Erick |Friday, March 22, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 

Today we caught a short sunny period as we left Friday Harbor to search for some amazing wildlife on this beautiful spring day. Captain Mike and I left with a smaller group and headed north up through beautiful San Juan Channel. We cruised through Spieden Channel and went out into the northern part of Haro Strait and soon saw a few scattered groups of blows in the distance. It was a large group of Orcas travelling spread out...

[Sarah | 11/18/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

 On Sunday the M/V Sea Lion had one of those perfect fall trips that will sustain this whale nerd throughout the rest of the cold, rainy, dark, and long winter ahead! We set out from Friday Harbor with blue skies up above and the potential glimmer of a rumor of some killer whales in the area. In November, sometimes you have to trust your gut and follow up on rumors. We decided to head south to see what we could find.

Pointing towards the...

This Sunday in September sure felt like fall. Capt Gabe, Jordan, and myself headed out with a great group of passengers into the rainy blue Salish Sea. Most people visit this area in the summer, which is beautiful here. The temperature is usually super pleasant, the sun is up for a very long time, and there is usually not a rain cloud to speak of. The rest of the year though, it looks like it did today - very misty, cool, breezy, and rainy. We ventured off into the Pacific...

Leaving the harbor with a full boat Captain Gabe and I were looking forward to see what Southern Residents were out on the water today. With a full boat and excited guests to get out on the water we took off South to see what we could find. There had been reports of Resident orca pods coming up the Southern tip of Lopez Island and very spread out. We headed down the San Juan Channel in hopes of encountering these animals somewhere on the south end.

As we crossed Cattle Pass, we...

[Tuesday, 6/12/18 - M/V Sea Lion - 12:00 - Naturalist Erick]

Another grand day in the San Juan Islands! It did start out a little grey, but was still pretty warm for June as Captain Gabe and I headed north with a great group of people aboard the M/V Sea Lion. We traveled up past Spieden, Johns, and Stuart Islands until we reached Boundary Pass. Here we started to see some blows against the cloudy grey sky reflected in the still waters of the Salish Sea. It was Orcas! It was a super...

[Monday, 6/11/18 - M/V Kestrel - 2:00PM - Naturalist Erick]

Happy Monday Everyone! We hope your weekend was as good as ours, and it’s only going to get better this week! This Monday afternoon Captain Gabe and I took a super fun group of people out on a trip aboard M/V Kestrel. We started by heading north through San Juan Channel. We traveled around the northern side of San Juan and Henry Islands. Just as we rounded Henry Island we saw some blows in the distance around Kellett...

[Saturday, 3/31/18 – 4:00PM – M/V Sea Lion – Naturalist Erick]

     On Saturday, there were so many folks that wanted to go watch fun wildlife that we had a second trip! In the summer we have two trips every day, but this was definitely a treat for this time of the year. Captain Mike and I picked up a new group of guests and headed back out. We headed north in San Juan Channel and pointed towards Boundary Pass. The Orcas of J Pod which we had left in the northern end of Haro Strait...

[Sunday, 3/18/18 – 12:00 – M/V Sea Lion – Naturalist Erick]

This Sunday started like most days this spring. It was a little cloudy, the water was super calm, and Captain Mike and I went looking for some whales and other amazing wildlife in the waters around San Juan Island. We headed north and pointed towards Boundary Pass which is the border between Canada and the U.S. As we approached Java Rocks and Saturna Island we started to see a few dorsal fins emerge above the surface. They...

[09/12/17- M/V Sea Lion- Kelsey, Naturalist- 12:00PM]

Boy, was today foggy! As we left Friday Harbor on M/V Sea Lion, the day was overcast, but visibility was great! Then juuuust as we hit Cattle Point on the south side of San Juan Island, we hit a wall of fog in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. But, that wasn’t going to dampen our spirits! We were determined to find orca whales.

We were talking with boats out on the water who were with Southern resident killer whales, but we even had to...

Yesterday we enjoyed yet another stunning July day on the water around San Juan Island.  Naturalist Erick, Captain Mike and I were excited to be able to share some of our famous, critically endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs) with our guests on the 1:30 departure from Friday Harbor. The water was glassy and as we cruised the air was just the right level of chilly over the water. It was a perfect day to watch some whales.

We were lucky enough to encounter some of L-pod...