July 6th was an epic day here in the San Juan Islands! The afternoon trip was glorious as we headed to the reports of the southern residents and we spotted a humpback whale! We got a few awesome looks and got to see some sweet fluke up dives. We caught up with Jpod near Stuart Island. We got to see J2 Granny our 103 year old whale and L 87 Onyx who spends most of his time with Jpod. This was a great start to the day!

The evening trip was rocking too! We headed west this time and ran...

The M/V Sea Lion and Kittiwake left Friday Harbor today with great reports of killer whales off the west side of San Juan Island. What was so great about this report you ask? The reports were of one of our resident pods that was thought to have left the night before: K Pod! We have only seen K Pod in this area for the last three days. For over a month now these whales have been MIA, or missing in action. They have finally gotten the memo that the Chinook Salmon, there favorite food...

We departed the docks today with sunny skies above. It would seem like every day in the San Juan's is just as beautiful as the next; however, today was clear enough so that we had a panoramic view of the Cascade mountain range with Mt. Baker in the center,  as well as Mt. Rainier and the Olympics. Guests got a spectacular view of these mountains as we headed out through the San Juan Channel and out through cattle Pass. It wasn't long before we started seeing what everyone wanted to...

Today deviated from the norm for Captain Jim and I today, since we had a charter on M/V Kittiwake that didn't start till around 6:30 pm. Both of us are fairly use to being out on the water earlier in the day, and this was a great chance to see the changes in nature and the surrounding wildlife...oh and did I mention the sunset? With the slowly fading light, navigating the waters can become a bit more challenging, but when you look up and see brilliant orange and pink sunsets with...

As we left San Juan Island yesterday, everyone couldn’t help but comment on what a phenomenal day it was.  Sunny skies, no wind, and flat calm glassy waters- oh, and the 40 or so killer whales that were in the area helped a little too! As Captain Mike, Chelsea and I motored out into the San Juan Channel, we made our way up to the north end of the Island where we met up with J and L Pod. For those of you who are just tuning in, J and L Pod are made up of Southern Resident Orcas, a...

Well, well, well, we have whales again! It's been a great summer with lots of whales and today was no different. Unlike the past few days, the whales decided to take a jaunt up north towards Active Pass in Canadian waters. This was quite alright with Captain Mike, Naturalist Heather, passengers aboard M/V Sea Lion, and myself, since we are always a fan of crossing over into the friendly waters of our Canadian Neighbors. Aside from the occasional warnings that pop up on your cellphone...

Today was an outstanding day on the water! The weather was gorgeous and warm and the water was flat calm. Spent the afternoon trip with some transients near Battleship island and a small part of J pod the J17s hanging out near turn point on Stuart island. Had many opportunities to see the whales in all their glory, with a number of breaches and spy hops, but this was just the first trip of the day.

I don't know if it was the summer solstice or what but we had an amazing evening and...

Rained on and off throughout the day, but opened up to clear skies for our 2pm charter today. All passengers aboard the M/V Kittiwake were in full support of some sunshine and whales! Captain Jim is not one to disappoint, and with reports of resident orcas along the west side of San Juan Island, the whales were also in on making it a great day on the water! We made great time on our original San Juan Safaris vessel, the M/V Kittiwake, and made it just in time to see some of J pod...

Today started off dark and rainy; however, as we left our Friday Harbor location in search of killer whales, the sun started to peak through the clouds. The day was starting to look beautiful, and as we rounded the corner of Cattle Pass, you could clearly see the snow-capped Olympic mountains. The only thing that could make this scenery better was a tall black dorsal fun slicing through the water.

Well you can probably guess it, but it was another beautiful day on the water! Today, Captain Pete and myself, were accompanied by a small group of passengers who were eagerly awaiting to get out on the water and find some wildlife! Captain Pete isn't one to disappoint, and with a few sightings of Residents on the westside, M/V Sea Lion was ready to find them. Our intention was to meet up with J Pod  along the north end of San Juan Island, but the orcas had other plans for us when...