Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | April 28th, 2022 | 12:30pm

Leaving the dock today, we were elated with the weeklong streak of sunny weather. Cool winds and warm skies guided us inner island towards Rosario Strait, passing heaps of bait balls and feeding Rhinoceros Auklets. Kissing the southern end of Lummi Island, we spotted black dorsal fins seemingly hugging the shoreline.

In my opinion, Lummi Island is one of the most breathtaking islands within the San Juan’s. The lush green, cliffy...

Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion| 04/25/2022 | 1:30pm

    The day began with sun! 

Sea Lion took a left out of Friday Harbor today, up and around towards rumors of Bigg’s Killer Whales that had been spotted earlier in the morning traveling up San Juan Islands western shores. Now of course, these whales were going to remain rumors until we saw them ourselves. As we know, whales are crazy and they are absolutely wild. If they wanted to disappear, they absolutely could! 

    We were not...

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 04/23/2022 | 1:30pm

    Well today was exciting, to say the least! Kestrel flew out of Friday Harbor and turned right, taking a brief moment to observe a bob of Harbor Seals (yes, the collective noun of seals is a bob. How fun!) hauled out on the rocks just beyond turn island. There must have been 30 seals on this rock, each with its own unique grey, black, speckled, or spotted coat. We continued zooming through the San Juan Channel and out past Cattle Point...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | April 23rd, 2022 | 12:30pm

On our first Osprey trip of the season and the sunniest day of the week, we decided to head south in an effort to see some orcas down by Victoria, B.C. The beauty of this day could not be matched as we continually motored through glassy seas past bellowing Steller’s Sea Lions, swimming Harbor Seals, feeding Harbor Porpoise, and tons of curious birds.

It was a good thing we had sun-soaked skies and lots of peaceful views, because those...

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | 4.24.2022 | 12:30 PM 

M/V Sea Lion had the most beautiful day out on the water. There’s nothing quite like a boat ride on a 55-degree day in April. We boarded with clear skies and sunshine and knowledge of a group of Bigg’s killer whales near Tumbo Island. As we made our way up San Juan Channel, we passed some harbor porpoise and decided to make a quick stop at Flattop Island. Our “quick stop” swiftly turned into much more after spotting some river otters run...

Laura / M/V Sea Lion / 4/15/2022 / 12:30 PM

Today was a wonderful experience out in the Salish Sea with a most exciting orca encounter!  We departed Friday Harbor with a morning report of Bigg’s killer whales traveling up the west side of San Juan Island, so we immediately went northbound in hopes of seeing them in the Haro Strait.  We stopped along Spieden Island to view over 50 active Steller sea lions hauled out on Green Point and swimming in Spieden Channel!  There were a couple...

Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion | 04/14/2022 | 12:30pm

    The last few days have been insane. I love the Salish Sea for its spontaneity. Some days I’m out here on the water I feel like David Attenborough should be by my side, narrating the scene unfolding in front of me. Today was one of these days. 

When we started the tour we had no clear heading. Captain Brian and I figured we should start our search around Spieden and Stuart Islands. There tend to be several haul out sites for Harbor...

Olivia | April 12th, 2022 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:30pm

But wait, did we just witness history in the Salish Sea?

Captain Brian and I caught word of three families of Bigg’s Killer Whales north in the Strait of Georgia. Leaving the harbor, we debated if we could make it there and back in our allotted tour time, with how far away they were moving. It didn’t take us long to decide to go there once we heard there was a Humpback Whale not too far away. To Georgeson Pass we went!

Coming out of...

Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion | 04/12/2022 | 12:30pm

    I’m never going to forget today’s tour. 

    It’s not unusual to start a tour without any whale sightings. None of our whales are tagged and we rely on sightings and word of mouth to spot them. The fact of the matter is however, whales are here in the Salish Sea all year round, it’s just a matter of if there are individuals or vessels scanning the water to find them. Well, today we were insanely fortunate as a mere 5 minutes before...

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | 4.1.2022 | 12:30 PM 

On Thursday, March 31st the single day record of Bigg’s killer whale sightings was broken in the Salish Sea. A whopping 72 Bigg’s killer whales were sighted! Needless to say, Captain Eric and I had high expectations going into Friday's trip. Killer whales can swim over 100 miles in a day, and just because they are in the San Juans one day does not mean they will be the next. Knowing these facts, we were still optimistic that we would get...