Sunday June 22, 2020

Happy Father’s Day to everyone! We know it is technically supposed to be summer these days but up here in the PNW summer seems to have a slow start. We left Friday Harbor on a little bit of an overcast day, but as we left and headed north the weather started to clear. We headed up towards Flattop Island where we got to see some sleepy Harbor Seals sunning themselves on the rocky coastline. As we passed them two Bald Eagles popped into view in one of the Douglas...

Laura C. | M/V Sea Lion | 11/29/19 | 12:00pm

Today was so much fun out on the water!  We boarded M/V Sea Lion and headed north into the San Juan Channel.  Our first wildlife sighting was a bald eagle on Flattop Island, sitting out in the open on a large boulder.  It was an awesome experience to see it take off from the rock and gently land into a tree branch above.  Across the way, we stopped to view a large congregation of harbor seals.  There was a beautiful white harbor seal...

Laura C. | 11/30/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Waking up this morning was bittersweet, as I knew it would be the last trip of the season, but I was equally excited to get out on the water to hopefully see some whales!  Today could not have more perfect, with orcas graciously providing a grand finale!  This is the last blog of the season as it is our final whale watch of the year!  Eleven passengers eagerly boarded M/V Sea Lion and greeted Captain Pete with enthusiasm.  After...

Laura C. | M/V Sea Lion | 11/3/19 | 12:00pm

What an awesome day out on the water with Captain Pete!  M/V Sea Lion ventured north into the San Juan Channel on a clear sunny morning blanketed with crystal blue skies.  With only 10 passengers aboard, were able to move around our spacious vessel and appreciate the natural splendor of the surrounding islands in relaxed contentment.  Around the bend of Friday Harbor to the left I quickly spotted a bald eagle overlooking a madrone tree. ...

Piper | Sunday, October 6, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

Today it was Captain Erick and I on the Sea Lion with some really lovely guests and we headed south in San Juan Channel, on our way down to scan the Strait of Juan de Fuca! On our way through the channel our first wildlife spotting was a pair of bald eagles soaring through the sky just off our port side! Their impressive six-foot wingspan was in full view as we passed each other, our boat slowing down shortly after as Captain...

Piper | Saturday, October 5, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

Today started out so dreary but by the time we were gathering for our 12:00 Classic trip, the rain dried up and the sun was just starting to peak through the clouds, making for a beautiful day on the water!! Captain Sarah, Jacob, our Kayak Operations Manager, and I took a truly awesome and enthusiastic group of folks out into the Salish Sea today, heading northwest towards a report of Bigg’s killer whales which had been...

Olivia | September 30th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today was SO magical! We left Friday Harbor heading north through the San Juan Channel and cutting through Spieden Channel in order to end up near Henry Island. All along the way we saw swimming Harbor Seals and Harbor Porpoises! However, what really took our breath away was seeing a big male Southern Resident Killer Whale! It was beautiful right in the sunshine! I may use an excessive amount of exclamation points in this blog...

Piper | Sunday, September 29, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

On today’s voyage into the Salish Sea, Captain Erick took me, Alexandria, and a great group of people down south through San Juan Channel toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Along the way we stopped at Whale Rocks in Cattle Pass where a huge haul-out of Steller’s sea lions was lounging about the rocks, soaking up the bits of sun poking through the clouds. They were so much fun to watch and we noticed while we were looking...

Olivia | September 28th, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Sadly, today was my last Kestrel trip of the season with Captain Gabe and we decided early on that it was going to be epic. Being one of the first boats out on the water, we often must travel into areas where there haven’t been other boats in order to find potential whale sightings. We heard of a Humpback Whale near Battleship Island north of Roche Harbor, but decided to go scope out waters elsewhere due to the amount of boats...

Piper | Friday, September 27, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

Captain Sarah, Alexandria, and I ventured out into the Salish Sea with a really awesome group of folks and reports of whales swimming about! We headed north into San Juan Channel and when we got to the top of San Juan Island we headed west towards the city of Sidney, BC. Along the way we spotted a few harbor porpoises in the Haro Strait and a haul out of harbor seals on a small Canadian island!

Shortly after passing by...