Kelly | M/V Sea Lion | October 12th, 2024 | 12:30pm

We had a full boat of guests on this gorgeous fall afternoon. The sky was clear and the weather was especially temperate for this time of year. After quickly investigating a bait ball (tight concentration of small schooling fish) we took a sharp right turn and motored down san Juan channel past Cattle Point. We were heading toward a reported location of 5 Biggs Killer whales identified as the T35a's made up of:

• T35A "Lester" 1998 F
• T35A1 "Opal"...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | September 22nd, 2024 | 2:00 pm

Our afternoon brought us on another great adventure in the Salish Sea! We left Friday Harbor under cloudy skies, and quickly made our way north as we had some exciting reports in the Strait of Georgia in Canada. We made a quick stop to look at a group of harbor seals on some islands in San Juan Channel, but soon continued on to the north. As we neared the Canadian border, the rain began to pick up but we were not deterred! We continued...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | September 9th, 2024 | 12:30 pm

Today was a happy Monday aboard the M/V Sea Lion as we set out from Friday Harbor on our Classic Whale Watch. We had reports of a group of whales far in the north, so we headed in that direction up San Juan Channel to reach them. We traveled up the western side of Orcas Island, traveled a bit east, and then north between Sucia and Matia Islands. After a bit more travel north into the Strait of Georgia, we finally reached the scene of...

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...

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

But wait, did we just witness history in the Salish Sea?

Captain Brian and I caught word of three families of Bigg’s Killer Whales north in the Strait of Georgia. Leaving the harbor, we debated if we could make it there and back in our allotted tour time, with how far away they were moving. It didn’t take us long to decide to go there once we heard there was a Humpback Whale not too far away. To Georgeson Pass we went!

Coming out of...

Haleigh | M/V Kestrel | August 15, 2021 | 2:00pm

As we loaded M/V Kestrel and shoved off there was excitement in the air - the search for whales had begun! We headed north towards Canadian waters, and although we expected choppy waters we had nothing but smooth sailing. The puffy white clouds reflected down in the glassy waters as we skimmed along in the zodiac.

We headed into the Strait of Georgia near Point Roberts, at the very tip of US waters. Then, in the distance, we saw a...

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...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 07/03/2021 2:00pm

Captain Erick and I had a beautiful day travelling around the Salish Sea. The sunny day brought high energy to all the guests and I as we hopped on the Kestrel and headed north through the San Juan Channel.

We passed along the west coast of Orcas Island enjoying the cliffsides when all of a sudden, we spot a bald eagle sitting high in the tree tops. As we inched closer, we saw it was a juvenile bald eagle covered in brown with white speckles...

Olivia | M/V Osprey | June 11th, 2021 | 12:30pm

Let me preface this blog with saying: This was the BEST HUMPBACK WHALE EXPERIENCE OF MY ENTIRE LIFE.

We love the fact that more and more baleen whales are returning to these waters year after year and coming back with their young calves, who in turn return the following year as well. Once heavily whaled out of this area, it took a long time (this most recent decade, in fact) for these whales to start returning to our waters to feed. One...