Erin | M/V Sea Hawk | Saturday, May 25, 2019| 12:00 PM

Today was a rainy day, but that sure did not stop us from seeing amazing wildlife. We began our trip heading north out of Roche Harbor, heading toward Pender Island, as we got some reports of orcas in that area. On our way out of the harbor, we saw harbor seals up at the surface! As we were travelling, we got sights on a humpback whale that was by itself. We stopped to watch the humpback whale, and it had a fairly predictable...

Olivia | May 25th, 2019 | M/V Seal Lion | 12:00pm 

The weather forecast called for rain, and the Pacific Northwest did not disappoint! With nearly a full boat, most of our passengers (Captain Pete and co- natty, Piper, included) were all dressed up in their rain slickers ready to brave the weather. The great thing about these marine mammals, is they don’t care if its sunny and 75 or pouring rain, they will be just as active. We made sure everyone was warm and cozy with many blankets...

Jordan | May 24, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 4:00 trip

It's me again! Today was such a fantastic trip out on the water. Despite the gray Washington clouds overhead, the wildlife definitely birghtened our day. Captain Gabe and I, and our 8 new best friends, adventured out to sea in one of the fastest boats in San Juan! The Kestrel.

We headed north through the San Juan Channel and immediately got lucky with some harbor seal sightings! Trying to escape the frigid water, they all squeezed onto...

Piper | Wednesday, May 22, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

This lovely Wednesday morning the M/V Sea Lion was crewed by Captain Gabe and I, and we carried a great group of people north into San Juan Channel to scan the waters for whales. We made our way into Boundary Pass and across the border into Canadian waters where a report of humpback whales came through! We arrived at Saturna Island and Java Islets and we spotted the blows of two humpbacks surfacing next to each other! We...

Erick | Tuesday, May 21, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00

Tuesday was another beautiful day out here in the archipelago. We headed out of Friday Harbor and turned north. We headed towards Spieden Island. Just around Yellow Island we saw a Minke Whale! These are smaller baleen whales that inhabitat the Salish Sea. They are around 30 feet long and are usually difficult ot watch but today was so calm it was easy to see this one. Minke Whales, also unusually, seem to stick to the same areas...

M/V Sea Lion | Friday, May 18th | Naturalist Alexandria | 2:00 PM

What a great day we had today!  As we were heading out of harbor we decided we were going to head south and see what we could find.  When we hit the water with no firm reports, all the captains are in constant communication with each other, and work together to decide where each boat is heading, all in an effort to ensure that we scan as many areas as possible looking for whales and wildlife.

We decided to head south...

Piper | Saturday, May 18, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM

Today was another beautiful sunny day in the San Juan Islands and we took full advantage of it with reports of rain the next few days. We had a nice full boat aboard Kestrel today and left the dock heading north in San Juan Channel. Our first stop was a couple Steller sea lions hanging out on Green Point on Spieden Island. These two stragglers looked to be the last of the Green Point colony remaining in the Salish Sea. We expect...

Alexandria | Thursday, May 17, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

We all boarded M/V Sea Lion and pushed off the dock, happy to see that the afternoon had cleared up and the threat of rain was no longer something people were worried about. As we got off the dock we headed out into San Juan Channel and then over to Rosario Strait. 

Captain Pete was in constant communication with all the other captains on the water, and we were all working together to scout the area.  We each chose a...

Sarah | 05/13/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

We had another amazing day in the Salish Sea today. I know that I say that every day, or at least every time I write a blog, but I’m serious… this is the coolest place ever! Today this ecosystem was truly a delight to explore and we had amazing views throughout the duration of our boat trip!

Captain Pete and I elected to head north today into the nutrient rich and productive waters of Boundary Pass and the Strait of Georgia. This area of...

M/V Sea Lion | May 11, 2019 | Naturalist Alexandria

What a great day we had today out on the water!  Captain Pete, Erick and myself all hit the water with no firm reports of whales, but as we headed north up San Juan Channel we heard of some Humpbacks that had been seen up in Boundary Pass!

We were just passing through Presidents Channel- right off of Orcas Island- and were already headed in the right direction! Along the way we got some good looks at a few harbor porpoise swimming...