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...

Jordan Higgins | M/V Sea lion | 03/27/21 |1:00pm

Today was a fantastic day out on the water! Captain Pete, Laura and I hopped on our vessel, the Sea Lion, and took off out of Friday Harbor.

We were lucky to begin the tour with reports of Southern Resident whales just a couple islands away! But, before we could even leave the harbor, we found a different wildlife surprise: Steller sea lions! There were three of them lounging in the water, showing off their massive bodies as they...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | JUly 14, 2020 | 13:30

Every moment of our trip was a picture-perfect day out on the water. From the minute we left the dock we were graced with sharp views of Mount Baker [volcano] towering over the islands, a full bodied Mount Rainier [volcano] greeting us in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, as well as the entirety of the Olympic Mountain Range silhouetting the South.

We took a sneak peek at some Harbor Seals hauled out near Turn Island before spotting Harbor...

M/V Sea Lion | September 5th, 2019 | Naturalist Alexandria

What a great day we had today!  We were so excited when we got on board M/V Sea Lion and knew that we had reports of orcas within our range.  To make matters even more awesome, these sightings were of Resident Orcas- an Ecotype that we have seen only a handful of times this season.  This day promised to be quit the treat!  We headed out into San Juan Channel and began the trek south to where these incredible animals were...

Erin | M/V Sea Lion | Thursday, August 15, 2019 | 5:30 PM

This evening was the greatest trip of all time. We began our trip heading south out of Friday Harbor. We went through some upwelling zones near Cattle Point lighthouse, which were bringing food to the water's surface and causing birds to gather around us. Cattle Point lighthouse marks the southernmost point of San Juan Island, and it is a gorgeous beacon. We entered into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and headed toward False Bay...

M/V Sea Lion | August 15th, 2019 | Naturalist Alexandria

What a fantastic day we had today!  We rarely get to see our Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs) in our area, but today was a special day!  We started out our trip so excited because we had report that our SRKWs had been spotted off the west side of San Juan Island!

We knew that we absolutely wanted to see them if at all possible, so we started our trip heading south down San Juan Channel.  They were starting to swim...

M/V Sea Lion | May 6th, 2019 | Naturalist Alexandria

Today was a beautiful day!  Not only did we get spend a generous amount of time with our Resident Orcas in the area- but we also had a gorgeous, sunny day with Mt. Baker and the Olympics as the backdrop to our amazing afternoon!

As we boarded onto M/V Sea Lion we already knew it was going to be a beautiful day, but we had no idea how amazing our looks of these beautiful members of J-Pod would be!  We headed south down San Juan...

[Saturday, 9/15/18, M/V Kestrel, 10:00]

On Saturday, Captain Gabe and I took a great group out on a cloudy morning to go look for some amazing wildlife. We headed up north. We went through San Juan Channel and up past East Point towards the Strait of Georgia. Here, in between Saturna Island and Point Roberts we started to see some blows in the distance. We slowed down and approached these whales we could see that they were members of the Southern Resident Killer Whale Community...

This Sunday in September sure felt like fall. Capt Gabe, Jordan, and myself headed out with a great group of passengers into the rainy blue Salish Sea. Most people visit this area in the summer, which is beautiful here. The temperature is usually super pleasant, the sun is up for a very long time, and there is usually not a rain cloud to speak of. The rest of the year though, it looks like it did today - very misty, cool, breezy, and rainy. We ventured off into the Pacific...

Jordan | August 18, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 trip

What a beautiful evening trip in the San Juan Islands! As the sun started to set behind the picturesque clouds, we headed out of Friday Harbor to search for our whales. We headed south through the San Juan Channel and towards Victoria on Vancouver Island.

Before we reached Canadian waters, we found the whales! Suddenly we were surrounded by Southern Resident whales all around our boat! It was so exciting seeing the magnificent...