Elle | M/V Kestrel | 7/27/2022 | 10:00 AM

This morning there were whispers of southern resident killer whales near San Juan Island. We set out on a cautious trek to see if we could view them from a respectful half-mile distance. After passing the north side of Speiden Island and spotting four bald eagles (likely two of our 154 mating pairs here), we saw a fin in the distance. Just north of Henry Island, we slowed our boat as we approached and got some cool views of a massive male...

Piper | Thursday, September 26, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM

Wowza! Today was an epic day in the Salish Sea; Captain Gabe and I took an awesome group of people out on our Adventure boat, armed against the wind in exposure suits. We left the docks and headed north into San Juan Channel, eventually arriving at White Rock where a haul-out of harbor seals was scooching itself across low-lying rocks. Just north of there Gabe was glancing out at a giant gathering of birds, a great sign...

Piper | Friday, August 30, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30 AM

The day started out very foggy but as the sun rose higher the fog burned off and cloudy blue skies prevailed! We had reports of Southern Resident killer whales near False Bay on the west side of San Juan Island, so Captain Erick, Naturalist Laura, and I headed south through San Juan Channel with our awesome group of folks. Just as we left the marina and got to Turn Island we spotted some harbor porpoises surfacing in the strong...

Piper | Sunday, August 18, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM

Leaving the docks today, Captain Gabe and I felt very lucky to be taking a group of guests on the water because the Southern Resident Killer Whales were still here! We began our trip by heading north in San Juan Channel, but before we could even hit full speed we slowed because a very majestic bald eagle was perched in a tree overlooking the water.

We stopped to get some nice photos before continuing toward Spieden Channel...

Today was an incredible day on our afternoon adventure tour from Friday Harbor. It was one of those September days that I spend allllllll summer thinking about. We left the dock under bright blue skies with great reports of whales around the San Juan Islands.

We headed north towards the reports of whales, and first encountered a pair of humpback whales know as BCY0160 “Heather” and BCY0660 “Raptor.” As we got on to scene one of the massive whales lifted its pectoral fins out of the...

9/24/2017 – M/V Sea Lion—Noon

On this sunny Sunday afternoon the M/V Sea Lion departed Friday Harbor and headed north, exploring the east coast of San Juan Island. Continuing on, we ventured through Boundary Pass and into Canadian waters, but no passports were needed for our visit today! Motoring into the Trincomali Channel we passed by a number of the Southern Gulf Islands and there’s no better a backdrop for the exciting sighting of Southern Resident Killer Whales for which we were...

Today was one of those days that comes maybe but once a summer here in the Salish Sea, and Captain Mike, myself and some lucky passengers were fortunate enough to see some incredible examples of our local wildlife.

We left the dock at exactly noon (despite a slightly tardy naturalist) on the trusty Sea Lion and headed South out of Frdiay Harbor through the San Juan Channel. As soon as we left the harbor, the show began with sightings of some harbor seals and about six playful harbor...