Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 08/23/19 | 11:00am

 Today was extraordinary!

It was a little touch and go there at the start as we began our tour in the pouring rain. But, everyone really seemed determined to have a very adventurous time despite the wetness! What troopers!

Eventually, the skies lightened, and we were able to dry a bit as we sped down south through the San Juan Channel. Here we stopped to watch roosting cormorants with Cattle Point lighthouse standing beautifully in the...

Laura C. | M/V Kestrel | 8/22/2019 | 11:00am, 3:00pm

It was an outstanding day aboard M/V Kestrel!  Captain Pete touched base with other whale-watching vessels in the area and received reports of two families of Bigg’s killer whales traveling northwest from Sidney Island to Satellite Channel!  Vessels already on scene identified them as the T34s and T37s.  There, we spent a large amount of time just being in the presence of these beautiful mammals.  It was easy to see how strong the...

Piper | Wednesday, August 21, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM

This morning there were a few reports of orcas around the Salish Sea, so Captain Gabe and I took some lovely guests out on the Kestrel to check them out! It was a very typical PNW day out, rainy and foggy, but sometimes those days are extra worth it!

We left the docks and headed north towards Waldron Island where T49A1 was swimming off on his own, his family just five miles away, half the distance at which these orcas can...

Olivia | August 19th, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 3:00pm

We had such an incredible morning trip that reassured us for an epic afternoon one as well! The T49A’s had traveled up and down the channel since we previously viewed them, and this time came right to Friday Harbor! We didn’t even have the chance to speed up and slowly motored under 7kts to go see them. We mentally prepared our passengers for one quick view before we left and came back later, wanting to reduce the number of vessels in...

Olivia | August 19th, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

 The whales made our job look so easy today since there was absolutely no build up when we found them right out of Friday Harbor! The only thing we had a chance to see prior was a Bald Eagle soaring above the pines while I was giving my animal sighting chat to our passengers. The T49A’s were milling south in the San Juan Channel and we were able to view them for a wee bit before splitting off and checking out more wildlife. We do our...

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...

Erin | M/V Kestrel | Friday, August 16, 2019 | 3:00 PM

What an incredible afternoon of viewing wild animals in the Salish Sea! We left south out of Friday Harbor and headed toward a report of a large family of killer whales near Victoria. We went through San Juan Channel and rounded past Cattle Point lighthouse, which marks the southernmost point on San Juan Island! We entered into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the weather was absolutely beautiful! The seas were calm and the sun was...

Erin | M/V Kestrel | Friday, August 16, 2019 | 11:00 AM 

It was an incredible trip this afternoon out of Friday Harbor. As soon as we left the harbor, we saw a bald eagle flying towards the treeline. It was awesome to see its 6 foot wingpsan! We saw it land in one of the trees at the very top, and then we continued on our way toward a report of some Bigg's killer whales. The whales were closeby to where we were, so we spent some time searching for other wildlife on the way. We went...

Olivia | August 15th, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

My favorite trip thus far.

I cannot express the realm of emotions myself, Captain Gabe, and our 19 passengers went through on our 11:00am Adventure Tour. We heard reports early in the morning that our Southern Resident Killer Whales (J Pod) had returned to Haro Strait per Lime Kiln recording their dialect through the hydrophone. With a thick bank of fog south and west of San Juan Island, we decided to head around the northern side to...

Laura C. | M/V Kestrel | 8/14/2019 | 11:00am

This morning’s adventure whale watch and wildlife tour was simply outstanding!  Captain Gabe directed our vessel, Kestrel, southbound towards Hein Bank.  This area is a great spot for wildlife viewing!  There are a few shallow banks south of San Juan Island, rising above the deeper sea floor to about 50 feet.  These areas tend to congregate dense amounts of small schooling fish along the ledges of the bank, where they prefer to reside near...