Abby | Kestrel | 5/30/2021

Today we had the A/B Team; Abby the naturalist (me!) and Captain Brian. It was 10am and looking like a typical northwestern island day; dew sat in circular mounds atop blades of grass, while deer pranced about the island in the morning fog. We left the harbor in Kestrel, without the slightest bit of indication on where we’d begin our journey. We headed South through San Juan Channel and cut across Cattle Point into the Haro Strait. Finally, a friendly...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 05/22/2021 10:00am

You could not have asked for a better trip than the one we had today! It started off as a classic gray Washington day as Captain Brian and I took the Kestrel out into the foggy waters.

We headed south down the San Juan Channel, past Cattle Point Lighthouse until we stopped at some Steller sealions! There was a few grouped together but one massive sealion was staring at all of us on board and showing off his massive size. It sure seemed like...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 05/09/2021 |1:00pm

What a beautiful day!

Captain Pete and I headed out of Friday Harbor with all our new friends and headed north through the San Juan Channel. The sun was shining high in the sky, so it made everything look extra blue and gorgeous today. The water stood completely still and flat.

As we arrived at Waldron Island, we saw our first blow! The crystal-clear surface water broke as the first hump emerged. We found two humpback whales! In fact, it was...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 04/18/2021 |1:00pm

Today was one of the most incredible trips of the season! I felt so grateful that all my guests got to experience such a lucky tour.

It began as a normal day as we enjoyed the Sunday sunshine in Friday Harbor. Everyone felt excited but a little nervous about what we may see during the trip. Captain Pete and I hopped on our boat, the Sea Lion, and headed down south towards the southern tip of San Juan.

As we approached Cattle Point lighthouse...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 04/17/2021 |1:00pm

What a fantastic day! It started off incredibly warm and sunny as the bright blue sky promised a great trip no matter what we ended up seeing.

Captain Pete and I jumped on the Sea Lion with our excited guests and boated out towards sea. Heading up the San Juan Channel, we passed Shaw and Orcas Islands and rounded the northern coastline of San Juan. Continuing back around, we headed south down the Haro Strait.

We started to see boats in the...

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...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | March 29th, 2021 | 13:00

M/V Sea Lion was chartered by an all-female crew today! Captain Sarah and I set out to have one of the craziest and most exciting days this 2021 season in the Salish Sea! We immediately left the dock with reports of Killer Whales in the vicinity. Not just any Killer Whales, though, there were rumors of SIX different families of Bigg’s Killer Whales- averaging around 22 transient orcas uniting on the upper west side of San Juan Island...

Sarah | 08/11/2020 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00pm

We had a fabulous day on M/V Kestrel full of lots of wildlife in the Salish Sea. Captain Brian and I decided to head south out of Friday Harbor towards an earlier report of some orca on the west side of San Juan Island.

As we arrived on scene in Haro Strait, we quickly realized that we had a family of Bigg’s killer whales known as the T010s. This smll family of two consists of an adult female T010 Langara and her adult son T010C Bones...

Erick | M/V Kestrel | 2:00PM | August 8, 2020

It was another bright, beautiful, summer day out in the San Juan Islands! Captain Brian and I took a great group of guests out to look for some exciting wildlife in the Salish Sea! There was a report of some Bigg’s Orcas up near the outer islands! We headed up there through Presidents Channel and soon saw the group near Patos Island. It was the T18/T19s group that has been around for a few days now! This is a fascinating family. There...

Sarah | 07/11/2020 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00pm

We left the Friday Harbor under gray skies with a slight threat of rain showers eager to see some whales! Luckily we had a couple reports from earlier in the day to choose from. We elected to head east, interisland, to start out.

As we reached Rosario Strait on the eastern side of the San Juan Islands we came across the T036s, a family of Bigg’s killer whales. Bigg’s killer whales are marine mammal eaters, drawn into the Salish Sea by our...