Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion| August 28, 2021 | 2:00 pm

Our afternoon classic whale watching tour began heading south through San Juan Channel. We exited through Cattle Pass and followed the strikingly beautiful Olympic Mountain Range westward. Reports of Bigg’s Killer Whales around Victoria, B.C. meant it was a race against the clock to reach them. Luckily, these two whales decided to mill in the area rather than pushing further west towards the Pacific Ocean. 

We finally caught sight...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/19/2021 2:00pm

So nice to get out on the boat!

Captain Pete and I grabbed our guests and headed out to sea. We heard whispers of something exciting happening over in Canada so we headed out to find out what the commotion was about.

We headed south and passed cattle point lighthouse as we rounded the southern point of San juan and headed west. Looking at a map, the Canadian border zig zags across the islands so the city of Victoria is actually south west of...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 08/16/2021 2:00pm

Nturalist Haleigh and I joined captain Pete on the boat with our excited guests and headed out to see what we could find around the Salish Sea.

We headed north and crossed the border into Canada. Here we found Orcas!! Beautifully swimming around off the coast of Pender Island, we watched in awe as they searched for any prey that could be hiding within the rocks. It felt like a whole different world as we appreciated being able to boat in...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | August 16, 2021 | 10:00 am

    What a spectacular whale adventure today! As we loaded up our trusty vessel the M/V Sea Lion we had a feeling we had some good whale sightings in store. We motored off to the south through the San Juan Channel before popping out through Cattle Pass on our way towards Victoria, BC. The tide was flooding through the bottleneck of the pass, causing some big chunky waves as we passed through. We swayed back and forth on the deck...

Abby | M/V Sea Lion | 8/9/2021

As usual, Captain Pete and I have the best luck. With multiple matrilines traveling through the islands, we had our pick of the pod. We decided to travel towards the T037A’s, one of my favorite Biggs killer whale family groups, which has a total of six members, although only five were present:

• Volker T037A (Female, 1994)
  
  • Inyo T037A1 (Gender Unknown, 2007)—Not present today
  • Inky T037A2 (Male, 2009)
  • Spinnaker T037A3 (Male, 2013)
  • Crinkle T037A4 (Gender...

Abby | M/V Sea Lion | 8/7/2021

Captain Pete and I pushed off the dock, sun beaming through the morning clouds and drizzle that covered the island. Moving through the mist that morning was like moving through the breath of a whale on a foggy fall day, a glimpse of what was to come.

We headed north through San Juan Channel, past Yellow Island, and rounded the corner by Orcas Island to see exhales dot the surface, close to the rocky shoreline. We had three teenagers off our bow:

• Jude...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 07/31/2021 2:00pm

Today was the first cloudy day in weeks. But instead of being dreary, it made the surrounding landscape appear even more mystical and mysterious. Captain Pete and I left Friday Harbor in hopes of finding something near Canada, so we headed north.

We cruised through the San Juan Channel and up President’s Channel as we passed Waldron. As we emerged into Boundary, we spotted Canada and admired her elusive beauty from a distance.

Stopping by...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | July 30, 2021 | 2:00pm

Our Friday afternoon Classic Whale Watch was a really fun trip! We departed Friday Harbor in search of wildlife and decided to travel south through San Juan Channel, following a report of something big, black and white in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. These reports are only rumors until we get our actual eyes on them! We passed Cattle Point Lighthouse, entering choppier waters with some rolling swells. The boat rocked and rolled while...

Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion | 07/29/2021 | 2:00pm

    Today was wild, y’all. Captain Pete and I had no idea what to expect when Sea Lion left Friday Harbor. There were rumors of Bigg’s Killer Whales north of us off the south side of Lummi Island but as we know, whales stay rumors until you see them yourself! We carried on taking the inter-island route, up and over Lopez and through Obstruction Pass. We passed by numerous harbor porpoises during the journey as they surfaced for air in our...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 07/25/2021 10:00am

What a lovely day out on the water.

Captain Pete and I headed south down the San Juan Channel and out towards open waters. We searched around the southern shores of Lopez Island looking in calm waters for any blows. Not finding anything just yet, we spread our search further south out into open waters.

We stopped by some rocks where we spotted Steller sea lions! These huge pinnipeds climbed up the steep rock face and barked at each other as...