Piper | Saturday, September 21, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

Captain Sarah, naturalist Olivia, and I left the docks with a really fun group today, to reports of both orcas and humpbacks swimming around the Salish Sea! We headed south down San Juan Channel, in the direction of Cattle Point Lighthouse. When we arrived in the area we stopped because there was a huge haul out of Steller’s sea lions on the small rocky outcroppings in the middle of the pass. The giant pinnipeds were...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 09/21/19 | 11:00am

What a really great day out on the water!

Captain Gabe and I headed south through the San Juan Channel and headed towards a beautiful lighthouse off the southern tip of San Juan: Cattle Point lighthouse.

Nearby, we stopped at Whale Rocks and watched tons of Steller sea lions! They wandered around the rocks, barked at each other and splashed in the water! It looked like they were really enjoying the beautiful sunny day!

Then, we boated out...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 09/20/19 | 12:00pm

What a lovely day in the San Juan Island!

Captain Sarah, Naturalist Piper and I headed out of Friday Harbor and up north through the San Juan Channel and towards the Canadian border.

We boated up President’s Channel and saw our first blow! It was a humpback whale! This huge animal swam in circles as it fed upon its tiny prey hidden in the murky depths of the Salish Sea. We followed as the whale showed us its 15-foot wide tail! What a...

Olivia | September 19th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today was such a treat all the way around. As Captain Erick, Co-Naturalist Sarah and I started heading north through the San Juan Channel with our passengers, we stumbled upon a rare surprise just south of Flattop Island- a Northern Fur Seal! We rarely get fur seals in our waters; in fact, this was Sarah’s first time in her six years of working here and Erick has only seen them once down in the Puget Sound. After taking in the...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 09/19/19 | 11:00am

What an incredible day!

Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel out into the foggy depths of the San Juan channel and up towards the north. We could hardly see the outline of Spedien Island as we approached!

We boated near the island and found hundreds of exotic animals! I’ve literally never seen so many mouflon sheep, sika deer and fallow deer all grazing together in huge herds! There were groups of huge male sika deer with antlers wandering...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 09/18/19 | 12:00pm

What a crazy epic day today!

Captain Gabe, Naturalist Piper and I took the Sea Lion out of Friday Harbor and headed north through the San Juan Channel. We heard reports from deep within Canadian territory, so we headed that direction. Boating above Stuart Island and crossing Boundary Pass, we crossed the border. We continued up toward Georgeson Pass, intertwining between gorgeous islands, admiring the birds flying by.

As we emerged into open...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 09/14/19 | 12:00pm

Today was unlike any day I’ve had in the San Juan’s!

Captain Pete, Naturalist Olivia and I headed out of Friday Harbor and headed down south through the San Juan Channel on the lookout for any wildlife.

We reached the southern point of San Juan and admired the beautiful Cattle Point lighthouse.

Continuing out into open waters, we found a humpback whale! As we approached, the humpback slapped its tail against the surface of the water...

Sarah | 09/13/2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Today was just a lovely day on the water! With calm seas and some reports of several baleen whales in our area, Captain Gabe and I were eager to hit the water.

We started our day heading south from Friday Harbor through San Juan Channel towards Cattle Pass between San Juan Island and Lopez Island. We stopped for a brief look at some Steller’s sea lions hauled out on a rocky outcropping known as Whale Rocks. These massive pinnipeds are the...

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

What a great day near San Juan Island! Captain Gabe, Co-Naturalist Piper and I headed south through the San Juan Channel to aim for the Strait of Juan de Fuca in hopes of seeing potential whale sightings. We made a stop at Whale Rocks where we were able to view [and listen] to heaps of Steller’s Sea Lions! Loving these large Pinnipeds, it was so great to hear their deep bellows and watch them snooze, play, and swim in the high...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 09/12/19 | 11:00am

Today was sure an adventurous day!

Captain Pete and I took the Kestrel out of Friday Harbor and headed south down through the San Juan Channel. Once we reached the southern tip of San Juan, we spotted Cattle Point lighthouse as we neared a rock full of wildlife!

We found Steller sea lions! These 12-foot long 2,400 pound animals barked and crawled around the island as they looked for the best rock to nap on. Some of them splashed in the water...