Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion | 09/28/2022 | 12:30pm

    I was proper geeking out on today’s Classic Whale Watch. Now of course, the Salish Sea is well known to be an incredibly biodiverse ecosystem that allows us spectators to witness and appreciate a varied abundance of marine life- from tiny invertebrates to fifty ton cetaceans. Working out on the water, we become accustomed to our regular visitors: Humpback whales, Biggs killer whales, Steller sea lions, and Harbor seals just to name a...

Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion | 04/10/2022 | 12:30pm

    Today was FUN. It was a cold day out on the water today, sure. But it was also absolutely gorgeous. A low layer of clouds rolled over the San Juan’s, dumping sporadic bouts of torrential rain over small pockets of the islands. We moved southbound out of Friday Harbor through the San Juan Channel, hoping to wrap our way around the southern side of the island and along the western shore line. We began hearing rumors of Killer Whales...

An afternoon with an incredible Southern Resident family, the L54s! 

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 09/02/2021 | 2:00pm

    It was a beautiful afternoon on the Salish Sea! Seas were calm, the dignified Olympic mountains peered down over the islands and Southern Residents were rumored to be in the area. When Captain Solan and I left Friday Harbor, we weren’t entirely sure what our game plan was: the last reports of L54 and her family were pretty far south of us and trending further...

Jordan Higgins Blogs

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 04/10/2021 |5:00pm

Today was the very first Sunset Tour of the season!! Captain Pete and I were very excited to enjoy the islands at such a beautiful time of the day. We invited our guests to our vessel, the Sea Lion, and set out of Friday Harbor to find some wildlife.

We boated up north through the San Juan Channel and up towards tiny Islands near Orcas and Shaw Island. We wound our way around gorgeous rocks and nearby forests. As we...

Jordan Higgins | M/V Sea lion | 04/03/21 |1:00pm

Today was such a special day! It is pretty rare that we see both the Southern Resident Killer Whales and the Transient Orcas in one trip. I felt very lucky and I’m fairly sure all my guests felt the same way.

Captain Pete and I began the day like any other, boating out of Friday Harbor and listening to any reports of orcas in the area. We got word from a research vessel that the Residents were only a few minutes away! So, we headed...

Erick | M/V Sea Lion | Saturday, September 19, 2020 | 1:00 PM

The skies finally cleared today when Captain Sarah and I ventured out to search for wildlife in the Salish Sea. We headed south after getting reports that the Southern Residents had been spotted near the southern end of San Juan Island! As we headed down, we made a stop at Whale Rocks to look at the Steller Sea Lions and the Harbor Seals. After looking at those growly pinnipeds we continued on our way and headed...

Sarah | 09/05/2020 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00am & 02:00pm

We had quite the day on the Salish Sea! With early-morning shore-reports of orcas heading into some fog around San Juan Island, Captain Gabe and I left the harbor for our first tour hoping that we could find those elusive animals.

We decided to head south towards Cattle Pass, enjoying some surfacing harbor porpoises in Griffin Bay along the way. We stopped at Whale Rocks to check out some Steller’s sea lions hauled out on the...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | September 5th, 2020 | 13:30

Leaving Friday Harbor and setting out south to find whales, we had no idea we would be part of such a unique moment in history. We started the long trek through the Strait of Juan de Fuca with Mount Baker peering down at us and Harbor Porpoise swimming in every direction we looked. Just shy of two hours later [so proud of our patient passengers!] we came across the south western corner of the United States border when we started...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel | September 3rd, 2020 | 14:00

Every day feels unique and special with the mass diversity we have in the Salish Sea; however, some days stand out a bit more. A cloudless day, glassy seas, and Mount Baker standing sharp over the islands set the tone for a memorable day. Briefly stopping at Whale Rocks, we watched and listened to Steller’s Sea Lions bellow across the water and roll in the kelp bed. A few Harbor Seals sat quietly in banana pose looking towards the...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | September 1st, 2020 | 13:30

Every day and every trip in the San Juan Islands are completely unique. With such a strong diversity in the most productive waters in the world, we never truly know what is going to grace our presence. Today solidified that theory. Captain Sarah and I received word through the PWWA of Southern Resident Killer Whales in Haro Strait on the west side of San Juan Island. This was a big surprise since this ecotype of Killer Whales are...