Bigg’s Killer Whales...

Olivia Esqueda | M/V Sea Lion | Thursday, September 19th, 2024 | 12:30pm

Today was such a fun tour bringing in all the fall vibes. We started off our trip by heading south through San Juan Channel, stopping briefly off Turn Island to see a Sea Otter floating around in the bull kelp reef. This gave us an opportunity to chat about how the increased sightings of sea otters in the last few years all circles back to sea star wasting disease. We love conversations showing how everything is connected...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | September 20th, 2024 | 12:30 pm

Nobody could have predicted the crazy trip ahead of us as we left Friday Harbor on our afternoon Classic Whale Watch! We had reports of some killer whales traveling interisland, so we began by heading around Turn Island and stopping to look at some harbor seals before continuing east. We traveled in between Shaw and Lopez Islands, and soon saw a group of boats ahead of us rounding into East Sound of Orcas Island. As we approached the...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | September 17th, 2024 | 12:30 pm

Our Classic Whale Watch felt like Fall as we left Friday Harbor in overcast and cooler weather, but that certainly didn’t deter us from having a great day on the water! We left the dock and headed north, following up on a report of some killer whales. We traveled up San Juan Channel, following the western side of Orcas Island heading towards Patos Island. After a look at Patos Lighthouse, we rounded the corner and saw a few other...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | September 13th, 2024 | 12:30 pm

Our afternoon trip left Friday Harbor in a bit of overcast weather, but still determined to find some whales in the region. The nearest reports we had as we were leaving were close to Victoria, BC so we began by heading south down San Juan Channel. We made a stop in Cattle Pass to look at a group of harbor seals hauled out on Goose Island as well as the many seabirds in the area. This was a great starting point to learn about our...