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...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 10th, 2021 | 12:30pm

The day shifted from a cloudy, rainy morning into a beautiful sunny afternoon- just in time for our adventure trip on the zodiac. After getting everyone geared up in their exposure suits and a brief tutorial on spotting wildlife, we were off the dock and in search mode heading north! It was a quick trip up to speed, because we were fortunate enough to have reports of Bigg’s Killer Whales IN San Juan Channel when we left the dock. Since...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 9th, 2021 | 12:30pm 

Heading south through San Juan Channel, we started our whale watching adventure by checking in on a whale rumor in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. By the time we passed Cattle Point Lighthouse, we caught sight of black dorsal fins on the southwest side of San Juan Island. This was a delighted sight since the initial reports were far south in an area called Hein Bank, a shallow bank in the big waters if the strait. Bigg’s Killer Whales and...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 5th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Leaving the dock today, our Captain decided to push north towards some whale rumors creeping in from Speiden Channel. This made the easy decision to move north through San Juan Channel in hopes of seeing some large, black and white dolphins before they swam into Canada. With Covid-19 border restrictions still in effect, we are unable to view any whales in Canada as of right now, meaning we work as hard as possible to navigate around...

Abby | Kestrel | 6/4/2021

We had a long journey northward through the Strait of Georgia, right next to the Canadian border. The sky was cloudy and orca vibes fluttered among the sparkling blue-green waters of the Salish Sea. When we arrived at the last known location of some unidentified Bigg’s killer whales, we saw three blows on our port side. One on the starboard. Holy orcamole (like guacamole, get it?), one at our 12 o’clock! We were smack dab in the middle of an orca soup. They...

Abby | Kestrel | 5/30/2021

The boat was full and everyone suited up. The cetaceans were out of the country; two humpback whales in Canadian waters and the orcas from this morning also heading further into international territory. We took off out of the harbor and jetted North through San Juan Channel. At least the sun was on our side; nutrient-rich waters lit up while harbor porpoises somersaulted over small wave breaks in the sea.

We decided to try our luck with the humpbacks after...

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...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | May 27th, 2021 | 13:00 

Leaving the dock today, we had one of the lowest tides I have ever seen with the Super [Blood] moon in full effect this week. With mud flats extending below the pier and lots of crabs and critters making their debut, we set out in search of whales and wildlife. We also had the pleasure of leaving he dock with some reported orcas in the area. To give our guests the best chances of seeing these whales, we immediately started heading south...