Abby | M/V Kestrel | 10am | 8/28/2021

Captain Eric and I zoomed out of the harbor, sighting reports coming from Victoria. As we zipped through the glassy Strait of Juan De Fuca, smiles beamed amidst the bright sun rays that started breaking through the morning clouds. There were already a few boats viewing the family (T041’s) that had been spotted in Canadian waters this morning, so we decided to make a pit stop at the Chain Islets in between Discovery Island and Oak Bay. Pelagic...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/16/2021 2:00pm

Nturalist Haleigh and I joined captain Pete on the boat with our excited guests and headed out to see what we could find around the Salish Sea.

We headed north and crossed the border into Canada. Here we found Orcas!! Beautifully swimming around off the coast of Pender Island, we watched in awe as they searched for any prey that could be hiding within the rocks. It felt like a whole different world as we appreciated being able to boat in...

Abby | M/V Osprey | 8/11/2021

Naturalist Jordan, Captain Gabe, and I set out on an adventure to find some orcas. We had already seen them on our first trip, but they were still quite far at this point. We decided to take a gamble and press on towards Canadian waters, hopeful they would directionally trend in our favor. We headed north through San Juan Channel, a bald eagle making an immediate appearance as it regally sat atop a tall pine. We made a quick pit stop at Flattop Island to...

Abby | M/V Osprey | 8/10/2021

It was our second tour of the day and so far no orcas had been within our range. That was all about to change, however, as a new matriline I had never seen before was trending northeast past Victoria. We could potentially make it in time if they didn’t change direction. As we headed south through San Juan Channel and out into the Strait of Juan De Fuca, we saw a minke whale, who ended up doing laps around our vessel. The minke whale was a great first...

Abby | M/V Sea Lion | 8/9/2021

As usual, Captain Pete and I have the best luck. With multiple matrilines traveling through the islands, we had our pick of the pod. We decided to travel towards the T037A’s, one of my favorite Biggs killer whale family groups, which has a total of six members, although only five were present:

• Volker T037A (Female, 1994)
  
  • Inyo T037A1 (Gender Unknown, 2007)—Not present today
  • Inky T037A2 (Male, 2009)
  • Spinnaker T037A3 (Male, 2013)
  • Crinkle T037A4 (Gender...

Abby | M/V Sea Lion | 8/7/2021

Captain Pete and I pushed off the dock, sun beaming through the morning clouds and drizzle that covered the island. Moving through the mist that morning was like moving through the breath of a whale on a foggy fall day, a glimpse of what was to come.

We headed north through San Juan Channel, past Yellow Island, and rounded the corner by Orcas Island to see exhales dot the surface, close to the rocky shoreline. We had three teenagers off our bow:

• Jude...

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...

Abby & Maxx | Sea Lion | 6/23/2021

Whale, whale, whale. Hello there! Abby here.

I just got back from this stellar trip and am now on a complete orca high.

Captain Pete, Maxx, and I zipped out of Friday Harbor to find the T037A’s in San Juan Channel.

• Volker T037A (Female, 1994)
  
  • Inyo T037A1 (Gender Unknown, 2007)
  • Inky T037A2 (Male, 2009)
  • Spinnaker T037A3 (Male, 2013)
  • Crinkle T037A4 (Gender Unknown, 2015)

As we headed south through San Juan Channel, travelling parallel to our...

Abby & Maxx | Sea Lion | 6/23/2021

Whale, whale, whale. Hello there! Abby here.

I just got back from this stellar trip and am now on a complete orca high.

Captain Pete, Maxx, and I zipped out of Friday Harbor to find the T037A’s in San Juan Channel.

• Volker T037A (Female, 1994)
  
  • Inyo T037A1 (Gender Unknown, 2007)
  • Inky T037A2 (Male, 2009)
  • Spinnaker T037A3 (Male, 2013)
  • Crinkle T037A4 (Gender Unknown, 2015)

As we headed south through San Juan Channel, travelling parallel to our...