Kelly | M/V Osprey | 8/9/22 | 12:30pm

There was a pleasant cool breeze in the air as we left Friday Harbor on this tuesday afternoon. It was a wonderful departure from the hot weather we’ve been experiencing. We had just received a report of Biggs Killer whales in the south and were excited to travel inter-island to get to their reported location. As we weaved through islands on our journey south, a small group of harbor porpoise surfaced quickly as we passed by the mouth of...

Lauren | M/V Kestrel | 8/7/2022 | 10:00 AM

We couldn’t have asked for better boating conditions on our Sunday morning adventure whale watch and wildlife tour! It was predicted to be one of the warmest days Friday Harbor has seen all summer, which is a blessing for anyone cruising aboard M/V Kestrel. The water temperature of the Salish Sea sits at about 47 degrees year-round, and Kestrel is the fastest boat in our fleet. Traveling at a speed of 35 knots, she always ensures a breezy...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 07/25/2021 10:00am

What a lovely day out on the water.

Captain Pete and I headed south down the San Juan Channel and out towards open waters. We searched around the southern shores of Lopez Island looking in calm waters for any blows. Not finding anything just yet, we spread our search further south out into open waters.

We stopped by some rocks where we spotted Steller sea lions! These huge pinnipeds climbed up the steep rock face and barked at each other as...

Jordan |m/v Kestrel |07/08/2021| 2:00pm

Today was definitely one of my favorite trips of the season. Just want to start by saying thank you to all my wonderful guests! Your passion and intrigue made the trip even better!

The day began as Captain Eric and I headed East out of Friday Harbor, in between Blakely Island and Decatur and then out towards Anacortes. We sped past Anacortes and around Guemes Island. Here, we found Orcas!

We shortly identified them as the T34s and T37s! These...

Erick | M/V Sea Hawk | 12:00 | Wednesday, July 23, 2020

Today, we had a trip on M/V Sea Hawk out of Roche Harbor. I love taking Sea Hawk out. She has a great viewing platform from the bow, where you are raised a little off the water but not too much, so you feel like you are a little more part of what is happening in the water around you. She also started her life as a salmon fishing boat in Puget Sound and has switched over to ecotourism as her fun retirement job. Wyatt and I took...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel July 26th, 2020 | 10:00

On our morning adventure trip out into the islands, we first decided to stop at Whale Rocks to view about five Steller’s Sea Lions (!!) and many Harbor Seals. It is extra exciting to be seeing Steller’s Sea Lions this time of year because they migrate to Alaska during the summer months and return here for the winter. The fact that we had five belching, bellowing, and face biting in the water already started the trip with excitement.

We...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 18th, 2020 | 13:30

It was the most picture-perfect day on the water we have had yet. Immensely sunny, WARM, Mount Baker and Mount Rainier flawlessly in view, the Olympic Mountains defined on the horizon, and calm seas.  We traveled south gazing at Harbor Seals hauled out on Turn Island and watching Harbor Porpoise swim outside of Griffin Bay. Upon reaching the southern side of Lopez Island between Colville and Long Island, we caught out first glances at...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel | July 13th, 2020 | 11:00 Charter

Baleen whales in the sunshine, how neat is that!? Captain Brian and I started our private charter by heading south through San Juan Channel, briefly stopping in Cattle Pass to scout for Harbor Porpoise, and eventually dipping down into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Shortly after nearing Salmon Bank, a shallow area of the large waterway, we found an elusive Humpback Whale! This whale was initially averaging dives of around 7-minutes...

Laura C. | M/V Sea Lion | 8/6/2019 | 5:30pm

Our evening wildlife cruise aboard M/V Sea Lion was spectacular!  We all anxiously made our way out of Friday Harbor as quickly as possible because we heard reports of orcas traveling south from Boundary Pass to Stewart Island!!  It is so exciting to hear of whales traveling so close to home!  On our way north we made a quick pit stop to see a splashing Stellar sea lion in full feeding mode around a bait ball!  The birds were the first...

Laura C. | M/V Kittiwake | 8-5-2019 | 11:00am

M/V Kittiwake provided a beautiful wildlife tour all the way in the Straight of Georgia today!  We had morning reports of humpback whales south of Point Roberts, and once we arrived in that vicinity, we were happily greeted by beautiful humpbacks fluking into the horizon!  The pair was slowly foraging through the area, traveling at about 2 knots and heading northwest.  Their slow deliberate movements at the surface allowed passengers to...