Leaving the harbor on Kestrel with a full boat of excited guests and my very own brother aboard for the first time! We even had some repeat guests whom I️ had taken out last time and had no luck with, so we were even more excited to see whales today. There were already reports of killer whales by Heinz bank south of San Juan island. These killer whales were two different families of transients traveling together, including the T65As who have graced us with their presence all summer!...

Aboard Kestrel, Captain Gabe, myself and a full boat of excited guests, headed out for our second trip of the day! We had reports of Transients orcas down south and were curious to see what group of whales were present. We had been with a group of Southern Resident Orca earlier that morning and now were hoping to encounter some other killer whales! It’s crazy to think that in just one day, we can see two different ecotypes of killer whales in the inland waters!!

We headed down the...

Jordan | July 22, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 trip

Today was one of the warmest days of the summer which made the trip all the more enjoyable as the cool sea air made our boat perfectly pleasant. Captain Gabe and I heard reports of whales toward the north end of San Juan Island heading south through the Haro Strait.

So, we set out south down the San Juan Channel and through Cattle Pass, past Cattle Point lighthouse and up the west side of San Juan Island. But, before we reached the...

Jordan | July 19, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 trip

Our afternoon trip may have started with a bit of delay but the amazing whales that we saw were well worth the wait! As 2:00 rolled around, the sun came out and the skies cleared and it became a truly beautiful and warm Washington afternoon. Captain Mike and I received several reports of whales around the San Juan islands so we were excited to take our Kestrel vessel and explore the area.

First, we headed down the San Juan Channel and...

Jordan | July 19, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00 trip

The cloudy morning and brisk breeze chilled our Kestrel vessel as we headed out of Friday Harbor. Because it was so early, there were no reports of whales around the San Juan islands. So, Captain Mike and I headed out blind to try and find the wildlife.

We headed north through the San Juan Channel, cut up across Boundary Pass and wandered into Canada. Then we cut above Patos Island and then down through Rosario Strait. We stopped a...

Jordan | July 15, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 trip

What a fantastic day out on the water! The trip started out very warm on the docks but as we got going and we created our own wind with the cold sea air surrounding us, people were grateful to have their adventure suits to keep them warm. Captain Mike and I decided to head down south through the San Juan Channel and stopped by Whale Rocks to see the harbor seals hanging out in the sun! It’s very important for the seals to get as much...

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...

On a sunny and perfect summer day on San Juan Island like today, everyone was eager to get out on the water. As we headed up the San Juan Channel, the wind started to pick up and we were already getting a break from the summer heat on land. We had heard the same group of orcas we had seen yesterday was hanging out around the same area- North West tip of Stuart Island and around the Canadian Gulf Islands. This has been interesting to observe lately because these animals can travel and...

Captain Pete, naturalist Alexandria and I were excited to work together on this rare rainy day in July on the San Juan Islands. During the summer, the islands stay dry and we usually don’t see rain until mid-September again! Without any whale reports in the area yet this morning, we decided to head North up the San Juan Channel and see what we could find. On the way up, we came close to the West side of Orcas and cut through the inside of Yellow island scanning the waters in that...

Jordan | July 9, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00

What a great trip we had today! Even though it was a bit cloudy and cold and it began to rain, the animals sure made up for it! As we traveled north, we stopped by Turn Point on Stuart Island to check out a bald eagle perched right next to the lighthouse! We were so absorbed with the eagle that we almost didn’t notice the huge pod of orca whales sneaking up on us! All of a sudden, we turned around and saw orcas headed straight toward us!

We...