Sarah | 10/28/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

We had an amazing fall day on the water on Sunday’s trip. With a varied weather forecast we weren’t sure what we’d get out on the water, but for the most part we were treated to sun and beautiful cloudscapes. Captain Mike and I decided to head north out of Friday Harbor on the search for wildlife, as other boats in the whale watching fleet left their docks as well. This is an incredibly valuable network of communication that allows us to...

Sarah | 10/27/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

This time of year you just have no idea what you’ll see out on the water here in the Salish Sea, and Saturday’s trip was a great example of the amazing array of wildlife you can see in a single trip!

After leaving Friday Harbor we started encountering wildlife. Almost immediately we encountered a pair of bald eagles and a Steller’s sea lion. After some great looks with the wildlife we continued north towards Canada. On the way we stopped to...

Sarah | 10/16/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Yesterday’s Classic Whale Watch was one for the books! Captain Brian, Jacob and I too the M/V Sea Lion on her farthest trip yet in search of whales and other wildlife. With a great group of guests, sunny weather, and smooth water conditions we were able to go the distance to share a great array of wildlife with our guests.

We left Friday Harbor with a report of whales way to the west of Victoria, BC, just south of Race Rocks Lighthouse and...

[Saturday, 10/6/18 - M/V Sea Lion - Erick]

This Saturday, Captain Mike, Rachel, and I took a full crew of passengers out on M/V Sea Lion on a beautiful fall day! We headed out on this sunny afternoon and started going south. We made our first stop at Turn Rocks just on the other side of Turn Island. Here we saw our first marine mammals, some Harbor Seals! There was a bunch of them sunning themselves on the rocks. These little rock sausages are so adorable and sleepily looked back...

[M/V Sea Lion Noon Thursday 10/4/18]

Since it is October there are less trips, crisp breezes, and great fall weather. Captain Mike, Alexandria, and I took a great, full boat out with us on M/V Sea Lion. Today was bright and crisp. We headed south against the tide and went through Cattle Pass. We passed Cattle Point Lighthouse and headed southwest past Salmon Bank and pointed towards Hein Bank down in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. As we approached the bank we started to see blows off in...

Piper | 09/29/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today began as a blustery September Saturday on San Juan Island. Captains Gabe and Sarah and I hopped aboard the M/V Sea Lion with a great group of adventurers and off into the Salish Sea we went! We didn't have to go very far today, though, because we'd barely finished watching a bald eagle soar off Point Caution before we were watching a group of Bigg's killer whales meander down San Juan Channel! This group of orcas was identified based...

Captain Mike, Sarah, and myself took out a wonderful group aboard M/V Sea Lion to look for the wide array of wildlife that we have the opportunity to watch in the Salish Sea in September. We took our group south through San Juan Channel towards Cattle Pass. We made our first stop mid channel in between San Juan and Lopez Islands to look at a Steller Sea Lion that had just surfaced! It was our first marine mammal of the day! This adult male had just returned to the surface after...

Sarah | 09/21/2018 | M/V Kestrel | 01:00pm

We had an amazing day on the water, traveling further south than Captain Mike and I had ever taken one of our boats before, and most importantly, saw killer whales! When we left Friday Harbor we had no reports of killer whales in the area, but days on the water can change moment by moment.

Leaving Friday Harbor, our plan was originally to head north past Shaw and Orcas Islands, up towards the Canadian Gulf Islands. When we have no reports...

Today was an incredible day on our afternoon adventure tour from Friday Harbor. It was one of those September days that I spend allllllll summer thinking about. We left the dock under bright blue skies with great reports of whales around the San Juan Islands.

We headed north towards the reports of whales, and first encountered a pair of humpback whales know as BCY0160 “Heather” and BCY0660 “Raptor.” As we got on to scene one of the massive whales lifted its pectoral fins out of the...

Guests aboard M/V Sea Lion along with Cpt. Gabe, naturalist Alexandria and I were excited to get on the water on this rainy September day with a report of transient and southern resident orcas in our area. Eager to get everyone on the boat and ready to pick up speed we took off to go find these animals ourselves. 

As of earlier, the transient orca report had been spotted by kayakers and no one else, so we went to the general area to try and find them again. With no luck or dorsals in...