Lauren | M/V Kestrel | 6.1.2022 | 10:00 AM

Captain Eric and I were off the dock at 10:00 am today with our boat only half full… A post Memorial Day lull if you will? With an entire boat to themselves, our eight passengers still packed into the front of M/V Kestrel. The front of our zodiac proves to be the bumpiest spot during the ride. It seemed we had true adventures seekers on our hands, and we were excited to show them around the Salish Sea!

Our first stop was at Flattop Island to...

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | 5.29.2022 | 5:30 PM

It is finally sunset season here at San Juan Safaris and I couldn’t be more excited! Sunset trips are my absolute favorite... Nothing beats watching whales with a setting sky as your backdrop. Memorial Day weekend went out with a bang with a visit from a frequent Bigg’s Killer Whale family, the T075B’s!

As we left Friday Harbor on M/V Sea Lion, we weren’t sure what our 5:30 pm trip was going to bring. The whale reports from earlier in the...

Haleigh | M/V Kestrel | May 27, 2022 | 2:00 pm

Humpback Whale season is in full swing with many of these migratory animals returning to the Salish Sea! For our Friday Morning trip, we departed the harbor heading northbound in search of a Humpback sighting. We stopped along the way at a haul out of Steller’s Sea Lions. These enormous males were some of the largest I have seen around here. With each weighing approximately 2000 lbs, we watched them brawling along the rocky shoreline...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | May 23rd, 2022 | 12:30pm

The Pacific Northwest decided to pull one of her most cliché moves by raining on a day that didn’t call for it; but off we went with happy faces ready for whatever the day brought. Heading north, we stopped at Flattop Island admiring heaps of Pigeon Guillemots with their red feet bold against the green water. Nearby we found several Harbor Seals swimming along the basalt rock as well as an adult Bald Eagle stoically looking across the...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | May 6th, 2022 | 12:30pm

Leaving the dock at the start of a trip is not only normal for the shoulder season, but for peak season as well. With no whales tagged in these waters, everything is found on visual sight. Today we left the dock and decided to take a chance heading north while other vessels in the Pacific Whale Watch Association were searching down south. This worked in our favor because about 20 minutes into our trip, another vessel spotted not one...

Laura / M/V Sea Lion / 4/15/2022 / 12:30 PM

Today was a wonderful experience out in the Salish Sea with a most exciting orca encounter!  We departed Friday Harbor with a morning report of Bigg’s killer whales traveling up the west side of San Juan Island, so we immediately went northbound in hopes of seeing them in the Haro Strait.  We stopped along Spieden Island to view over 50 active Steller sea lions hauled out on Green Point and swimming in Spieden Channel!  There were a couple...

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | 3.24.2022 | 12:30 PM 

As M/V Sea Lion headed out of Friday Harbor and into San Juan Channel, we were immediately greeted by four Steller’s sea lions swimming near the coast of Friday Harbor Labs. This “stellar” encounter set the mood for the rest of the trip. If having a wildlife encounter within the first 5 minutes of leaving the dock isn’t a good sign, then I don’t know what is!

As we headed north, we stopped in Rocky Bay and got some good looks at a handful...

Maxx K. | M/V Osprey | 07/27/2021 | 5:30pm

    Osprey left Friday Harbor heading north this evening. Our morning trip left a family of Bigg’s Killer Whales off Lime Kiln on the west coast of San Juan Island. A mere three hours later this same family was reported up and over Orcas Island, approaching Sucia Island. It took us a little over 40 minutes to reach them: 

T037A Volker (1994, F)

T037A1 Inyo (2007, M)

T037A2 Inky (2009, —)

T037A3 Spinnaker (2013, —)

T037A4 Crinkle (2015, —)

Maxx K. | M/V Osprey | 07/05/2021 | 5:30pm

    There were only a few people booked for our sunset trip tonight but ohh boy were they in for a treat! When we left Friday harbor we turned north towards a family of Bigg’s Killer Whales we had seen earlier that morning, the T046B’s. 

    We followed alongside them for several minutes as they moved into Boundary Pass just north of the San Juan Channel. When we arrived on scene they had just successfully hunted a harbor porpoise, the...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel | July 4th, 2021 | 10:00am

Setting out this holiday morning, we were one of the first vessels in the Pacific Whale Watch Association to leave the dock in search of whales and other wildlife. Making sure to scan as many bodies of water around the salish sea as we could, including inner waterways, our travels first took us to New Channel where the Cactus Islands sit. We immediately stumbled upon an amazing experience I have never witnessed before. Over a dozen...