Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 06/29/19 |

Today was a great day full of adventures! Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel out of Friday Harbor and headed north to reports of whales up in the Strait of Georgia.

We sped up through the San Juan Channel and up towards Waldron Island. We stopped by a group of rocks jutting out of the water called “white rocks.” A few birds were sitting along the rocks and among them we spotted massive bald eagles! It was so cool! The adults had bright white heads...

Olivia | June 27, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Our morning trip out on M/V Kestrel definitely started off as an adventure as we were getting everyone suited up in the rain. Despite the June showers, we wore smiling faces as we set out to find the whales we received word about. We traveled north through the San Juan Channel and made a pit stop at Flattop Island to look at some Harbor Seals who were napping on the coastline. Things heated up fast as we then saw a bunch of Pigeon...

Piper | Tuesday, June 25, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM

On this sunny Tuesday morning captains Gabe and Pete and I took a great group of folks out on the Kestrel, heading over to the Wasp Islands to try to locate a group of orcas who had been seen by a passing ferry. The group of Bigg’s killer whales were located and I identified them as the T101s, which are a really cool group of a mom, T101, who we think was born in 1973, and her three grown boys, T102, T101A, and T101B! The group...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 06/23/19 | 11:00am
 

The day started with clouds floating low in the sky. It wasn’t the typical overcast but somehow much more beautiful as they hid the distant mountains. Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel out of Friday Harbor and headed north through the San Juan Channel.

We sped towards this beautiful island called Flattop and stopped along its shoreline. Here we found a bald eagle perched high in a tree, its white head glowing in the light. Then we saw...

Erin | M/V Kestrel | Saturday, June 22, 2019 | 11:00 AM

It was a truly adventurous trip aboard the M/V Kestrel this morning. We began our trip heading north out of Friday Harbor. There were some orca reports in the Strait of Georgia, and we figured we would give it a shot to try and see them. On our way there, we stopped at Flattop Island. We saw lots of harbor seals hauled out on the rocks, some of which were heading into the water. We then went around the island and saw at least 6...

Laura C. | 6-21-2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Today was a gorgeous day aboard M/V Kestrel with Captain Gabe leading our voyage!  We headed south and were lucky right off the bat, finding harbor seals, Steller’s sea lions and a pair of bald eagles all sharing some small rocky islands right near San Juan Island.  We all were able to appreciate the sheer size of a hefty male sea lion as he shimmied his way towards the edge of the rocks, surrounded by basking females.  The harbor seals...

Laura C. | 6-21-2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Today was a gorgeous day aboard M/V Kestrel with Captain Gabe leading our voyage!  We headed south and were lucky right off the bat, finding harbor seals, Steller’s sea lions and a pair of bald eagles all sharing some small rocky islands right near San Juan Island.  We all were able to appreciate the sheer size of a hefty male sea lion as he shimmied his way towards the edge of the rocks, surrounded by basking females.  The harbor seals...

Piper | Thursday, June 20, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM

This morning when Captain Gabe and I arrived at the docks a ferry came into the marina here in Friday Harbor and reported seeing orcas just outside the town! While I got everyone fitted in exposure suits, he jumped on the boat and took it out to locate those orcas for us. Once he’d spotted them and we were ready to go, he brought Kestrel back and we all hopped on! We headed north into San Juan Channel to go check out this group...

Olivia | June 17, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

This chilly day on the water turned out to be awfully spectacular.  We received word about a possible Killer Whale sighting near Waldron Island that was heading north. On route to follow this hint, we stopped near Spieden Island and saw 4 Bald Eagles and continued through John’s Pass to view heaps of Harbor Seals. Being a very low tide today, there were plenty of small, rocky islands for these tiny Pinnipeds to roost on while they laid...

Olivia | June 16, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am / 3:00pm 

What an incredible adventure Captain Gabe and I had out on the water today! For our 11:00am tour we headed north around Spieden Island where we viewed many Harbor Seals and Bald Eagles. We didn’t hang out too long, as we wanted to continue towards our whale sightings. As we traveled through Swanson Channel near Moresby Island, we caught our first glimpse of a lone male Bigg’s Killer Whale known as T77A who is often seen...