Today was a great day; sunny and calm with a strong flood current pushing us north. With no reports of Orcas we headed north to East Point on Saturna Island to seek out Harbor Seals and Steller Sea Lions. When we flew passed three magnificent Steller Sea Lions swimming in the water, without any time for our passengers to take a look, I went into the wheelhouse to check in with the captain. Transient Orcas had been found even further north off of Mayne Island in the Strait of Georgia...

I had an appointment off island yesterday and was observing folks, dogs, ferriess and cormorants at the Anacortes ferry landing.

Great weather yesterday, today too and suppose to be the same for tomorrow - Mother Days (you remembered her, right?)

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Here is a family walking the beach with their dog

Ferry

Coming

or

Going?

Hope the family with the dog finds this

Cormorants. Ya gotta love them.

I noticed SO MANY cormorants carrying sea weed and eel grass to their

nests...

Environmentalists want investigation of toxic waste in Georgia Strait
Mark Hume
A coalition of Canadian and U.S. environmental groups have asked an international body to investigate allegations the federal government is allowing a Metro Vancouver sewage plant to regularly discharge toxic waste into Georgia Strait.
In a submission, nine groups ask the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America to document “the failure of the Canadian government to adequately enforce...

What a first day back on the job! This is my third season working for San Juan Safaris. At the beginning of every season I can't wait to get back out on the water. Today was my first day back on the boat and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect welcome back! We departed Friday Harbor having heard word that the Southern Resident Killer Whales were off the coast of Victoria headed eastbound. Captain Craig informed me that rough seas might make an encounter with the orcas a no-go...

We had a last minute private charter today. I was scheduled to laminate, type and answer phones from 8am to 5pm, when in the middle of the afternoon, a man called wanting to charter the boat. His family from Denmark had been delayed an extra week in the states, not able to make it home because of the ash over Europe. The Icelandic that volcano grounded all planes. A lovely family, they enjoyed talking amongst themselves, and translating the stories and facts to their grandmother. The...

This just in from one of our great visitors...
Thank you so much for a wonderful day for me and my family yesterday. We loved the tour and the island. My wife and I are planning our retirement from the military vacation next year for the Seattle area and already plan on spending much of our time out there. Tristan and Jeannette were great!
Sincerely,
James Owens

We love hearing that everyone had a great time...

Thank You,
Jeannette (naturalist)
Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only...

Savoring the last day of Memorial Day weekend, Capt. Craig, Tristen, and I departed Friday Harbor aboard the MV Sea Lion with a boat full of guests, excited to see orcas. Yesterday was a new moon and today we had tide fluctuation of 12 feet (a -3.22 low) so we pushed on through choppy Cattle Pass, determined to catch up with J Pod. We reached J1, Ruffles, while parallel with the northen most portion of American Camp on the southern end of San Juan Island.

J Pod was busy foraging...