Today we had another trip on our adventure boat, M/V Kestrel! It was another stunning summer day in the San Juan Islands. We had blue skies, calm seas, and a light breeze. Capt. Brian and I took a group of guests out to go search for some amazing wildlife in the Salish Sea! There had been reports of Southern Resident Killer Whales on the west side of San Juan Island and a report of some Bigg’s (Transient) Killer Whales east of us in Rosario Strait. These types are both orcas but have...

Laura | M/V Sea Lion | 7/2/2020 | 13:30

    Today was a magical day on the west side of San Juan Island!  I am ecstatic to report K pod received the upmost welcome back as they made their way up and down the shoreline, foraging and enjoying their time back home!  There are 17 individuals left in this pod, and we were all able to see them spread out and moving through the water in their natural habitat, a heart-filled experience that hopefully we will be able to see again one day.  

Woah! It’s July. When did that happen? It definitely does not feel like July which I bet most people around the world can commiserate with. On top of that we are getting some classic early July Pacific Northwest weather here. Captain Sarah and I headed out into the gray day and light rain to go searching for more exciting wildlife in the San Juans. We headed south towards San Juan Channel and Cattle Pass. As we entered the pass the rain let up and we soon saw a Minke Whale around...

It is only the second day that we have taken M/V Kestrel out this season, and it was a great one. We headed out and took a quick peak at some Harbor Seals sunning themselves on rocks near Turn Island. They looked up at us as we passed by and we got to see their cute, fuzzy faces. After watching them for a while we got a report of some possible orcas just south of us. We traveled south and soon saw them rounding Long Island. They were Bigg’s Orcas! These are the type of orcas that we...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | June 28, 2020 | 13:30

Today as quite the adventure, and a well needed one at that! We started off the trip with the fastest introduction speech of wildlife and the Salish Sea that I have done to date. The reason for the rushed speeches as we set off was because there were whale sightings far away and heading north. Captain Pete was anxious to start our travels as soon as possible in order to give our guests that black and white glimpse they were itching to...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | June 28, 2020 | 13:30

Today as quite the adventure, and a well needed one at that! We started off the trip with the fastest introduction speech of wildlife and the Salish Sea that I have done to date. The reason for the rushed speeches as we set off was because there were whale sightings far away and heading north. Captain Pete was anxious to start our travels as soon as possible in order to give our guests that black and white glimpse they were itching to...

Sunday June 22, 2020

Happy Father’s Day to everyone! We know it is technically supposed to be summer these days but up here in the PNW summer seems to have a slow start. We left Friday Harbor on a little bit of an overcast day, but as we left and headed north the weather started to clear. We headed up towards Flattop Island where we got to see some sleepy Harbor Seals sunning themselves on the rocky coastline. As we passed them two Bald Eagles popped into view in one of the Douglas...

Erick | Sunday, November 10, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | Noon

                We’re quickly moving into November and soon it will be the last trip of the year! This Sunday, we received great sunny weather with a slight breeze as we headed out with Capt. Pete at the wheel as well as Sarah and myself along as Naturalists. We headed north towards reports of whales that Brain, the owner of San Juan Safaris and Sarah had found earlier this morning! As we approached Green Point on Spieden...