Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | April 2nd, 2025 | 12:30 pm 

Friday Harbor was booming with life this Wednesday afternoon. The town was filled with families and friends on Spring Break! Spring Break is our awakening. It’s our first busy weekend of the year. A sign that sleepy San Juan winter is behind us, and that summer is on the horizon. Captain Eric and I loaded our passengers abord the M/V Sea Lion and cruised out of Friday Harbor. We were excited to find out that a fellow Pacific Whale Watch...

Olivia Esqueda | March 25th, 2025 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:30pm

Today was truly such a fun time out on the water, despite the rain! We had nearly a full boat of passengers all ready to go out and see what the day brings. Starting out our travels, we headed northwest through Spieden Channel and eventually crossing the Haro Strait into Sidney Channel. Right as the rain started to pick up, we spotted two groups of two orcas, all part of the same family, the T069’s. This matriline of Bigg’s Killer Whales...

Olivia Esqueda | March 22nd, 2025 | M/V Sea Lion | 2:30pm Charter

This afternoon was such a special treat out on the water with the Orca Behavior Institute’s Biggs 201 Class. Lucky for us, we were able to leave the dock about 10 minutes early, which worked in our favor since we had a whale report flirting with the line of the range our vessel could travel in the allotted timeframe to get folks back for the 6:25pm ferry!

We immediately started traveling south through San Juan Channel keeping San...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | March 21sh, 2024 | 12:30pm

After pouring all morning, the rain finally lifted as we motored out of Friday Harbor and into San Juan Channel. The sun was even peeking out from the overcast sky and the water was flat calm. We certainly did not have to travel far today; whales were reported right outside the harbor!  A group of 3 Biggs Killer Whales known as the T124A’s

• T124A Kittywake 1984 F
• T124A6 Kasuun 2016 M
• T124A7 ----- 2021 F 

This group is made up of mom (kittywake) and her...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | March 16th, 2024 | 12:30pm

     Rare for the start of a season, we had not one…but two different whale reports as we left the harbor. We opted to first head north up San Juan Channel, investigating a solo male killer whale report around Crane Island. This killer whale was identified as:

• T49C Nielson 1998 M

As we arrived on scene, the bull was nowhere to be found. After a long 15 minutes of listening and anticipation, that massive 6ft tall dorsal fin appeared! We watched this...

Olivia Esqueda | Friday, March 14th, 2025 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:30pm

This was the first tour of the year for both me and Captain Gabe, and it was definitely an exciting one! We started off the trip by heading north through San Juan Channel, where there has been an increase of whale activity over the past few days. Right away we were spotting many different birds including Pelagic Cormorants, Common Murres, Harlequin Ducks, Rhinoceros Auklets, and many, many more! Most notably, we saw at least a...

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | October 26, 2024 | 12:30 pm

With only two trips left in our 2024 season, I could not have been more delighted when I woke up to an alert that one of my favorite Bigg’s Killer Whale families was in the region. The T049A’s were picked up near Victoria and were trending northeast across the Haro Strait. The T049A’s are local legends and one of the families we’ve encountered most this season, so I was excited to get the chance to wish them a safe and prosperous winter. 

By the...

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | October 25, 2024 | 12:30 pm

One of my favorite things about San Juan Island at this time of year is the crisp fall air and the occasional crystal-clear skies. Yesterday was one of those days, where even Mount Rainer was shining as far as the eye could see. The morning whale reports were abundant… everywhere BUT in the inland waters around Friday Harbor. Captain Eric and I prepared the M/V Sea Lion for our long voyage ahead and set sail. We took a right out of Friday Harbor...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | October 12th, 2024 | 12:30pm

We had a full boat of guests on this gorgeous fall afternoon. The sky was clear and the weather was especially temperate for this time of year. After quickly investigating a bait ball (tight concentration of small schooling fish) we took a sharp right turn and motored down san Juan channel past Cattle Point. We were heading toward a reported location of 5 Biggs Killer whales identified as the T35a's made up of:

• T35A "Lester" 1998 F
• T35A1 "Opal"...

Olivia Esqueda | M/V Sea Lion | September 28th, 2024| 12:30pm

Saturday out on the water was SO fun! We headed south through San Juan Channel making a brief stop at Goose Island where we saw Harbor Seals, Double Crested Cormorants and Pelagic Cormorants before passing Cattle Point Lighthouse and exploring the Strait of Juan de Fuca. After transiting past heaps of Surf Scoters, we came across a large bait ball where we were able to see one of the few Minke Whales in the Salish Sea. However, we...