Another interesting day on the water....the same two K-pod members, mama K-20 and 5 year old calf K-38 were on the move and at quite a clip! We caught up with these 2 resident Orcas in Canadian waters off the Gulf Islands. They definitely covered some ground (or should i say sea)...since yesterday when we saw them in the Strait of Juan de Fuca east of Port Angeles. Our guests really did enjoy the serenity of watching the whales surface while listening as they breathed! We turned...

On our Saturday trip we were delighted to finally see a couple members of the Southern Resident Community back around the San Juan Islands! Strangely, however, it was just K20, Spock, and her offspring, K38, Comet.K Pod members are rarely seen travelling for so long without the rest of their pod. So, today when we yet again saw K20 & K38 travelling as a duo, people are left scratching their heads as to the whereabouts of the rest of K Pod. Luckily, though, seeing orcas is always awesome and we...

What a wonderful welcome home! With it just being my 2nd day back in the islands, I and the other guests aboard the MV Sea Lion were welcomed with great views of a couple of Orca whales, harbor seals and soaring eagles!
We spent the afternoon cruising north from Friday Harbor, straight shooting it for the Canadian waters off of Saturna Island, British Columbia to catch-up with a few members of K-pod. (K-pod being one of the three local resident pods of Orcas.) With the incoming...

We watched a gray whale just offshore of Whidbey Island near the Naval Air Force Base.
We watched as the whale would blow 3 to 6 times and then take a dive for a couple of minutes.
Everyone loved the heart shaped spray that the exhale makes from gray whales.
I really find it interesting that gray whales feed on benthic crustaceans in sediment.

We then headed Northwest of Smith Island and looked for a minke whale that had been seen. Some of the guests got a great view of the small...

The reports of Orcas are starting to roll in, but they are still too far West for us to get to them. Our Gray Whale friend, whom I have dubbed Clyde the glide, was possibly still in the waters near the naval air station, but our stalwart group clamored for something out of the ordinary. So South we headed, but for Hein Bank instead of Whidbey Island.

Our own parrot owning Capt. Craig toured us through breathtakingly calm waters in the Strait of Juan de Fuca where there were...

What a day to see gray. A whale that is. As our balmy (82 degrees F, 28% humidity) weather continues here in the San Juan Islands we took to the seas to find cool breezes and cool animals. True to our Pacific Northwest abundance we were not disappointed. Craig expertly captained the MV Sea Lion while Jeanette and I performed for the crowd. Our boisterous group of guests, along with Junior Mariners, were super wildlife spotters and found lots of things for everyone to see.

The waters...

Gray whale today near Whitbey Island Naval Base.

These whales have a streamlined body with a narrow, tapered head. Gray whales are always great to watch. We observed the whale foraging. We even saw the whales fluke.

Gray whales are bottom sediment feeders. The whale exhibited the predictable breathing pattern. Gray whales are a mysticete or baleen whale and have two blow holes.

Sometimes you can see a heart or v-shaped spray shape. This is really cool... We also got to see some harbor...

Today we left Friday Harbor at about 1 pm and headed out south past Cattle Point in the Strait of Juan De Fuca.
We found some Transient orcas! These orca usually hang near Canada and usually in a small bunch 5 to 6 whales.
I think we counted about 12 to 16 individuals traveling all together and from what I have read and heard this is rare.

The transient orcas were amazing. I was really impressed with them. Our guests were very excited about their encounter. On the way back our...

What a nice cozy trip we had today on the MV Kittiwake. With thirteen super guests, Capt. Craig at the helm and me sharing all of the knowledge that I could, there was no way we could have anything other than a great day. On a 32' boat everyone gets to be fast friends and the nice small group is almost like a private charter.

With the Orcas still busy at sea and the South end of the island fogged in we set off to find our kicks elsewhere. And what a time we had. There were Bald...

It was all sunshine and smiles again today on the MV Sea Lion as Capt. Nancy took Ashley, a great group of guests and me over to Whidbey Island for some more Gray Whale watching. As almost always there was a little bit of chop to the water as we motored through Cattle Pass, but it was smooth sailing after that. We got great looks at Mt. Baker and the Olympic Peninsula, but clouds to the South obscured Mt. Rainier today. The last few days have definitely lent credence to the old...