Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | September 4th, 2024 | 12:30 pm

Our Classic Whale Watch departed Friday Harbor today ready to search for some wildlife! We had great conditions as we set off into San Juan Channel, following up on some reports of whale activity to the north. Along the way we stopped at White Rocks to get some looks at a bunch of harbor seals relaxing in the sun! This was a great way to talk more about our ecosystem and see why the Salish Sea has such abundant wildlife. We continued...

Olivia | San Juan Safaris | August 19th, 2024 

After a long hiatus while getting our NEW website up and running, our daily blogs are back! 

We will be documenting whale and wildlife sightings daily from all three of our vessels to provide a sneak peak of where we’ve been traveling and what wildlife has been visiting the Salish Sea- while hopefully teaching you something along the way. We will also be providing bonus material for extra education and conservation topics, and photos of course! 

Every...

7/26/22

MV Osprey

Helena

12:30pm 

The crew was anxious to get out into the cool breeze of the Salish Sea on this hot Tuesday afternoon. Our sweaty faces were met with the cool air of the San Juan Channel as Captain Gabe picked up speed. We headed north into Spieden Channel following reports of humpback whales entering the Haro Strait. Humpback whales are one of our migratory cetaceans we see in these waters. Traveling from the coasts of Maui and Baja Mexico, these humpbacks journey...

7/9/2022

Helena

MV Kestrel

2pm

The adventure tour this afternoon went north up San Juan Channel, through Speiden Channel and off the western coast of Stuart Island where we encountered not one but two Humpback Whales! This duo was actually a mother and her calf and the two were taking long (10-ish minute) dives heading south in the Haro Strait. 

The population of humpbacks migrating to the Salish Sea every summer are coming to their feeding grounds here. They will eat up to 3,000...

Haleigh | M/V Kestrel | July 3, 2022 | 10:00 am

Today’s whale and wildlife excursion aboard M/V Kestrel reaffirmed the title of our Adventure Tour! Guests suited up in the rain and endured the gusts of wind as we traveled north through the San Juan Channel. We made our way to White Rock to scan for wildlife. All along the rocky crevices, pelagic birds like Glaucous-Winged Gulls and Pigeon Guillemots burrowed into a nesting formation. At the water’s edge, Harbor Seals hauled out...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | July 2, 2022 | 5:30 pm

Today was a beautiful day out in the Salish Sea. We felt the winds as we passed through the chunky waters of Cattle Pass. We crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca heading towards a report of a Humpback Whale that had spent its day feeding south of Lopez Island. We all felt the rolls of the boat, giving us the impression that we were out in open waters! It’s incredible to feel the power of the wind mixed with a high flood. As we slowly...

Kelly | M/V Kestrel | 6.16.21 | 10:00am |
When we left the dock on the M/V Kestrel there was a whopping total of 0 whale reports. This is not completely unusual for our 10am departure time. This early, there are only a small number of whale watch boats out on the water searching for wildlife. Captain Michael and I decided to head north toward Saturna island. In the past few days this area has been a consistent hot spot for humpback whales, so we figured it was our best bet.
On our...

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...

Haleigh | M/V Sea Lion | October 7, 2021 | 12:00 pm

Today’s weather was spectacular. The water was glassy and calm everywhere we ventured, and the sun was shining with the blue sky and puffy clouds above. We began our tour southbound to scan the shallow banks within the Strait of Juan de Fuca. As we made our way through Cattle Pass, Steller’s Sea Lions bobbed up and down in the water. We saw even more of these blubberous beasts lying on Whale Rocks, some roaring while others...

Haleigh | M/V Kestrel | October 3, 2021 | 2:00 pm

Through the summer in the Salish Sea, we have the opportunity to spend time with Humpback Whales. Humpback Whales migrate to colder, nutrient-rich waters to take advantage of the abundance of food -- Sand Lances, Herring, and Krill. It’s important for these animals to stock up during these summer months before they begin their migration towards Hawaii. As we are entering our fall season, more Humpbacks are making their way through...