Erin | M/V Sea Lion | Monday, August 13, 2019 | 1:30 PM

It was an absolutely wonderful trip in the Salish Sea today. We left the harbor with numerous reports of large whales in the area, so we headed towards them. We made our through the San Juan Channel and into Spieden Channel. We crossed into Haro Strait and towards Gooch Island, where we soon saw a large blow in the distance. When we got closer, we saw that it was a humpback whale. The whale was taking really short dives and not...

Olivia | August 9th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

It was a gorgeous day on the water today as Captain Erick, Co-Naturalist Erin and I headed south with our passengers through the San Juan Channel. We caught word of a lone male Orca traveling near Victoria, B.C. and decided to make the trek southwest to see if we could view one of our favorite Bigg’s Killer Whales. On our way there, we passed heaps of Harbor Porpoises and bait balls, making it an entertaining trip through the Strait...

Piper | Thursday, August 8, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM

This morning the skies in the San Juan Islands started out quite gray, which in my opinion makes for wonderful sighting weather, and that proved true today! As Captain Gabe and I got the Kestrel off the docks and out of the marina, a report of Bigg’s killer whales ran across the radio! They were all the way down by the Olympic Peninsula, so we hung a right and headed south through San Juan Channel.

When we reached Cattle Point...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/07/19 | 5:30pm

This sunset tour turned into one of my favorite tours yet!

It all started with Captain Pete, Naturalist Laura and I heading out of Friday Harbor. We couldn’t believe our luck! Immediately, we heard reports of orca whales literally swimming 15 minutes away from us!

We jaunted over to Jone’s Island and found the orcas right away! This amazing orca pod consists of T18 (grandma of the group and one of the oldest females in the region, estimated...

Laura C. | M/V Sea Lion | 8/7/2019 | 1:30pm

Today’s whale watch was outstanding!  With Captain Pete behind the helm, M/V Sea Lion ventured eastbound to see some Bigg’s killer whales!  We were so happy to find the T019s so close to Friday Harbor, right around Blakely, Shaw, and Orcas  Island!  This family of four was on the move today!   We all watched with enthusiasm as these whales circled around the islands, potentially in search of prey! 

This killer whale family includes two very...

Naturalist Erin | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM | Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Today's trip was magical! We started our trip with no firm reports of whales, so we decided to head toward the Strait of Georgia and cover some different areas than other boats were covering. We were going for a whale search. We stopped by Flattop Island, which is an important wildlife refuge. Here we saw harbor seals hauled out on the rocks and swimming around in the water. At one point, one of them even jumped...

Olivia | August 5th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

What a gorgeous day on the water! Captain Gabe, Co-Naturalist Jordan, and I started off by taking our passengers north through the San Juan Channel and into Boundary Pass. We had a reported Humpback Whale sighting with a possibility of multiple in the area just north of Saturna. We decided to go for it and head through Plumper Sound and up through Georgeson Pass. We found a duo of Humpback Whales traveling together, one of which was...

Piper | Sunday, August 4, 2019 | M/V Kittiwake | 11:00 AM

Today Captain Brian and I took some really awesome people out on the M/V Kittiwake to try to find some whales and wildlife! When we left the marina there were no whale sightings, so we decided to head south in San Juan Channel to do some searching of our own! On our way down the channel the radio came alive with a report of killer whales right where we were headed for the day!

We continued south and caught up with the orcas...

Laura C. | 8/2/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

Today was a prime example of marine mammal hunting specialists at work!  We made our way north on M/V Sea Lion towards Patos Island to find killer whales enjoying an afternoon meal!  Our Bigg’s killer whales closely circled a carcass and passed it around to fellow family members.  This family, the T65As, have been seen frequently throughout the summer season in the Salish Sea and are taking full advantage of our plentiful harbor seal and...

Olivia | July 31st, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30pm

This evening, the whales made our job very easy! Captain Pete and I brought our passengers around the northern side of San Juan Island, through Spieden Channel, and down towards Lime Kiln. Prior to getting there, we spotted the same family group of Bigg’s Killer Whales that we saw south of San Juan Island earlier that morning. The T46B1’s were feeding right outside of Mosquito Pass and comprised of three individuals, including the...