Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 5, 2020 | 13:30

It was such a gorgeous day out on the water; by far one of my favorites this season. We left the dock with whale rumors in the area which is always a great way to start our trips. We kicked off our adventure by heading north through the San Juan Channel towards Spieden Island.  As soon as we arrived at the Cactus Islands, we had great black and white views of the T65A’s- one of our favorite family groups of transient orcas. We had such...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel | July 3rd, 2020 | 14:00

It was such a fun day out on the water with Captain Brian-who is also the owner/operator of our family run business. We call our zodiac trips an ‘Adventure Trip’ for a reason; Not only is our zodiac faster than M/V Sea Lion, it is also all exposed. On rainy days like today, it absolutely feels like an adventure as you are braving the Salish Sea and its weather trying to scope out wildlife.

We started off the trip leaving the dock with a...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion| June 30, 2020 | 13:30

Today was such an exciting day as Captain Erick and I were able to bring our guests over towards the outer islands to see Killer Whales! Along the route, we passed three Bald Eagles soaring overhead near Lopez Island and throughout Upright Channel with those six-foot wingspans.

We initially were aiming for Cypress Island where the transient orcas were milling around in Rosario Strait. The great thing about these whales is that they are...

It is only the second day that we have taken M/V Kestrel out this season, and it was a great one. We headed out and took a quick peak at some Harbor Seals sunning themselves on rocks near Turn Island. They looked up at us as we passed by and we got to see their cute, fuzzy faces. After watching them for a while we got a report of some possible orcas just south of us. We traveled south and soon saw them rounding Long Island. They were Bigg’s Orcas! These are the type of orcas that we...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | June 28, 2020 | 13:30

Today as quite the adventure, and a well needed one at that! We started off the trip with the fastest introduction speech of wildlife and the Salish Sea that I have done to date. The reason for the rushed speeches as we set off was because there were whale sightings far away and heading north. Captain Pete was anxious to start our travels as soon as possible in order to give our guests that black and white glimpse they were itching to...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | June 28, 2020 | 13:30

Today as quite the adventure, and a well needed one at that! We started off the trip with the fastest introduction speech of wildlife and the Salish Sea that I have done to date. The reason for the rushed speeches as we set off was because there were whale sightings far away and heading north. Captain Pete was anxious to start our travels as soon as possible in order to give our guests that black and white glimpse they were itching to...

Laura | M/V Sea Lion | 6/25/2020 | 13:30

This afternoon’s whale watch aboard M/V Sea Lion was simply spectacular!  We left Friday Harbor with reports of killer whales not far away, near Blakely and Obstruction Islands.  I am always so excited to hear the radio announcing the presence of whales even before we leave the dock!  After a quick safety talk from our Captain Pete, we hurried our way through San Juan Channel to get to Obstruction Pass.  There we were greeted by a couple of...

Laura | M/V Sea Lion | 6/22/2020 | 13:30

Today was another whale-filled day out on the water! M/V Sea Lion headed south through San Juan Channel and we barely made any headway before our first whale encounter!  A humpback whale was feeding in Griffin Bay and taking about 4-minute dives.  It was so exciting to see such a large animal so close to the shore in his/her natural habitat.  The upwelling was telling of a prime feeding spot in this area, as the birds swarmed above as the...

Sunday June 22, 2020

Happy Father’s Day to everyone! We know it is technically supposed to be summer these days but up here in the PNW summer seems to have a slow start. We left Friday Harbor on a little bit of an overcast day, but as we left and headed north the weather started to clear. We headed up towards Flattop Island where we got to see some sleepy Harbor Seals sunning themselves on the rocky coastline. As we passed them two Bald Eagles popped into view in one of the Douglas...

Laura | M/V Sea Lion | 6/13/2020 | 5:30pm

This evening's sunset whale watch was spectacular!  We headed southbound through San Juan Channel towards Cattle Point.  We passed some fun pelagic bird species along the way, including pigeon guillemots, rhinoceros auklets, and cormorants.  After reaching Cattle Point, the seas were a little rough but passengers were excited for the adventure!  We received a report of Bigg's killer whales (historically called transients) along the west side...