Erick | Thursday, March 14, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00

 

This Thursday still felt a little bit like winter. It was quite chilly with a grey sky above. Captain Mike and I headed north to go check out a report of Orcas up in Boundary Pass. We traveled through San Juan Channel and headed past Spieden and Stewart Islands into Boundary Pass. Right in Between Gooch Island and Moresby Island we saw some blows up ahead! It was not just one but two families of Orcas. Both of these families...

Erick | Wednesday, March 13, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion| | 12:00 

 

This Wednesday was one of the first days it really has felt like spring here in the islands. The sun was out and there was only a slight breeze in the air. Captain Pete and I took a good-sized crew out to go see what wonderful wildlife was also out enjoying the sunshine. We headed south after we left Friday Harbor. We rounded Turn Island and just as we made our way into Griffin Bay we saw some blows just ahead in San Juan...

Erick | Sunday, March 10, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 

 

Today we were fortunate enough to have another beautiful, sunny day. Captain Mike and I headed out with a small crew to search for the whales and other wildlife of the Salish Sea. We first dipped a little bit south around Turn Island to scan around Griffin Bay. Here, we saw a wonderful Bald Eagle perched high up in a gnarled Douglas Fir. Underneath him amidst the glassy upwelling next to Turn Island we saw a few young Harbor...

[Sunday, 10/7/18, Noon - M/V Kestrel - Erick]

This Sunday was another classic Pacific Northwest fall day. The water was glassy calm, the rain came down in a calm almost imperceptible drizzle, and the evergreen forest canopy scraped the low hanging clouds. Capt. Brian and I headed out with a great group from all over the world on M/V Kestrel to find some amazing animals out in the Salish Sea! We headed north and very soon found a group of Orcas around Green Point off of Spieden Island...

[Saturday, 10/6/18 - M/V Sea Lion - Erick]

 

This Saturday, Captain Mike, Rachel, and I took a full crew of passengers out on M/V Sea Lion on a beautiful fall day! We headed out on this sunny afternoon and started going south. We made our first stop at Turn Rocks just on the other side of Turn Island. Here we saw our first marine mammals, some Harbor Seals! There was a bunch of them sunning themselves on the rocks. These little rock sausages are so adorable and sleepily looked back...

Leaving the harbor aboard M/V Sea Lion Captain Gabe, naturalist Eric and myself were excited to get out on the water and see some orcas! We had been hanging around a humpback earlier that day and there were now reports of transient orcas up north. Although pretty far out, we were hopeful we’d be able to catch up to them and get a chance to see them on this afternoon trip! The orcas were far out by Point Roberts well into the Strait of Georgia, but Captain Gabe decided to go for it...

Erick | 7/8/18 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30PM

 

This Sunday, Captain Mike, Rachel and myself took a great big group of folks out on M/V Sea Lion. We headed north through San Juan Channel and headed around Waldron Island and across Boundary Pass. We passed East Point on Saturna Island and as we continued into the Strait of Georgia we began to see blows in the distance. As we approached we could see that it was a pod of orcas! And as we spent more time with them we saw that they were...

Jordan | June 29, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 sunset trip

What a lovely sunset tour today! Captain Mike and I set out at 5:30 from Friday Harbor with a fairly decent idea of where we could find orcas!

We received reports of a transient whale pod up in West Sound, so we headed north through the San Juan Channel towards those waters. However, as soon as we grew closer, the whales took off in the opposite direction! Luckily, we were able to catch up and we met the whales in the Upright...

[Tuesday, 6/27/18 - M/V Sea Lion - 5:30PM - Naturalist Erick]

On Tuesday, Captain Mike and myself were on our own with a smaller group of guests on the sunset tour - aka my favorite tour. We went south through San Juan Channel and Cattle Pass to eventually head towards the southern end of Rosario Strait. We were pointed in this direction to look for a Humpback Whale that we had seen during the afternoon trip. On our way there we stopped at Whale Rocks in Cattle Pass to look at the...

Captain Mike, Rachel, and I boarded the M/V Sea Lion today with a great group of guests! Today there was a report of some Bigg’s killer whales just outside of Friday Harbor so as we boated into the sunny San Juan Channel, we headed north. Along the way, we came across a bald eagle’s nest, occupied by an adult and a juvenile which were peering down onto the shores of their island at a group of harbor seals which had made themselves comfortable on the low-lying rocks. We carried on and...