Erin | M/V Kestrel | Saturday, June 8, 2019 | 11:00 AM

Today was an absolutely wonderful day out on the water. We left the harbor and the sun was shining! Within seven minutes of leaving the harbor, we came across a pod of killer whales. This is not a common occurence, so the crew was equally as excited as the passengers. The whales were diving in a zig-zagging pattern, there was some circling behavior by some of the younger whales, and there were lots of birds in the area. It was...

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

As the sun shone bright overhead and the Salish sea beckoned us to join her, Captain Brian, Naturalist Sarah and I set out towards promising reports of humpback whales up north. But then, almost immediately, we got a brand new report of orca whales off in the Rosario Strait!

Filled with excitement, we headed south down through the San Juan Channel. As we neared Cattle Pass off the southern point of San Juan, we spotted a crazy battle in the...

Erin | M/V Kestrel | Sunday, June 2, 2019 | 3:00 PM

Today was an adventurous day aboard the M/V Kestrel. We began the trip with a decision of which way we wanted to go, as there were reports of great wildlife in many directions. We decided to head towards Victoria, because there were some promising reports of orcas that way. On the way, we went through some coastal upwelling, which was very fun, and then we got into some awesome waves. As I said, it was a grand adventure!

Once we...

Olivia | June 2nd, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Warm, sunny day in the San Juan Islands! I accompanied co-Naturalist Alexandria and Captain Gabe as we set out on our adventure tour. We headed north through the San Juan Channel past Shaw and Orcas Islands, and straight up to the Strait of Georgia where our whale sightings were being reported for the day. On route out there, near Jones Island, we found a group of Harbor Seals lounging about it the sun. These seals are currently at...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 06/01/19 | 3:00 pm

As we set out of Friday Harbor on our second trip of the day, everyone was really excited and ready for an amazing adventure to come. Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel and sped off towards the north and right to Speiden Island.

Right away we saw a gorgeous bald eagle! It was beautiful perching high in the trees close to the shoreline.

But then as we continued, we found more animals! The adorable harbor seals! One of them was hilarious as he...

Jordan | M/V Kestresl | 06/01/19 | 11:00am

Today was basically the most magical day. And no, I’m not being dramatic. It’s true. It started with our first trip leaving Friday Harbor at around 11:30am. And although it was a tad later than usual, it was definitely worth the wait!

Captain Gabe and I sped out of the harbor and headed north through the San Juan Channel up towards Speiden Island. Here we stopped to check out some floppy seals! There were a bunch of harbor seals close to the...

Piper | Friday, May 31, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 3:00 PM

On our afternoon tour today the orcas that were spotted in the morning (the T65Bs, T75Bs, and T75Cs) had continued north so we left from Friday Harbor going north into San Juan Channel. When we arrived to Green Point on Spieden Island, a common haul-out site for Steller’s sea lions, at first we continued to motor past because it looked like all of the sea lions had left for Alaska, but Captain Gabe caught sight of some Stellers in...

Piper | Friday, May 31, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM

Heading out of Friday Harbor today there was a report of Bigg’s killer whales off Lime Kiln Lighthouse on the west side of San Juan Island so we headed south into San Juan Channel and it wasn’t long before we came upon a group of harbor seals hauled out on the rocks near Turn Island. While we were sitting there watching the little rock sausages, a few harbor porpoises quickly swam through the channel and we got to get a great look...

Today was honestly such a beautiful day full of many wonderful moments. We met our people by the store and got suited up even though it seemed way too warm to put on those jackets. But, we soon cooled down as we jumped on the boat and sped out into the chilly sea. Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel and headed north through the San Juan Channel. 

First, we stopped by Spieden Island and checked out some Steller sea lions! They were just off the point playing in the water and rolling...

Piper | Sunday, May 26, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM & 3:00 PM

What a difference a day can make when it comes to weather in the Salish Sea! Today it was sunny as can be and I was out on the M/V Kestrel with Captain Gabe and two great groups of guests! On both tours we headed north out of Friday Harbor and up into Boundary Pass! We spied some harbor seals and harbor porpoises along the way, but once in Canadian waters we came across a humpback whale! We were able to identify this...