Yesterdays trip turned out to be pretty great! Lots of whales, wildlife and rare findings! We left Friday Harbor and headed for the west side of San Juan Island to catch up with the T-120 group of mammal hunting transient orcas, stoping along the way to see harbor seals and steller sea lions.

When we got to the orcas they were traveling at a very fast speed, probably chasing their prey. Just as I was telling guests how orcas hunt cooperatively and come together in a tight group...

M/V Sea Lion and guests left Friday Harbor with the sun breaking through the clouds heading north. Captain Mike had reports of Transient Orcas in the Strait of Georgia. We decide to go through the Canadian Gulf Islands and through Georgesons Passage. This provided our guests with a very scenic view of the different islands. Once we got on scene we could see two young calfs, one juvenile, one adult female, and one adult male. The male was identified as T12A due to his unique dorsal...

It’s not often that we get to choose between viewing Bigg’s Killer Whales or Southern Resident Killer Whales on the same trip. That was the case today. I wish we could spread out this luck for the guests who didn’t get to see any killer whales on their trip. For a time during peak summer, we were striking out trip after trip, at a time when killer whale sightings should have been at their peak. That unpredictability is part of the fun of viewing killer whales in the wild.

So what did...

As the sun beat down on Captain Craig, the guests, and I we enjoyed a cool breeze as we left the harbor. With temperatures near 80 degrees today, everyone was thankful to be out on the water! We were lucky enough to have positive reports of transient orcas in Canadian waters. We arrived on scene near Gooch Island to find about 8 transient orcas milling in a kelp bed. After traveling past Mandarte Island the orcas appeared to find something to eat! While, it all happened under...

When we left Friday Harbor, today we didn't have an Orca report and were planning on heading south to look at Minke Whales for our 1:30 whale watch. However, we soon got word of some mammal hunting Orcas up north near Portland and Salt Spring Island in Canada! We were all very excited at the news, and even though it would be a long trip to get there, it was well worth it. Guest settled in on the bow and in the cabin and enjoyed the incredibly scenic ride up north into the Canadian...

It's been that kind of summer... Transient Orcas have been everywhere-surfacing in the distance, hunting for seals and porpoise, and giving us close encounters. It's been a little while since we saw Transients out on Middle Bank off the West side of San Juan Island. The M/V Kittiwake and guests went out to find them!

Transient Orcas have been seen much more than any other and we are certainly getting to know their habits and cultures more. The transients we saw today surprised us all...

This has been the summer to see Transient Orcas, which for me has been an absolute blast! Transients, unlike Resident Orcas, are much stealthier and tend to be more elusive in their feeding patterns. Since the Southern Residents Orcas seem to be feeding elsewhere for their fill of Chinook Salmon, it has created a gap in the population. Unlike past years where Residents were the "go to" whale to watch, now the Transients have filled that void.
Overall, Residents and Transients have an...

Today The M/V Kittiwake wasn't going to let a little thing like distance get in the way of seeing killer whales! Reports had Transient Orcas heading west near Discovery Island off the coast of Victoria, Canada. It was going to be quite the trek to get to these whales, but Captain Jim is never one to pass up on a challenge. On our way to the scene, we were able to spot some Harbor Seals, Harbor Porpoises, and even two Minke Whales. All this wildlife along the way would have made for...

The other day, our guests on M/V Kittiwake settled in for a long boat ride up north into Canada. There were reports of six Transient Orcas, but they were far North and moving away from us. Captain Jim and I decided to go for it though, there's no stopping us when there's Orcas involved! The best part about it was that the "long ride" didn't actually feel long at all since going north comes with some of the best scenery and aesthetically pleasing views I have ever seen. Great people...

Another great day on the water! M/V Sea Lion didn't have to motor very far in search of whales today since they were coasting along the inside passage of San Juan Island. From Friday Harbor to the whales it only took us 8.4 minutes! Not a bad day for whale watching. Once we met up with the 2 transients, we quickly realized the individual transients were T-21 and T-20, a mother and son pair. T-20 is a mature male who has a very distinctive notch in his dorsal fin. In addition to this...