Sarah | 06/03/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM 

I just got off the water after a lovely day spent with wonderful wildlife and inquisitive guests. We had amazing June weather to explore the Salish Sea and we took full advantage of the sunshine and calm seas to go exploring.

Captain Pete and I elected to head north through San Juan Channel towards Boundary Pass. We stopped at White Rock near Waldron Island to check out some harbor seals hauled out on the rocks. These small pinnipeds are...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 06/02/19 | 5:30pm

As the sun sank lower in the sky, Captain Pete and I took off out of Friday Harbor to start our sunset cruise adventure. We headed north through the San Juan Channel towards Speiden Channel.

Then we heard whispers on the whale watcher’s radio that there were orcas headed past Victoria, around the southern tip of Vancouver Island and up into the Haro Strait! They were swimming towards San Juan Island, so we all got really excited at the...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 06/02/19 | 12:00

Today Captain Erick and I took the Sea Lion out of Friday Harbor for a wonderful cruise around the islands. We, first, headed north through the San Juan Channel and passed the eastern tip of Speiden Island.

Then, we made a pitstop at Flattop Island! This beautiful national wildlife reserve hosted various birds flying overhead and a few harbor seals laying on the protected rocks. There was even one seal swimming gracefully through the water...

Alexandria | Saturday, June 1, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 PM 

What a beautiful evening!  The sun was shining, our group was ready to get on the water, and water was beautiful and glassy- it was the perfect beginning to our sunset evening Class Whale Watch.

We boarded M/V Sea Lion, excited about such gorgeous weather and ready to explore the area to see what we could find.  We started heading north out of Friday Harbor and headed up San Juan Channel.  As we were working our way up...

Erin | M/V Sea Lion | Saturday, June 1, 2019 | 12:00 PM

Today was an excellent day out on the water! The afternoon was seeming like it was going to be a beautiful, sunny one, so spirits were high amongst everyone. We left Friday Harbor and travelled north. We saw many harbor porpoises as we travelled north. They were abundant as we made our way toward East Point.

At East Point, we saw evidence of strong tidal currents and upwelling. It was neat to see. Near East Point we got our...

Erin | M/V Sea Lion | Friday, May 31, 2019 | 12:00 PM

Today was a day packed full of amazing wildlife viewing! It was a sunny, beautiful day out on the water. We began our day heading north out of Friday Harbor, getting some gorgeous views of Spieden Island. We ended up on the western side of Stuart Island, watching a juvenile humpback whale. It was taking very short dives and only spending a few moments at the surface. It showed its beautiful fluke to us as we left. We also got an...

Olivia | May 30th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Not only did we have an amazing group of people on the boat today, it was gorgeous outside! With a smaller number of people, it was just Captain Gabe and me. We started off the trip heading north through the San Juan Channel past Shaw and Orcas Islands. We wound around Waldron Island through Presidents Channel where we were able to see many Harbor Porpoises. Did you know that these porpoises have a broad range frequency from around 40...

Olivia | May 29th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today was one of the best encounters I have had this season. Captain Gabe, Co- Naturalist Jordan, and I decided it was best to head south through the San Juan Channel between San Juan and Lopez Islands. On route the find whales we stumbled across Harbor Seals! They are the world’s second smallest seal and so cute. They are Pinnipeds much like the Seal Lions, however, they cannot rotate their pelvis or hind flippers. Because of this...

Olivia | May 28th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today started off beautifully for Captain Gabe and me. It was such a small group of people that all decided they wanted to sit at the bow together, which allowed us to chat and hang out as our own family group. We started our route traveling past Waldron Island through Presidents Channel and saw Harbor Porpoises! This was very exciting since this is a wee bit of a hot spot for them in the shallow waters where there is an influx in...

Olivia | May 27th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

What a gorgeous day in the Salish Sea! We traveled to the farthest edge of our range, making a four- hour trip, in order to find the Bigg’s Killer Whales. On route there, we had the most amazing warm weather, I don’t think we handed out one blanket! We were lucky enough to have many kiddos on the boat, one of which was the designated spotter right at the bow- a future Marine Biologist, he told me! We had a great time spotting the Stell...