Upon departing Friday Harbor, our guests were eager to suit-up in the bright yellow rain slickers we provide onboard; a little rain was not going to stop this group from having a wonderful time.  So, with a pair of binoculars in hand, a sense of adventure in our hearts, and a boat full of positive attitudes, we were ready to see what the day would bring and boy, we were not disappointed!   

Having heard reports of whale activity, Captain Craig took us east through Upright Channel...

Today we visited some of the bad boys/bad girls of the sea, the Transient Orcas. Now don’t get me wrong, they aren’t misbehaved, they just prefer some of the larger meat items on the menu. 

The first one we spotted was a male headed north in the San Juan Channel just offshore of San Juan Island. Transients are fairly individualistic so it was not a surprise to see him alone. It was a surprise however to some Harbor Porpoise just off our stern headed in the same direction. If...

Absolutely beautiful today in both weather and wildlife. It was bright, sunny and warm; probably the hottest day we've had all season. We left Friday Harbor heading north, and had to make a long trip to get to see some killer whales. But, even though we didn't have time to meander around the islands looking for other wildlife, we saw harbor seals and a large group of harbor porpoises on either side of our boat along the way.

It wasn't too much longer until we saw dorsal fins in the...

The weather we had in the San Juan Islands today is what Washington residents live for during the dark winters.  Crystal blue skies, a scattering of puffy white clouds, calm waters, no wind, and mild temperatures made for an excellent boat cruise.  It also made our guests from Texas very happy.  We left Friday Harbor and headed down the eastern side of San Juan Island past Griffin Bay.  Several harbor seals were hauled out on an exposed rock, keeping warm in the sunshine.  As it is...

What a day!  We didn’t have to travel far, getting to enjoy the company of many members of J-Pod, with the star being “Big” Mike, J-26.  We were on the northwest side of San Juan Island at 48° 36.9345 / 123° 11. 8222.  Shachi, J-19 was leading a group of other females north.  After nearly an hour with the active Orcas, we turned north for a tour along Spieden Island, with harbor seals, Mouflon sheep and sika deer galore!  We punctuated  the hurrahs on that stretch with 3 bald eagle...

Word was that killer whales were north and headed north today, so we wasted no time departing from Friday Harbor. Along the way we spotted a few curious harbor seals and some harbor porpoise. Then we weaved in between the beautiful Canadian islands of Saturna and South Pender before heading through Active Pass. Just north of Active Pass we spotted a killer whale breach in the distance! (48° 53.267 N 123° 17.661 W). It was J-Pod. The whales were spread out, traveling in small groups...

It was another beautiful day on the water. The sun was out in full shine, the water pure glass. Out in Haro Strait at the very northeastern tip of D’Arcy Island we found two Transient Orcas (48°35.77N, 123°15.61W). We identified them as male T20 and female T21. Fortunately we were able to watch them hunt for a while.

We then continued our way around Mandarte Island, through the Cactus Islands, and back home. We saw all kinds of wildlife including Cormorants, gulls, Pigeon Guillemots...

Our journey took us north.  As we motored through the San Juan Channel we cruised along and observed the Sika Deer and Mouflon Sheep on Spieden Island.  We continued north through the scenic Cactus Islands and across the border into Canadian Waters.

Have you ever seen an eagle taking a bath?  Well, we did!  On the south side of Spieden, our national symbol had found a hollow in the rocks and was enjoying a fresh-water bath.  He was not shy.

On through Johns Pass and a view of...

Salmon Bank was the place to be today. We headed south out of Friday Harbor, prepared for rain but pleasantly surprised that it stopped just as we left our boat slip. Along our way we stopped to view a large group of harbor seals hauled out. A few gave us a demonstration of how phocids, true seals, move around on land without being able to rotate their hind flippers under their body by scooting off the rocks into the water. Continuing south, we slowed by Goose Island to watch and...

Unfortunately there were no reports or sightings of Orcas whales in the region today, but we did get to see an amazing amount of other marine and terrestrial wildlife! We traveled approximately 50 miles round trip visiting Spieden Island, Mandarte, Turn Point (Stewart Island), and Patos Island. On Spieden we found some Mouflon Sheep and a couple Bald Eagles along with numerous Harbor Seals hauled out on small, rocky islets. At Mandarte, we engaged in hundreds of Cormorants building...