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Don't Krill My Vibe; Humpback Whales in the Salish Sea

Olivia | May 28th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today started off beautifully for Captain Gabe and me. It was such a small group of people that all decided they wanted to sit at the bow together, which allowed us to chat and hang out as our own family group. We started our route traveling past Waldron Island through Presidents Channel and saw Harbor Porpoises! This was very exciting since this is a wee bit of a hot spot for them in the shallow waters where there is an influx in...

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Abundant Wildlife in the Salish Sea!

Erin | Monday, May 27, 2019 | M/V Sea Hawk | 12:00 PM

Today we had some students from the University of Minnesota come out on our boat! They were studying at the Friday Harbor Labs to learn more about Marine Biology field study, and they came out with us to see some Salish Sea wildlife. It was a lovely, sunny day out on the water. We left from Roche Harbor and headed north towards Canadian waters. On our way to some reports, we saw some harbor porpoises! They were coming up to the...

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Bigg's Killer Whales in Friday Harbor

Bigg's Killer Whales off Vancouver Island

Olivia | May 27th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

What a gorgeous day in the Salish Sea! We traveled to the farthest edge of our range, making a four- hour trip, in order to find the Bigg’s Killer Whales. On route there, we had the most amazing warm weather, I don’t think we handed out one blanket! We were lucky enough to have many kiddos on the boat, one of which was the designated spotter right at the bow- a future Marine Biologist, he told me! We had a great time spotting the Stell...

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Canadian Killer Whales! 05/27/19

Today was honestly such a beautiful day full of many wonderful moments. We met our people by the store and got suited up even though it seemed way too warm to put on those jackets. But, we soon cooled down as we jumped on the boat and sped out into the chilly sea. Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel and headed north through the San Juan Channel. 

First, we stopped by Spieden Island and checked out some Steller sea lions! They were just off the point playing in the water and rolling...

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T65A Bigg's Killer Whales Around San Juan Island

A Whale of a Rainy Day on the Salish Sea; Bigg's Killer Whales and Humpbacks in the San Juan Islands

Olivia | May 25th, 2019 | M/V Seal Lion | 12:00pm 

The weather forecast called for rain, and the Pacific Northwest did not disappoint! With nearly a full boat, most of our passengers (Captain Pete and co- natty, Piper, included) were all dressed up in their rain slickers ready to brave the weather. The great thing about these marine mammals, is they don’t care if its sunny and 75 or pouring rain, they will be just as active. We made sure everyone was warm and cozy with many blankets...

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HBs and KWs in Canada! 05/25/19

Jordan | May 25, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 trip

As 11:00 am rolled around, the rain was still pouring down. But all our guests were troopers! So we embraced the soggy adventure and headed out into the fog! Navigating purely on GPS technology as the islands hid behind layers of mist, we wound our way around the San Juan Islands.

Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel and we headed north through the San Juan Channel passing by Spieden Island as we headed into Canadian waters! Then...

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Orcas AND Humpbacks Near Friday! 05/24/19

Jordan | May 24, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 4:00 trip

It's me again! Today was such a fantastic trip out on the water. Despite the gray Washington clouds overhead, the wildlife definitely birghtened our day. Captain Gabe and I, and our 8 new best friends, adventured out to sea in one of the fastest boats in San Juan! The Kestrel.

We headed north through the San Juan Channel and immediately got lucky with some harbor seal sightings! Trying to escape the frigid water, they all squeezed onto...

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Bigg's Killer Whales in Friday Harbor

Gray Skies, Black and White Whales, Vibrant Tour; Whale Watching in the San Juan Islands

Olivia E. | May 24th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Despite the gray skies, the tour did not disappoint; what an amazing day on the water! We started off by getting everyone geared up in their very trendy, yellow rain slickers and (of course) warm, cozy blankets. Starting off, everyone was having great conversation which was a fun way to interact as a group and connect for the next 3-4 hours. The boat was very excited to see the Steller Sea Lions relatively quickly, as they are...

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Four Humpbacks Fluking in Boundary Pass!

Piper | Wednesday, May 22, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

This lovely Wednesday morning the M/V Sea Lion was crewed by Captain Gabe and I, and we carried a great group of people north into San Juan Channel to scan the waters for whales. We made our way into Boundary Pass and across the border into Canadian waters where a report of humpback whales came through! We arrived at Saturna Island and Java Islets and we spotted the blows of two humpbacks surfacing next to each other! We...

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Humpback Whale

Windy the Humpback Whale Travels Around Saturna Island!

Erick | Tuesday, May 21, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00

Tuesday was another beautiful day out here in the archipelago. We headed out of Friday Harbor and turned north. We headed towards Spieden Island. Just around Yellow Island we saw a Minke Whale! These are smaller baleen whales that inhabitat the Salish Sea. They are around 30 feet long and are usually difficult ot watch but today was so calm it was easy to see this one. Minke Whales, also unusually, seem to stick to the same areas...

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