Thursday brought blue skies and calm seas.  However, there were no reports of anyone seeing any Orcas in the Salish Sea.  So we took the best lead we had and headed towards Victoria to try and find the elusive Humpback Whale.

On the way out we encountered lots of harbor seals bobbing in the tide and even a couple bald eagles soaring above the south end of the island.  After those encounters we motored across Haro Strait toward Victoria.  The last reports we heard were of two animals...

Very unusual sighting today…a humpback! It was right on the west side of San Juan Island. We motored around cattle point and saw a bunch of boats in one area. Everyone eagerly searched for what could possibly be nearby. Then we saw the spout followed by its large back. We watched for a while and were able to see it go down for two deeper dives, arching its back and exposing its fluke. Plus, when it exhaled, it sounded like it was wheezing because it made a high pitched, scratchy...

Today was one of those rare perfect days to be a wildlife watcher. The sun was shining and the water glassy as we made our way south from Friday Harbor. Our first stop was at whale rocks where there were the most wildlife species I’ve ever seen at one time. There were cormorants, gulls, harbor seals in and out of the water, and two animals we do not see often: a brown pelican and not one, but two giant Steller’s sea lions, one of which was in the water and came up right behind our...

We took a long trip north today with reports that there were killer whales hanging around Saturna in Canadian waters. The ride out was beautiful. The sun was shining, there was a clear view of Mt. Baker, and the waters were calm and glassy. What’s even better is that the trip up was totally worth it; J-pod was in the area. We were able to identify Riptide and Slick amongst the individuals we encountered.

After what seemed like no time at all we were on our way back to Friday Harbor...

Another beautiful day on the water!

We headed south through Cattle pass, stopping to take a quick peek and a steller hauled out on the rocks.  When we got a little closer we were surprised to see a male California sea lion lounging beside the steller. I have spent a lot of time around CA sea lions.  I have seen them in the water and the big males can be quite intimidating.  The CA we were looking at was certainly a big male with a huge sagittal crest, but the steller beside him made...

Northbound from the harbor, we soon found our dead harbor seal with about five bald eagles sharing its carcass off of Sentinel Island.  Day three of its destruction and the seal still had some meat on it to feed the local raptors.  Onwards around the north end of San Juan Island, we started to see sporadic dorsal fins belonging to harbor porpoises.  Into the Haro Straight, we passed Lime Kiln State Park on the west side of the island.  We were lucky to have sunny weather with...

We headed north with reports of Orca up near Pender Island.  By the time we were on the water about 30 minutes the next report came in that the whales were moving steadily north towards active pass.  We were committed to finding Orca for our passengers so we continued on.  As we reached active pass we slowed and tucked on the side as the big BC ferry came through.  While we waited for it to pass we were able to spot an eagle perched at the top of the highest tree.

We came around the...

Leaving Friday harbor we had reports of transients around Hein Bank moving southwest.  We cruised in to the area of Hein Bank about an hour and a half later and realized that the whales had made some distance towards Port Angeles.  Finally the whales came in to site.  Our passengers couldn't have been happier.  We got a few good looks at the group of about 6 whales.  There was a very identifiable male with a tall dorsal that kind of curved at the top.  There was also a very...

First things first...

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful mothers out there who raise us to love and appreciate the ocean and all of the amazing things living in it.

We left the harbor as if on a sheet of glass.  It was calm enough to see a ripple a mile away.  We headed north and around toward Battleship Island in search of giants.  The calm seas and lack of wind afforded us a quick and comfortable ride out into Haro Straight.  As soon as we got past Battleship one of our...

Another beautiful day.  That makes wo in a row!

It was calm enough to head south through Cattle Pass and do an entire circumnavigation of San Juan Island.  Whale rocks was packed with Steller Seal Lions,  Harbor Seals, and Cormorants and as we headed out toward the straight, with the wind at our backs, we decided it would be the perfect day to just keep on going.  We made it all the way around to Henry Island and turned out toward Speiden to try to sneak a peek at some land mammals. ...