Abby | M/V Kestrel | 2pm | 9/27/2021

Captain Gabe and I haven’t been on Kestrel together for a long time, and for that reason we knew it was going to be a great day. We left the dock with the only sighting report of the day, which was a long shot… but we were determined to make it work. We zipped out of the harbor and headed north through San Juan Channel while just about every other operator went south. It was a windy day with a rainy forecast, but we knew we could beat the weather...

Jordan | M/V Osprey | 08/20/2021 5:30pm

Everyone on board this evening was incredibly lucky as we were blessed with one of the best whale watches of the season to commemorate our last sunset tour of the season!

Captain Gabe, Olivia, Solan and I headed out to sea on m/v Osprey. As soon as we made it out of the harbor, one of the other captains from the Pacific Whale Watching Association (PWWA) let us know that they found orca whales! It turned out that there were whales just a few...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/19/2021 2:00pm

So nice to get out on the boat!

Captain Pete and I grabbed our guests and headed out to sea. We heard whispers of something exciting happening over in Canada so we headed out to find out what the commotion was about.

We headed south and passed cattle point lighthouse as we rounded the southern point of San juan and headed west. Looking at a map, the Canadian border zig zags across the islands so the city of Victoria is actually south west of...

Laura | M/V Kestrel | 7/30/2021 | 2:00PM

Today was an outstanding day out on the water!  We headed southbound through San Juan Channel after receiving a land-based report of orcas being spotted all the way near Port Townsend!  Our Captain Brian made the announcement that it would be a long bumpy journey south, but the best chance of finding orcas!  All passengers were onboard and game for the adventure, so we headed out for an hour and a half in 2-3 foot seas on our zodiac.  What a...

Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion | 07/29/2021 | 2:00pm

    Today was wild, y’all. Captain Pete and I had no idea what to expect when Sea Lion left Friday Harbor. There were rumors of Bigg’s Killer Whales north of us off the south side of Lummi Island but as we know, whales stay rumors until you see them yourself! We carried on taking the inter-island route, up and over Lopez and through Obstruction Pass. We passed by numerous harbor porpoises during the journey as they surfaced for air in our...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 07/11/2021 10:00pm

This trip was super unique! I’ve never seen orca behavior quite like this before.

The day began with a beautiful boat ride out of Friday Harbor and down the San Juan Channel. We passed Cattle Point lighthouse and emerged out into open waters.

Heading toward the East, we could see the distant islands grow closer and closer. Finally we arrived at Deception Pass, a fantastic area with huge rocky cliffs and lush forests. Here, we saw something...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel | July 4th, 2021 | 14:00

We left the dock as quickly as possible today knowing that the Bigg’s Killer Whales we saw at the very end of our first trip were aiming for Canada. With Covid-19 restrictions still in place, this means we would be unable to view once they crossed that border. We aimed straight for Battleship Island, finding 13 orcas playing around together in U.S. waters. These families included the T034’s, T037’s, and T065A’s. 

These mammal-eating...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel | July 4th, 2021 | 10:00am

Setting out this holiday morning, we were one of the first vessels in the Pacific Whale Watch Association to leave the dock in search of whales and other wildlife. Making sure to scan as many bodies of water around the salish sea as we could, including inner waterways, our travels first took us to New Channel where the Cactus Islands sit. We immediately stumbled upon an amazing experience I have never witnessed before. Over a dozen...

Jordan Higgins | M/V Sea lion | 06/20/21 |2:00pm

Today was one of my favorite trips of the season! Thank you so much to all my guests for being wonderful human beings with inquisitive minds and great questions.

The day began with sunshine and a wonderful, warm summer’s breeze. We gathered on the boat and were all so excited to begin our adventure. We headed out of Friday Harbor and boated down south. It only took a few minutes before we found orcas! Just past Mitchell Bay, we found a...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 18th, 2021 | 12:30pm

It was an exploratory day circumnavigating Lopez Island! We set off inner island through Upright Passage and eventually crept between Blakely and Decatur to reach the larger body of water known as Rosario Strait. Just west of Burrows Bay, we began seeing multiple black dorsal fins piercing the water. Slowly making our way on scene, we were able to count 12 individual Bigg’s Killer Whales!

While this ecotype typically travels in small...