Lauren Fritz, Naturalist, M/V Sea Lion, 6/20/17, 1:30 pm & 5:30 pm tours

Anyone who's around me long enough has fallen victim to my ramblings about how amazing humpback whales are. I spend a significant portion of my year with these whales down in Maui, one of their main breeding grounds, so it's very exciting to see them up here in one of their feeding grounds as well! It's difficult not to marvel over the amazing migration of 2,500-3,000 miles that these whales make every year -...

Today was super misty as we motored out of the harbor. We couldn’t see very far ahead as the wooded islands, water, and clouds all melded into one. We headed south through Cattle Pass and out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We first encountered a small group of Harbor Porpoise off of Hein Bank (a shallow area  that is a great feeding area for so many of the marine mammals that inhabit our waters) The group of Harbor porpoises quickly passed us as the followed a small group of fish...

(06/17/2017 -Sea lion 01:30 pm Departure)

Today we left Friday Harbor only needing to travel about 10 minutes before reaching our first pod of whales! We first encounter a group of transient, or mammal eating orcas, on the Eastern side of San Juan Island.  These whales were specifically the T36A’s as well at the T65B’s.  These two families were seen traveling together throughout the entire day today and we were lucky enough to see them complete a kill and engage in some social...

Lauren Fritz, M/V Sea Lion, 6/15/17, 1:30 pm Tour

Wow! Today was a true PNW day, with blustery winds and scattered rainshowers. Lucky for those of us on the 1:30 whale watch tour, M/V Sea Lion was well prepared to take on some rough waters. Tucked away and cozy in our cabin, we headed out of Friday Harbor with orcas on our mind. Transients had been spotted along the northeast side of Orcas Island, by Sucia and Patos Island. We were true mariners today! It was wet, but we had so much...

[06/13/2017 – M/V Sea Lion – 01:30pm & 05:30pm]

Today we had another wonderful day on the water with multiple whale reports and sunny skies. We had the pleasure of hosting two wonderful groups of guests on our afternoon and evening trips.

On our afternoon trip we headed north through San Juan Channel towards Spring Passage between Jones and Orcas Islands. Heading towards White Rock in Cowlitz Bay near Waldron Island we found harbor seals and a bald eagle out on the rocks. Both...

[06/10/2017 ~ M/V Sea Lion 1200 Departure]

One of the biggest challenges of whale watching is in the name itself: you're watching WHALES. Wild animals, who can travel 100 miles per day easy, who spend the majority of their lives underwater where we can't see them. Untrained, unpredictable, wild animals. This also happens to be the fun of whale watching. You're watching WHALES! Wild whales that are on their own schedule and doing their natural whale behaviors while you just look on in...

Lauren Fritz, San Juan Safaris, M/V Sea Lion, 6/8/17, 1pm Tour

Did you know today is World Oceans Day? What better way to celebrate than a whale and wildlife tour with San Juan Safaris! M/V Sea Lion was off the dock today at 1 pm and facing some wet and sloshy weather. Luckily, we're well-equipped out here - we've got rain slickers, snuggly blankets, and a toasty cabin to retreat to when the going gets too wet! Days like these are an adventure, and we soaked up way more than just...

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[06/06/2017 ~ 1200 SL]

Ah, a bright sunny day with clear skies and calm waters, ripe with potential for whale and wildlife viewing. Captain Pete and his trusty crew of two, naturalists Kelsey and Sarah, set off with their boat of eager whale-watchers...

[06/04/2017 - Sea Lion 12pm Departure]

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Humpback whales in our area have been buddying up like crazy this year! While usually a solitary species, where long periods of solo adventuring time isn't unheard of, humpbacks have been known to make temporary associations, or whale acquaintances, when it's convenient or helpful for them. 

In areas teeming with...

[06/03/2017 - M/V Sea Lion - 12pm]

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You could fill a book with everything that we know about orcas and their social structure. You could also fill a book with everything we don't know about them. Why do they breach? What are they talking about down...