Olivia | June 27, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Our morning trip out on M/V Kestrel definitely started off as an adventure as we were getting everyone suited up in the rain. Despite the June showers, we wore smiling faces as we set out to find the whales we received word about. We traveled north through the San Juan Channel and made a pit stop at Flattop Island to look at some Harbor Seals who were napping on the coastline. Things heated up fast as we then saw a bunch of Pigeon...

Olivia | June 26, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

What a spectacular day on the water! We started off the trip heading north through the San Juan Channel and rounding the northern end of San Juan Island through Spieden Channel. Prior to this, we had already started to see Harbor Porpoises swimming around which was a fun start to the trip. These Harbor Porpoises are a common cetacean found in our waters. Since they are so shy, we tend to view them as we carry on at speed.

We continued to...

Erin | M/V Sea Lion | Sunday, June 23, 2019 | 1:30 PM

Today was a lovely day out on the water! We began the trip with a harbor seal in the harbor right by our boat! We then left Friday Harbor and headed north toward a report of a humpback whale. On our way, we saw harbor porpoises in San Juan Channel. We ended up near Patos Island and got an excellent view of the lighthouse. We then got to see a bald eagle's nest! Their nest can be 6 feet deep and weigh 2,000 pounds! There was even a...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 06/23/19 | 11:00am
 

The day started with clouds floating low in the sky. It wasn’t the typical overcast but somehow much more beautiful as they hid the distant mountains. Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel out of Friday Harbor and headed north through the San Juan Channel.

We sped towards this beautiful island called Flattop and stopped along its shoreline. Here we found a bald eagle perched high in a tree, its white head glowing in the light. Then we saw...

Laura C. | 6-22-2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30pm

The 5:30pm whale watch was gorgeous!  We headed north aboard M/V Sea Lion and were ecstatic to find two families traveling together near Patos Island, T36As and T65As!  There was no mistaking the large teenage male of the T65A family as he cruised along with his mother and siblings.  The calf seemed very energetic this evening and may have been excited to be a part of a special social gathering with another family.  Watching the...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 06/21/19 | 12:00pm

The sun shone high in the sky on this lovely Friday in Friday Harbor! Almost immediately, the crew received reports of whales not too far away, so everyone got really excited.

Captain Pete, Naturalist Erin and I took our vessel, the Sea Lion, out of the harbor and headed south through the San Juan Channel. Passing between San Juan and Lopez, we boated past Cattle Point lighthouse, a beautiful southern point to our island. Then, we turned...

Laura C. | 6-21-2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Today was a gorgeous day aboard M/V Kestrel with Captain Gabe leading our voyage!  We headed south and were lucky right off the bat, finding harbor seals, Steller’s sea lions and a pair of bald eagles all sharing some small rocky islands right near San Juan Island.  We all were able to appreciate the sheer size of a hefty male sea lion as he shimmied his way towards the edge of the rocks, surrounded by basking females.  The harbor seals...

Laura C. | 6-21-2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Today was a gorgeous day aboard M/V Kestrel with Captain Gabe leading our voyage!  We headed south and were lucky right off the bat, finding harbor seals, Steller’s sea lions and a pair of bald eagles all sharing some small rocky islands right near San Juan Island.  We all were able to appreciate the sheer size of a hefty male sea lion as he shimmied his way towards the edge of the rocks, surrounded by basking females.  The harbor seals...

Laura C.| 6-20-19 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

What a spectacular day out on the water!  We traveled south through San Juan Channel towards Cattle Point and our first marine mammal encounters consisted of Steller’s sea lions!  It was so exciting to get some up close and personal looks at these charismatic creatures basking in the sun and jumping in and out of the cool water.  There were a couple of massive males present on the rocks as well!  These sea lions were quite active today and...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 06/17/19 | 12:00pm

What an unbelievably special day out on the water! The sun was shining brightly in the sky and filled everyone with excitement immediately. Captain Erick, naturalist Piper and I took our largest boat, the M/V Sealion out of Friday harbor towards promising prospects up north. We went up through the San Juan Channel, past Flattop Island and into Boundary Pass.

With Canada in the distance, we spotted our whales off the north point of Stuart...