Jordan | July 14, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00

It was such a fantastic day out on the water today! Captain Gabe and I heard reports of Southern Resident whales down near Discovery Island in Canada so we headed south down through the San Juan Channel.

BUT before we even reached Cattle Point, we found two humpback whales! It was incredible. These huge whales dove majestically together heading south. In fact, just as we were about to leave, they synchronously dove and both their tails...

Jordan | June 20, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 sunset

Captain Pete, Alexandria and I journeyed out of Friday Harbor for the 5:30 sunset tour on our quest to find the whales! The M/V Sea Lion headed north up the San Juan Channel, through the Spieden Channel to the West coast of Henry Island.

Here we found a group of Southern Resident orca whales! In fact, J pod was having a wonderful time scanning the shoreline for their salmon. We watched the whales jump and spy hop and slap the water...

[Saturday, 3/31/18 – 4:00PM – M/V Sea Lion – Naturalist Erick]

     On Saturday, there were so many folks that wanted to go watch fun wildlife that we had a second trip! In the summer we have two trips every day, but this was definitely a treat for this time of the year. Captain Mike and I picked up a new group of guests and headed back out. We headed north in San Juan Channel and pointed towards Boundary Pass. The Orcas of J Pod which we had left in the northern end of Haro Strait...

[Saturday, 3/31/18 – 12:00 – M/V Sea Lion – Naturalist Erick]

Happy end of March and Passover!

On Saturday it was so beautiful and there were so many folks that were interested in coming out with us that we had to take two trips out to see our wonderful wildlife! Captain Mike, Piper, and I took a great group of folks out. It was sunny and calm, and we couldn’t ask for a more perfect spring day. We headed south through San Juan Channel, passed through Cattle Pass and traveled...

[Sunday, 3/18/18 – 12:00 – M/V Sea Lion – Naturalist Erick]

This Sunday started like most days this spring. It was a little cloudy, the water was super calm, and Captain Mike and I went looking for some whales and other amazing wildlife in the waters around San Juan Island. We headed north and pointed towards Boundary Pass which is the border between Canada and the U.S. As we approached Java Rocks and Saturna Island we started to see a few dorsal fins emerge above the surface. They...

09/29/17- M/V Kestrel- 2PM

Today our guests were lucky enough to see a J pod party out on their whale watch!  We left Friday Harbor and headed down South toward Smith Island. 

On our way we stopped at Whale Rocks to see some Steller’s sea lions.  These guys are back in full force with dozens of individuals all over the rocks.  The Steller’s are one of my personal favorite animals to watch in this area.  There are pretty predictably at these rocks and they are always so many different...

09/27/17 – M/V Sea Lion – 12 PM

With great morning reports, M/V Sea Lion departed Friday Harbor Marina in search of Southern Resident orcas. The warm air giving the illusion that summer hadn’t left just yet, passengers relaxed in the sun on the bow as we headed to the south side of San Juan Island. Just as we rounded Cattle Point, there they were! Off in the distance were black knife-like dorsal fins cutting the surface after a bush of mist exhalation. Captain Gabe slowed our speed...

I often measure time in days, weeks, *gasp* months between whale encounters. In the winter orca encounters are sporadic, but as we creep into springtime there are more and more sightings and less and less time between those sweet moments.

This morning I rolled out of bed, ate some breakfast, took the dog for a walk at English Camp (look at the picture, she’s adorable), and then checked the reports from our Pacific Whale Watch Association member companies. I couldn’t help but grin...

She was my first wild orca. I will never forget that moment as I sat on the bow of the M/V Sea Lion, mere hours after stepping off the ferry, and I was looking at her family. I watched her glossy back break the surface and heard that powerful "kwoof" that instantly became my favorite sound. I took in every detail of her closed saddlepatch and petite dorsal fin with a scallop out of the trailing edge before she dove below the surface.  With a wandering tear rolling over my cheek, and...

Today was a tearful one. It was Captain Pete and Naturalist Hannah’s last day this season, but before they left me all alone we had the best day ever. All three of us along with a whole boatful of great humans headed south today. We made it all the way to the Strait of Juan de Fuca to find the orcas. Today it was the Southern Resident Orcas that we were watching. These are the salmon eating orcas and their population is critically endangered. Today we saw two families of J pod. The J...