Aboard Kestrel, Captain Gabe, myself and a full boat of excited guests, headed out for our second trip of the day! We had reports of Transients orcas down south and were curious to see what group of whales were present. We had been with a group of Southern Resident Orca earlier that morning and now were hoping to encounter some other killer whales! It’s crazy to think that in just one day, we can see two different ecotypes of killer whales in the inland waters!!

We headed down the...

M/V Sea Lion was all boarded and ready to go along with Captain Pete, naturalist Jordan and myself. The sunset trip was sounding like a good one already with a report of southern resident orca within our range. The only problem was, we didn’t know whether to head south or north to get around to the West side of the island from Friday Harbor. We were hesitant that if we went one way versus the other, they would keep moving the opposite way and away making it harder for us to catch up...

Jordan | July 22, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 trip

Today was one of the warmest days of the summer which made the trip all the more enjoyable as the cool sea air made our boat perfectly pleasant. Captain Gabe and I heard reports of whales toward the north end of San Juan Island heading south through the Haro Strait.

So, we set out south down the San Juan Channel and through Cattle Pass, past Cattle Point lighthouse and up the west side of San Juan Island. But, before we reached the...

Jordan | July 19, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 trip

Our afternoon trip may have started with a bit of delay but the amazing whales that we saw were well worth the wait! As 2:00 rolled around, the sun came out and the skies cleared and it became a truly beautiful and warm Washington afternoon. Captain Mike and I received several reports of whales around the San Juan islands so we were excited to take our Kestrel vessel and explore the area.

First, we headed down the San Juan Channel and...

Jordan | July 19, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00 trip

The cloudy morning and brisk breeze chilled our Kestrel vessel as we headed out of Friday Harbor. Because it was so early, there were no reports of whales around the San Juan islands. So, Captain Mike and I headed out blind to try and find the wildlife.

We headed north through the San Juan Channel, cut up across Boundary Pass and wandered into Canada. Then we cut above Patos Island and then down through Rosario Strait. We stopped a...

Jordan | July 18, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 trip

Today was a lovely day with our beloved whales! The sun came out and we left the docks with high hopes of seeing some great wildlife! Captain Gabe and I heard reports of whales lounging about within the northern islands and along the Canadian border so we headed towards them!

We voyaged north up the San Juan Channel and passed beneath Spieden channel. We stopped here to see mouflon sheep grazing along the hillside! There even was a...

Jordan | July 18, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00 trip

Today was a lovely day! Even though the day started out with a gray, cloud covered sky with a brisk breeze in the air, by mid-trip, the clouds parted and blue skies lit up our morning.

Captain Gabe and I heard of whales on the west side of San Juan! So, excited to start the day, we booked it out of Friday Harbor and headed south through the San Juan Channel. We passed by southern point of San Juan, Cattle Point, and headed up the west...

Guests aboard M/V Sea Lion along with the Captain Gabe, naturalist Alexandria and myself had the most rewarding encounter today! Heading out for our second trip of the day, we were so excited to have seen the Southern Resident Orcas and were hoping they were still around and within our reach. Reports we were getting were not very encouraging and we were hesitant to go their way because it seemed that they were barely in our reach and moving quite fast north (opposite way of us)...

Guests aboard M/V Sea Lion along with the crew had quite a day today!  Heading out Naturalists Piper, Captain Gabe, and I were so excited that the Southern Resident Orcas had not yet left our waters. There were reports received earlier that morning about a group of them spread out on the West side of the island so we were excited to go look at what pod this was. We boarded M/V Sea Lion with the biggest smiles on our face and genuine excitement to see the Residents!

After boarding...

Jordan | July 15, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 trip

What a fantastic day out on the water! The trip started out very warm on the docks but as we got going and we created our own wind with the cold sea air surrounding us, people were grateful to have their adventure suits to keep them warm. Captain Mike and I decided to head down south through the San Juan Channel and stopped by Whale Rocks to see the harbor seals hanging out in the sun! It’s very important for the seals to get as much...