Laura C. | M/V Sea Lion | 8/7/2019 | 1:30pm

Today’s whale watch was outstanding!  With Captain Pete behind the helm, M/V Sea Lion ventured eastbound to see some Bigg’s killer whales!  We were so happy to find the T019s so close to Friday Harbor, right around Blakely, Shaw, and Orcas  Island!  This family of four was on the move today!   We all watched with enthusiasm as these whales circled around the islands, potentially in search of prey! 

This killer whale family includes two very...

Laura C. | M/V Sea Lion | 8/6/2019 | 5:30pm

Our evening wildlife cruise aboard M/V Sea Lion was spectacular!  We all anxiously made our way out of Friday Harbor as quickly as possible because we heard reports of orcas traveling south from Boundary Pass to Stewart Island!!  It is so exciting to hear of whales traveling so close to home!  On our way north we made a quick pit stop to see a splashing Stellar sea lion in full feeding mode around a bait ball!  The birds were the first...

Laura C. | 8/2/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

Today was a prime example of marine mammal hunting specialists at work!  We made our way north on M/V Sea Lion towards Patos Island to find killer whales enjoying an afternoon meal!  Our Bigg’s killer whales closely circled a carcass and passed it around to fellow family members.  This family, the T65As, have been seen frequently throughout the summer season in the Salish Sea and are taking full advantage of our plentiful harbor seal and...

Laura C. | 7/20/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30/5:30pm

Today was a perfect day out on the water, filled with glorious wildlife!  Our first trip aboard M/V Sea Lion was wonderful, consisting of harbor seals, porpoises and Bigg’s killer whales!  An adorable harbor seal popped up on the port side of our vessel and seemed to be traveling with a mission in mind.  Not too far from this seal, we came across a bunch of seals basking along White Rock!  It is always so much fun to see these...

Laura C. | 7/19/2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Today was absolutely exquisite on M/V Kestrel!  We had such a great time observing all the diverse wildlife found in the Salish Sea!  Our Captain Gabe rounded the bend out of Friday Harbor and we already had our first sighting, a bald eagle!  This eagle looked like he/she was supervising the vessel traffic in and out of the harbor from above and took this job very seriously! 

On our way to find whales we stumbled across some harbor seals...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 07/18/19 | 11:00am

What am amazing morning! Captain Brian and I took the Kestrel out of Friday Harbor and headed towards reports of orcas! We boated south of Shaw Island across the south shores of Orcas Island, intertwining through Peavine Pass and then up Rosario Strait.

We stopped by some tiny islands called Peapod rocks where we found some seals! These harbor seals basked in the sunlight as they dried themselves from their watery hunting adventures. You had...

Piper | Thursday, July 11, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 PM

On this evening’s sunset cruise, we had two really lovely groups of folks visiting the Salish Sea for the first time! The M/V Sea Lion motored out of Friday Harbor and north through San Juan Channel, passing by some wee harbor porpoises and harbor seals swimming along the channel. Our destination was Plumper Sound amongst Canada’s Southern Gulf Islands where a hodgepodge of Bigg’s killer whales were hanging out together!

We...

Piper | Sunday, July 7, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30 PM

Today was a drizzly Pacific Northwest summer day and leaving the docks we had a day full of possibilities ahead of us! We started moving northwest and were heading over the top of Stuart Island when a report of Bigg’s killer whales came over the radio! They were just a few miles away so we turned the Sea Lion in their direction and about fifteen minutes later we arrived on scene with a family of marine mammal-eating orcas! This...

Laura C. / 7-3-2019 / M/V Kestrel / 3:00pm

This evening’s excursion was full of a variety of wildlife!  Our vessel headed north and just as we headed away from Friday Harbor we saw a bald eagle swoop across our bow overhead.  Within the first five minutes we already had a wildlife encounter!  The bald eagle is one of the few species to rebound as a population and were delisted from the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  This area is home to about 150 breeding pairs and are a great...

Erin | M/V Sea Lion | Tuesday, July 2, 2019 | 5:30 PM

What an excellent sunset trip in the Salish Sea! We began our trip heading northeast out of Friday Harbor. We knew there were whales near East Sound on Orcas Island, so we went to investigate to see if we could find them. On our way there, we traversed through some smaller islands and got some amazing views. We were also lucky because the rain subsided and the sun was starting to shine when we left the harbor! We made it to...