July 1st, 2022

Abby Dahl

12:30pm Osprey

We left the dock on a beautiful, cloudy Friday afternoon. There had not been any whale sightings yet for the day, so we strapped on our binos and kept an eye out for anything remotely whale-like. We cruised north through San Juan Channels potting harbor seals and bald eagles. After some time, we were notified that a humpback whale known as BCX0915, better known as “Fallen Knight” was nearby, on the west side of Orcas Island.

We had some great...

This morning’s adventure on MV Kestrel was filled with beautiful wildlife and stunning views of the Gulf Islands here in the Salish Sea. We began our journey north out of Friday Harbor and up San Juan Channel towards Boundary Pass. Our first stop was White Rock where we spotted some Harbor Seals hauled out along the shoreline. Our harbor seal population is considered to be at carrying capacity, hovering around 40,000 individuals total, which is the...

Helena

6/29/2022

MV Kestrel

Our first encounter of the day was with a Stellar Sea Lion chowing down what appeared to be large chunks of a fish in the middle of a baitball! A baitball is large cluster of small schooling fish near the surface of the water, from our vessels we can identify a bait ball by large groups of birds sitting or taking dives and low swoops at the waterline. We continued south down San Juan Channel to Whale Rocks where we found more Stellar Sea Lions and Harbor...

Helena

MV Kestrel

6/24/2022

10am 

Another fabulously sunny day on MV Kestrel allowed for some crystal clear viewing of cetaceans, pinnipeds and shore birds here in the Salish Sea. We departed Friday Harbor and headed south towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Views of the Olympics off our bow and Mount Baker to our portside allowed for an unbelievable backdrop throughout our adventure today. First stop was Goose Rock where we viewed several double crested cormorants perched atop...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel | 6.16.21 | 10:00am |
When we left the dock on the M/V Kestrel there was a whopping total of 0 whale reports. This is not completely unusual for our 10am departure time. This early, there are only a small number of whale watch boats out on the water searching for wildlife. Captain Michael and I decided to head north toward Saturna island. In the past few days this area has been a consistent hot spot for humpback whales, so we figured it was our best bet.
On our...

June 14, 2022

Abby Dahl

12:30pm Osprey

We took off out of the harbor, rumors of two humpback whales to the north. We zipped through San Juan Channel towards Boundary Pass, harbor seals and harbor porpoise ducking under the water in the distance. It was a clear day, visibility several miles in all directions.

Once we turned into the Strait of Georgia, we saw the humpbacks, identified as:

Divot (Female, born in 2003 to “Big Mama”)

Orion (Juvenile, birth year unknown)

As we watched them...

June 13th, 2022

Abby Dahl

12:30pm Osprey

It was a windy day in the harbor. After departing the dock and spotting multiple bald eagles along the Friday Harbor Labs treeline, we made our way north through San Juan Channel. We passed Spieden Island and turned west pas Roche Harbor at the northern tip of San Juan Island. There were reports of a humpback whale traveling in an unpredictable pattern through Haro Strait. The whale hadn’t been seen in 45 minutes, so our trip turned into a...

June 11th, 2022

Abby Dahl

12:30pm Osprey

We zipped out of the harbor at 12:30pm, an earlier sighting of Biggs killer whales rattling our brains. We took to the south, through San Juan Channel, harbor porpoises bobbing parallel to our vessel all the way to Cattle Point. We made a beeline for the report of killer whales which were traveling parallel to the western shore of Whidbey Island.

When we saw whales in the distance, guests rushed to the railing, jaws dropping for those who were...

June 9th, 2022

Abby Dahl

12:30pm Osprey

We boarded Osprey on a typical, rainy northwest afternoon. Cruising out of the harbor, we turned northbound and entered the San Juan Channel. Reports loomed of a humpback whale mother and calf heading through Boundary Pass, so we thought we’d give it a go, scanning for orcas along the way as the misty air hung in a still balance amidst a lush island backdrop.

We cruised along while harbor seals seemed to drift in and out of sleep on the rocky...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel | June 2nd, 2022 | 2:00pm
Today marked the first truly “warm” day on San Juan Island for the year 2022! Not ideal for standing around in our extra warm exposure suits… but delightful once we picked up speed and started cruising in our high-speed vessel.
First stop on this tour was a humpback just south of Saturna Island. The unmistakable 15–20-foot blow in the distance indicated the cetacean’s exact location. Guests were delighted to watch this impressive animal...