Sarah | 05/12/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

What a spectacular day out on the water! Naturalist Piper, Captain Pete, and I had a great Mother’s Day trip exploring the Salish Sea! We great weather and great wildlife kicking around as of late it was bound to be a great day! We left Friday Harbor and headed north towards Boundary Pass and East Point. This time of year the southern stretches of the Strait of Georgia have amazing prey abundance for all sorts of critters, so it seemed like...

Sarah | 05/11/2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

We had an amazing late morning/early afternoon trip out in the Salish Sea with our Adventure Tour! We had incredibly clear skies and buttery-smooth waters, enjoying amazing views of the surrounding mountains as we cruised. We decided to leave Friday Harbor and head north, as there was an early morning rumor of some humpback whales in the southern stretches of the Strait of Georgia.

We drove through President’s Channel and onward towards the...

Sarah | 05/09/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today we had an awesome day on the Salish Sea. We were graced with just incredible spring weather, so much sunshine and smooth water. With an early morning report of gray whales to our southeast, Captain Pete and I decided to point that way! As we traveled south through San Juan Channel and then out into confluence of Haro Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca we were treated to awesome views of our surrounding mountains, including Mt...

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[Sarah – 04/20/2018 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

Friday's whale and wildlife tour was OFF THE HOOK! We saw a little bit of everything!

We started the day by heading north out of Friday Harbor towards Spieden Island. Before even reaching its grassy slopes and rocky shores, we encountered harbor porpoise and Steller’s sea lions feeding in the rich upwelling water. We checked out some sea lions hauled out Green Point before heading across the island to see what we could find. There were ba...

Sarah – 04/18/2018 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

 

Wowza, what a day of whale watching! Pre-season is one of my favorite times to be on the water because we never know what we will find out on the water. Yesterday started out pretty normally for an April day with no reports of whales as we left the dock. Captain Brian and I decided to head north towards the Canadian Gulf Islands to try our luck finding whales and other wildlife. Here in the San Juans there is no “normal” spot to begin...

[Naturalist Sarah – 04/06/2018 – M/V Kestrel – 1:00pm]

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhh…… flowers blooming, turkey vultures in the air, warm breezes, the sweet melodies of lawn mowers around Friday Harbor….. Spring is here in the San Juans! That means one thing for us here at San Juan Safaris: the much anticipated first M/V Kestrel trip of the season! After a long prep day (shout out to Captain/Naturalist Erick) the boat looked sparkly clean and ready for a summer of adventures!

 

Captain Brian and I...

(October 28, 2017)  Autumn is the best season to experience the San Juan Islands.  The crowds of visitors have thinned dramatically, weather is often epic, and wildlife is more abundant than in the summer.  This fall has been exceptional.  Bobbing out upon the Salish Sea under crystal clear skies, my eyes have been busy drinking in the vibrant golds and rusty hues of maple, oak, willow, and cherry burrowed into the deep green canvas of Pacific Northwest firs.  Competing for my...

[8/15/17- M/V Sea Lion- Kelsey, Naturalist- 5:30PM]

Some days, whales are juuuust out of reach from us, and that is okay! We understand that the animals we are searching for are wild, and orcas can actually swim 35 mph and travel up to 100 miles in a day! We always want to see whales, but we also have a great deal of other amazing wildlife that fills these islands in the Salish Sea that we want to share with travelers. We actually have 4 species of baleen whale, 2 species of dolphin...

We left the dock today with reports of two killer whales just off of the west coast of San Juan Island. We headed north initially and rounded the top of the island before turning south into Haro Strait. We picked up some nice waves at that point, hopping over three-footers caused by the tide and the wind moving in opposite directions. After the equivalent of a splash mountain ride later, we arrived on scene to calming seas and two adult male transient killer whales riding the tide...