Lauren | M/V Kestrel | September 13th, 2024 | 2:00 pm

The M/V Kestrel is our adventure boat, and our 2:00 pm Saturday trip was nothing short of an adventure. Nothing like celebrating the tail end of our summer whale watch tours with a torrential downpour! 

We left the dock, cruised out of Friday Harbor and headed north in San Juan Channel. Our first stop was to Sentinel Rock, a predominate harbor seal haul out site near Spieden Island. Harbor seals are super important to our ecosystem as they...

Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion | 04/14/2022 | 12:30pm

    The last few days have been insane. I love the Salish Sea for its spontaneity. Some days I’m out here on the water I feel like David Attenborough should be by my side, narrating the scene unfolding in front of me. Today was one of these days. 

When we started the tour we had no clear heading. Captain Brian and I figured we should start our search around Spieden and Stuart Islands. There tend to be several haul out sites for Harbor...

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | 4.1.2022 | 12:30 PM 

On Thursday, March 31st the single day record of Bigg’s killer whale sightings was broken in the Salish Sea. A whopping 72 Bigg’s killer whales were sighted! Needless to say, Captain Eric and I had high expectations going into Friday's trip. Killer whales can swim over 100 miles in a day, and just because they are in the San Juans one day does not mean they will be the next. Knowing these facts, we were still optimistic that we would get...

Laura | M/V Sea Lion | 4/15/2021 | 1:00PM

Today was a spectacular day out on the water!  We left the dock on M/V Sea Lion with a morning report that orcas had just been spotted near Orcas Island in East Sound!  Passengers were super excited to head out in hopes of finding whales close by on such a beautiful sunny day!  As we headed out of Friday Harbor our Captain, Pete, noticed two majestic bald eagles neatly perched along an exposed branch near the Friday Harbor Marine Labs.  They...

Laura | M/V Sea Lion | 4/9/2021 | 1:00PM

What a fun day in April to be out on the water!  The skies were grey and seas a little choppy, but that did not alter the mind set of those set on seeing some amazing wildlife today.  We left the dock in a hurry, as there was a morning report of Bigg’s killer whales in the area!  Back in the office, one of our kayak guides, Clai, phoned in to let us know his guests just saw killer whales on their 3-hour kayak trip with San Juan Outfitters! ...

Laura | M/V Sea Lion | 6/25/2020 | 13:30

This afternoon’s whale watch aboard M/V Sea Lion was simply spectacular!  We left Friday Harbor with reports of killer whales not far away, near Blakely and Obstruction Islands.  I am always so excited to hear the radio announcing the presence of whales even before we leave the dock!  After a quick safety talk from our Captain Pete, we hurried our way through San Juan Channel to get to Obstruction Pass.  There we were greeted by a couple of...

Laura | M/V Sea Lion | 6/22/2020 | 13:30

Today was another whale-filled day out on the water! M/V Sea Lion headed south through San Juan Channel and we barely made any headway before our first whale encounter!  A humpback whale was feeding in Griffin Bay and taking about 4-minute dives.  It was so exciting to see such a large animal so close to the shore in his/her natural habitat.  The upwelling was telling of a prime feeding spot in this area, as the birds swarmed above as the...

Erick | Tuesday, May 14, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00

Today, we were back in our normal spring weather – so gray skies with light drizzles through out the day. I love this weather because the low-lying clouds scrap along the tree line and the mist that you walk through cools down the temperature and the colors of the islands. Captain Pete and I left with a good group of folks out of Friday Harbor to find out what sort of marine life was out there today. We started out going north in...

Lauren Fritz, 07/16/17, M/V Sea Lion, 5:30 pm Tour

What an incredible evening trip! Sunset is one of the most scenic times to be out on the water - and today, the water was pure glass. The San Juan Islands have this magic about them that createst the most beautiful pastel colors at sunset and dusk, and watching orcas swim through these periwinkle waters is a memory our guests on board will most likely never forget!

This evening, we encountered a few different orca pods. The T46's...

07/02/17, Lauren Fritz, M/V Sea Lion, San Juan Safaris, 1:30 and 5:30 pm Tours

What a magical day of Bigg's Killer Whales! We encountered several different family pods on the east side of Orcas Island today, over in Rosario Strait. We enjoyed some breathtaking views of the T36's and a number of other Transients. My favorite part? Seeing the massive males rise up above the surface with their huge wavering dorsal fins. It's absolutely humbling. 

The whales were busy hunting and...