Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | September 4th, 2024 | 12:30 pm

Our Classic Whale Watch departed Friday Harbor today ready to search for some wildlife! We had great conditions as we set off into San Juan Channel, following up on some reports of whale activity to the north. Along the way we stopped at White Rocks to get some looks at a bunch of harbor seals relaxing in the sun! This was a great way to talk more about our ecosystem and see why the Salish Sea has such abundant wildlife. We continued...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | September 3rd, 2024 | 12:30pm

We are officially running our daily classic tours aboard M/V Sea Lion which tends to be a favorite vessel of our naturalist staff. Starting off the day, it sure felt like fall as we headed south into the fog. After a brief stop at Goose Island to check out some Harbor Seals thermoregulating on the shoreline, Double Crested Cormorants nesting on top of the island, and Pelagic Cormorants drying out their wings, we headed into the Strait of Juan...

Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | August 26th, 2024 | 5:30PM

We left Roche harbor and cruised into Spieden channel on our 2nd to last sunset tour of the season. The weather had finally cleared from the the morning rain and the sun was peaking out from behind the clouds. We made our way to the northeast side of Spiedan island and quickly cruised through the Cactus Islands. In this small island cluster, we found a group or harbor seals and a pair of bald eagles perched in the evergreen trees. We then turned...

It was a classic PNW morning as we began our 10am tour out of Friday Harbor; skies were gray. A light sprinkle of rain drenched us as we tore north through the San Juan Channel. We didn’t have a heading at this point as we never really know where whales are going to pop up. As cliché as it sounds, whale watching really is like a box of chocolates out here- who knows who’s going to be around that day let alone where they’re gonna be! As we mention on each of our trips, we work closely within the...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | October 7, 2022 | 12:30 pm 

As we set off for our Classic Whale Watching tour today, we ventured south in search of wildlife. We made our way through San Juan Channel through feeding Harbor Porpoises and flocks of birds. After we travelled through Cattle Pass, we heard the roars of Steller’s Sea Lions hauled out on Whale Rocks. Some of the large sea lions were thrashing in the water while others were posed atop the rocks with heads regally pointed high...

Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion | 09/28/2022 | 12:30pm

    I was proper geeking out on today’s Classic Whale Watch. Now of course, the Salish Sea is well known to be an incredibly biodiverse ecosystem that allows us spectators to witness and appreciate a varied abundance of marine life- from tiny invertebrates to fifty ton cetaceans. Working out on the water, we become accustomed to our regular visitors: Humpback whales, Biggs killer whales, Steller sea lions, and Harbor seals just to name a...

Elle | M/V Sea Lion | 9/19/2022 | 1:30PM

Today’s Classic Tour took us way up into Canada’s Gulf Islands. We followed reports of orca whales north out of Friday Harbor and caught up to them between Saturna Island and South Pender Island. We watched as two mammal-eating Bigg’s killer whales circled the petite Blunden Island, hunting harbor seals. While we didn’t witness a kill on today’s trip, we got a glimpse of some of the stealthy, yet aggressive hunting tactics employed by those...

Elle | M/V Sea Lion | 9/23/2022 | 1:30PM

Today, on M/V Sea Lion, we headed south to try to catch a glimpse of some orca whales which had been reported in the strait of Juan de Fuca. We headed south through San Juan Channel, past Cattle Point Lighthouse, and into the strait. After a nice, long journey southwest, we encountered two Bigg’s killer whales; brothers T60D and T60E. These boys have been in the area for the last week or so, from Canada’s Gulf Islands up north, to south of...

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | 9/20/2022 | 1:30 PM 

The boys are back… The boys are back… Bigg’s killer whales Onca and Lynx were back at it again, popping up on the westside of San Juan Island unannounced for the second time this week. Similar to our tour yesterday, we started our trip without any firm whale reports and planned to head south to scan for whales in Salmon Bank.  

Our 1:30 pm Classic Tour took a right out of Friday Harbor and headed down San Juan Channel. On our way down...

Elle | M/V Sea Lion | 9/16/2022 | 1:30PM

Today, Bigg's killer whales swam right past Friday Harbor as they hunted harbor seals. Three big males put on a show for the Washington State Ferry, Chelan. Some of the lucky passengers on that ferry joined us on our vessel, Sea Lion and got a second look at a different family of orcas later in the afternoon. By the time we left Friday Harbor, those big males had headed south into rough, windy seas. We headed north and caught up to a group of...