As we traveled south we had amazing views of Harbor Seals and Steller Sea Lions.  Both species were taking their afternoon siestas, soaking up the sunshine.  Many of the Harbor Seals were resting in a “banana” pose, keeping their head and hind flippers raised out of the frigid, 49°F water.   Whereas, the Steller Sea Lions were sprawled out across the island, making even the most jagged rocks look comfortable.

We then caught up with four Southern Resident Killer Whales near...

The weather was perfect: high around 70 degrees, clear blue sky, and very light breeze.  The only thing that could make it better would be a day with the Orcas.  Did you order up Orcas?

Yes, a large order, please!

Coming right up.

We ran north - through beautifully calm water, enjoying the spectacular scenery.  Mount Baker was a clear and crisp as I've ever seen it.  Along the way, we saw harbor porpoise, common murre, pigeon guillemot, and harbor seals swimming about.

As we...

We spent our afternoon near Victoria (48°25.3N, 123°09.5W) where we saw Southern Resident Killer Whales.  At least 15 members of J-Pod were traveling east, separated into 3 groups.  In the largest group 8 individuals were porpoising in close proximity with one another.  The whales were cruising at a fast clip, around 11 knots.  This larger group also performed some surface displays:  breaching, lobtailing, and rolling around at the surface.  We just love these whales (well...

As we left Friday Harbor there were no reports of Orca Whales so we motored south where a few Minke Whales had been seen.  Along the way we stopped for harbor seals resting on Turn Island and Steller Sea Lions sunning themselves on Whale Rocks.  We then cruised to Salmon Bank to look for the Minke Whales.  We only had to wait a few minutes before a Minke Whale surfaced 200 yards from the boat!   At that same time the Captain received a call on the radio that Orca Whales had been...

Minkes today!

Although our Southern Resident Killer Whales were nowhere to be found today, we did have luck finding Minke Whales. Not just one, but two (maybe even 3!) Minkes were in the Salmon Banks area, on the south side of San Juan Island (48°25.33’N, 122°59.94’W). Just rounding the corner out of Friday Harbor, a Bald Eagle majestically perched at the top of a fir on Turn Island. On the way out of San Juan Channel, eight Stellar Sea Lions sunned themselves on Whale Rocks, while...

Killer Whales from both K- and L-Pods were headed north along the westside of San Juan Island. The whales were reported heading north from Lime Kiln State Park. We caught up with the leaders near Open Bay (48°34.824N, 123°11.685W) who were mostly members of K-Pod. We traveled with these whales to Kellett Bluff where we waited for the rest of the group to travel north. We saw over 15 whales as they cruised by. At times we were surrounded by whales as a few individuals were traveling...

We began our Sunset Tour heading south through the San Juan Channel.  We stopped at Turn Island to see if anyone was home and sure enough a number of Harbor Seals were resting on the rocky shores of the intertidal zone.  After spending a few minutes with the Harbor Seals we continued motoring south and saw 7 Steller Sea Lions relaxing on Whale Rocks.  Another 2 Sea Lions were swimming nearby; these two individuals were very curious and kept inching closer to the boat as they...

Fantastic wildlife viewing today! Caught up with Southern Resident Killer Whales off East Point, Saturna Island, BC (48°27.25N, 123°02.35W). Viewed a large group of tightly packed members of J Pod, with J-37 (Hy’Shqa) and new baby tucked in between, moving westerly off Saturna Island at a slow pace. Lots of tail slapping, lob tailing, breaching, spy-hopping. Saw Bald Eagles in the trees and sitting on the rocks off Cactus Island. Guests witnessed a breathtaking dive bomb to the water...

Exciting day on the water! Leaving the harbor under rainy skies, we traveled north around San Juan Island. Happily, the skies dried and the sun soon came out just as we caught up with members of the Southern Resident Killer Whales in Haro Strait. Traveling along the west side of Stuart Island and milling in the Turn Point area (first sighted at 48°40.67N 123°14.92W) were: Onyx (L87), along with Slick (J-16) and her calf, Echo (J-42), Mike (J-26) and Alki (J-36). Our next sighting...

We had calm seas and a bright sunny day, perfect for wildlife watching! We departed Friday Harbor heading south, stopping to view harbor seals in the water and hauled out, as well as a bald eagle perched high in the tree tops. There were more seals around Goose Island, plus cormorants, gulls, and a large stellar sea lion playing in the bull kelp. Then, around whale rocks we saw three massive male steller sea lions hauled out on the rocks. One even started growling! It was awesome to...