Abby | Kestrel | 6/20/2021

Captain Brian, Captain Eric, and I left Friday Harbor looking for the same matriline that we saw this morning. On the way, we saw some new harbor seal pups off Turn Island. Somehow, we had amazing luck right after this viewing, because some Bigg’s killer whales were right next to Jackle’s Lagoon on San Juan Island! We drifted in the water with the engine off for some time while we listened to the exhales of the T049A matriline:

• T049A (Female, 1986)
  
  • T049A1...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | June 18, 2021 | 12:30pm

Today’s wildlife viewing was quite exceptional. We departed from Friday Harbor heading East on an inter-island excursion. We navigated the channels of the Salish Sea with Koma Kulshan (aka Mount Baker) off of our port and Tahoma (aka Mount Rainier) a mound in the distance at 150 miles away! 

Nearing the port of Anacortes, our captain Gabe spotted the exhales of distant orcas about ½ mile off shore. The killer whales were swimming in...

It was an awesome wildlife day in the Salish Sea! After a smooth exit out of Friday Harbor, we began our search for wildlife southbound in San Juan Channel. Our first stop was at Whale Rocks to look at two kinds of Pinnipeds: Steller Sea Lions and Harbor Seals! While the Harbor Seals were peacefully hauled out, the hefty Steller Sea Lions splashed around the shallow waters and roared fiercely. Observing pinnipeds cohabitating helped us distinguish their differences in size...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 06/13/2021 10:00am

Today was so amazing! Captain Brian, Captain Erick and I took off out of Friday Harbor and headed north towards the Canadian border.

As we approached Sandy point on Waldron Island, we saw an orca whale! On closer investigation we saw that he was a transient whale named T124C. He is a huge male with a six-foot-tall dorsal fin born in 1992. We watched as he gracefully travelled through the glassy waters.

The sea was incredibly calm as we...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | June 13, 2021 | 5:30pm

Our sunset trip began traveling south through San Juan Channel. Visibility was great with the surrounding landscape crisply defined. We could see Koma Kulshan (Mount Baker) off of our Port (left side), Mount Rainier straight ahead down through the channel, and the Olympic Peninsula’s jagged mountaintops following down our Starboard (right side) out towards the Pacific Ocean. 

A Gray whale was sighted traveling south along San Juan...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 12th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Every day is a complete surprise on where we travel around the Salish Sea depending on where whales and wildlife are being spotted. That means, often we head off in one direction and end up turning a different way. Today was one of those days where we initially pointed south down San Juan Channel and immediately got a report of a Gray Whale picked up just north of Friday Harbor. By the time we got on scene, the baleen whale was on the...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 05/30/2021 | 2:00pm

Captain Pete and I enjoyed a beautiful day today! 

We grabbed our guests and headed north out of Friday Harbor towards northern waters to explore. We shot up in between Waldron and Orcas Island and spotted a whole group of harbor porpoises bobbing up and down all around us! They were so cute. 

As we reached Patos Island near the boarder of Canada, we enjoyed a gorgeous view of the lighthouse and Mount Baker glowing in the sun amongst the...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | May 30th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Our sunny Sunday started off with heaps of Pigeon Guillemots exploring the inner Friday Harbor as we slowly made our way out of the hustle and bustle of the holiday traffic. Scouting out reports from multiple directions around the San Juan Islands, we made the decision to head north up San Juan Channel in the direction of the outer islands!

We were able to pass not only more Pigeon Guillemots, but also Rhinoceros Auklets, a variety of...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | May 29th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Kicking off Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, we left the dock with Koma Kulshan (Mount Baker) standing tall on the blue horizon as the water below sparkled in the mid-morning sun. Captain Gabe decided to start our adventures south through San Juan Channel. With the glassy water laid out in front of us, it made our ventures easy to spot Harbor Porpoise surfacing for a warm breath of air. These chocolate chip dorsal fins really stand out...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 05/22/2021 10:00am

You could not have asked for a better trip than the one we had today! It started off as a classic gray Washington day as Captain Brian and I took the Kestrel out into the foggy waters.

We headed south down the San Juan Channel, past Cattle Point Lighthouse until we stopped at some Steller sealions! There was a few grouped together but one massive sealion was staring at all of us on board and showing off his massive size. It sure seemed like...