Joining us for an Upcoming Whale Watching Trip?! Yay- So glad to hear it! There is so much to do in Friday Harbor you’ll want to make every moment count the second you get here!  Once you arrive on island feel free to stop by our office and we will get you checked in, as well as provide you with a map of the island- and of course point out some of our favorite spots to check out.  But before you get here read on to find out some of our favorite things to do- in the very walkable town...

Today we got to see a group of transient orca whales just north of San Juan Island.  On our way out of Friday Harbor we got a look at a swimming juvenile Steller’s sea lion.  We then continued to head out of the Harbor and went into Presidents channel where we came across the T137’s.  When we first got on scene the whales were all spread out and foraging for any tasty mammal snacks.  We watched as the whales were spread out but surfaced in unison.  We then got to see them alternate...

[Tuesday, 6/27/18 - M/V Sea Lion - 5:30PM - Naturalist Erick]

On Tuesday, Captain Mike and myself were on our own with a smaller group of guests on the sunset tour - aka my favorite tour. We went south through San Juan Channel and Cattle Pass to eventually head towards the southern end of Rosario Strait. We were pointed in this direction to look for a Humpback Whale that we had seen during the afternoon trip. On our way there we stopped at Whale Rocks in Cattle Pass to look at the...

Captain Pete and I were taking off for our second trip of the day along with a handful of cheerful guests. We had been with some transient orcas earlier today who had swum out of our reach for our sunset trip, so we were hoping to find a humpback hanging out nearby. We headed down the San Juan Channel as the wind started to pick up and cause the waters to get a bit choppy. Once we reached Whale Rocks, we had to stop and say hi to our Steller Sea lions who seem to have chosen to...

[Sunday, 6/10/18 - M/V Sea Lion - Noon - Naturalist Erick]

On Sunday, Captain Pete, myself, and one of the new Naturalists, Jordan, left with a super group aboard M/V Sea Lion to search the Salish Sea for all it’s wonderful critters. First, we made our way towards the outer islands of the San Juan archipelago. These Islands are where the U.S. and Canada border is located and are more sparsely populated then the four main islands a little bit south. Just north of PAtos Island with...

[Saturday, 6/9/18 - M/V Kestrel - 2:00PM - Naturalist Erick]

On Saturday we headed out for another wonderful wildlife filled trip in the San Juan Islands. Captain Mike and I took a lovely group of folks out on M/V Kestrel into the bright, sunny, and calm day. We went south along the Shaw Island shoreline and took an inter-island route to near Obstruction Island. As you pause and san the horizon here it looks like you’re trapped in between Orcas, Shaw, Lopez, and Blakely Islands...

Friday, June 1, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 PM

What. A. Day! Captain Gabe, myself, and our guests headed out of Friday Harbor this afternoon to a report of whales on the southeast corner of Lopez Island. We started off by heading south through San Juan Channel, stopping at a haul-out of harbor seals which were especially well-camouflaged to resemble the outcropping of rock on which they were resting. We continued south until we reached Whale Rocks where we spotted a sea otter which was...

[Sarah – 05/12/2018 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

We had a lovely day out on the water full of wildlife and enlightening ecological discussion. Leaving the dock we steered the M/V Sea Lion north through San Juan Channel towards the Canadian Gulf Islands. We took a break in our journey north to check out some Steller’s sea lions hauled out on the rocks at Green Point, before pressing further on in our journey. Communicating with all of the other boats on the water, we decided to take an...

[Sarah – 05/11/2018 – M/V Kestrel – 1:00pm]

Ahhhhhhhhh… another great spring day in the Salish Sea, perfect for taking the speedy M/V Kestrel out on the water! After getting suited up, we headed out to explore this beautiful inland sea! Captain Mike and I decided to head North towards the Canadian Gulf Islands for the day. As much as previous days’ reports do not forecast sightings, the northern reaches of our range at the mouth of the Strait of Georgia have been off the hook...

[Sarah – 05/10/2018 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00pm]

Captain Mike and I had an amazing spring trip aboard M/V Sea Lion with a marvelous group of guests! Everyday in the month of May we inch closer and closer to what we consider our peak season to see orcas, but don’t tell the whales that!! We’ve experienced an incredible early season with sightings of orcas and humpbacks on about 75% of our trips, far higher a percentage that our predicted 50%!

We left the dock with an early report of...