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Lone Orca and a Pair of Humpbacks Cruising in Canada

Piper | Sunday, June 16, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

Happy Father’s Day! Today the M/V Sea Lion was crewed by Captain Erick, Erin, and me and we left Friday Harbor with a really awesome group of people who were super engaged and asked some awesome questions about the conservation and ecology of wildlife out in the Salish Sea. We headed north and traveled really far up past Boundary Pass and up Swanson Channel to check out a lone male Bigg’s killer whale, T77A.

T77A, also known as...

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Bigg's Killer Whale in the Salish Sea

Two humpbacks journey through the San Juan Islands

Laura | Saturday June 15, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12pm/ 5:30pm

Today was a wonderful day out on the water aboard M/V Sea Lion!  We first found a large congregation of harbor seals hauled out along the rocks of the east side of Flat Top, one of the nearby islands along the San Juan Channel.  Some of these seals were jumping in the water and a few came close by our vessel to check out the passenger!  The seas were so calm today we were able to view a bunch of jellyfish looking down from...

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Explore San Juan Island

Top 5 Things to Do on San Juan Island for First Timers

I have recently uprooted back to the United States after living in New Zealand for a year and a half and decided I wasn’t ready to give up that beautiful scenery. I discovered the San Juan Islands after an impromptu trip with my best friend and decided not only is it incredibly similar to my life down under, but it was a place I needed to be!  Therefore, I packed up my Red Band gumboots in my favorite Osprey backpack and moved out here at the very beginning of May. Being a hard...

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Bigg's Orcas

Big Group of Bigg's Orcas Play in San Juan Channel : The T90's, T87, and the T124A's frolic as best as orcas can

Erick | Tuesday, May 14, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00

 

Today, we were back in our normal spring weather – so gray skies with light drizzles through out the day. I love this weather because the low-lying clouds scrap along the tree line and the mist that you walk through cools down the temperature and the colors of the islands. Captain Pete and I left with a good group of folks out of Friday Harbor to find out what sort of marine life was out there today. We started out going north in...

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Humpback whale

Humpback Mom and Calf! Whale Watching near San Juan Island

Sarah | 05/13/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

We had another amazing day in the Salish Sea today. I know that I say that every day, or at least every time I write a blog, but I’m serious… this is the coolest place ever! Today this ecosystem was truly a delight to explore and we had amazing views throughout the duration of our boat trip!

Captain Pete and I elected to head north today into the nutrient rich and productive waters of Boundary Pass and the Strait of Georgia. This area of...

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Beautiful Day with J-Pod!

M/V Sea Lion | May 6th, 2019 | Naturalist Alexandria

Today was a beautiful day!  Not only did we get spend a generous amount of time with our Resident Orcas in the area- but we also had a gorgeous, sunny day with Mt. Baker and the Olympics as the backdrop to our amazing afternoon!

As we boarded onto M/V Sea Lion we already knew it was going to be a beautiful day, but we had no idea how amazing our looks of these beautiful members of J-Pod would be!  We headed south down San Juan...

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J Pod Orcas Make an Early Season Appearance in Rosario Strait!

Piper | 04/28/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | Noon

I'm back for another season on San Juan Island and what a great day to kick off the summer aboard the M/V Sea Lion! Captain Pete and I were onboard with a great group of folks today, the sun was shining bright, and the wind had relaxed after a very breezy Saturday. We started off the day with a report of orcas near Sucia Island so when we left Friday Harbor we headed north through San Juan Channel. Just before entering President Channel we...

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Northern Elephant Seal

Pinnipalooza! : We saw Harbor Seals, Steller Sea Lions, and a Northern Elephant Seal!

Erick | Thursday, April 18, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00

Today, was a classic rainy PNW spring day. Many of the widlflowers are comign out and the landscape blushes with hints of pink, purple, white, and yellow. Captain Pete and I headed north through San Juan and President Channel. As the low lying clouds hovered over the mostly still sea and scraped over the forested islands that towered above us we cruised along and made our first stop at Patos Island. Here we cruised by the Patos...

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female Bigg's orcas hunting

Spyhop!: Bigg's Orca family, the T99B's, hunt and play in Rosario Strait

Erick | Friday, March 15, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00

 

On Friday, it was another beautiful sunny day that reminded us that spring is just around the corner for us! Captain Mike and I headed out with a great group up north to go see what we could find! We headed through San Juan Channel, then to Spring Pass, and through Presidents Channel. In Presidents Channel we got to see a lot of Harbor Porpoise. I sometimes call this area Porpoise alley. Harbor Porpoises are definitely our...

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