Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | Monday, April 7th | 12:30 pm

Our Classic Whale Watch & Wildlife tour left the dock and headed north in San Juan Channel. Rain was in the forecast, so we prepared for a wet ride, but thus far the skies above looked clear. Our first stop was to the Cactus Islands to view some hauled-out harbor seals. We love seeing harbor seals out here. Their thriving population is a product of the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. Before 1972, many pinnipeds were killed for their pelts...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | April 4th, 2025 | 12:30pm

Spring is here! The weather was absolutely perfect as we left Friday Harbor and turned left down San Juan Channel. As we made our way through Cattle Pass (the narrow passage between San Juan and Lopez Island) we admired the various wildlife around us. This area is extremely productive due to a process known as upwelling. Upwelling occurs when you have an uneven sea floor mixed with a strong current/tidal exchange. This creates a ramp effect...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | September 29th, 2024 | 2:00 pm

Today was the perfect afternoon as Captain Vaun and I headed out on our last trip of the season together. We left Friday Harbor and began traveling north up San Juan Channel to follow up on some reports of whales near Sidney, BC. As we passed Spieden Island, we stopped to look at a few harbor seals hanging out on some small islands before continuing to the Haro Strait. Once we were nearing the Canadian Border, we suddenly saw the dorsal...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | September 15th, 2024 | 12:30pm

Southward was the plan as we left Friday Harbor on our Classic Whale Watch and Wildlife Tour. A rumored report of killer whales in the Strait of Juan de Fuca was our destination, a long run on the ole M/V Sea Lion but we were determined to make it work! As we transited down San Juan Channel and approached Cattle Pass, guests aboard pointed out splashing in the distance! After slowing the boat to investigate, it became clear that the splashing...

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | September 14th, 2024 | 12:30 pm

Our Sunday trip aboard the M/V Sea Lion took us about as far as we can go during a 3-to-4-hour whale watching tour out of Friday Harbor. The only whales we knew of were slowly exiting the Puget Sound, heading north-west out of Admiralty Inlet. Captain Gabe and I hoped for the best and headed south in San Juan Channel. We stopped at Goose Island to look at some Double-Crested Cormorant nests and some hauled our harbor seals. We cruised...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel | Setptember, 4th 2024 | 2:00pm

The sun was OUT as we left the harbor aboard the M/V Kestrel. A much-needed break from the unusually gloomy weather we'd been experiencing at the tail end of our summer season. We turned left out of the harbor and motored up San Juan Channel to our first destination, White Rock. White Rock is a hot spot for our local rock sausages aka harbor seals. We found a large group of these loveable pinnipeds lounging along the rocky shoreline. This group...

Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion | 04/14/2022 | 12:30pm

    The last few days have been insane. I love the Salish Sea for its spontaneity. Some days I’m out here on the water I feel like David Attenborough should be by my side, narrating the scene unfolding in front of me. Today was one of these days. 

When we started the tour we had no clear heading. Captain Brian and I figured we should start our search around Spieden and Stuart Islands. There tend to be several haul out sites for Harbor...

Maxx K. | M/V Kestrel | 04/02/2022 | 1:30pm

Today was a big day! Today marked Kestrels first voyage of the 2022 season and it did not disappoint! I had forgotten how fast this vessel is- it can reach speeds of up to 40 kts (45ish mph)! It’s like flying. But boy oh boy is it also freezing. With an average water temperature of 45 degrees, the wind chill coming off the Salish Sea is no joke! But what is a little cold air when you’re hanging out with a family of Bigg’s Killer whales?

Soo...

M/V Sea Lion | Naturalist Alexandria | Friday, October 18th, 2019

What a fantastic day we had out on the water today!  We started out our trip and we had a unconfirmed report of orcas north of us.  By the time everyone had boarded and we were leaving Friday Harbor a few other boats from our area had confirmed this sighting, and we were excited to head towards them!

Little did we know though that there were still more whales to be seen!  As we were leaving the harbor we saw a Humpback...

color:black">Erin | M/V Sea Lion | Sunday, May 26, 2019 | 12:00 PM

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start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-style: initial;
text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px"> font-family:">What a fantastic trip we had on a beautifully sunny day! It began with harbor porpoises. These tiny toothed whales were travelling through President Channel as we made our way to where there were some orca reports. Everyone was excited to see them. As we travelled into the area where we knew there were some orcas, it took us some time to figure out where they were. Then we saw tall blows and tall dorsal fins in the...