Erick | Wednesday, April 10, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 

This Wednesday brought us back to very on brand Pacific Northwest spring weather. Low-lying clouds scraped the canopy of the evergreen forests that cover the San Juan Islands intermittently dipping low enough to brush us with a light rain. Captain Brian and I took a smaller group out on M/V Sea Lion to look for a wonderful array of wildlife in the Salish Sea. As we left Friday Harbor, we turned north to travel up San Juan...

Erick | Tuesday, April 9, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 

It was raining in the morning here, but by the time we were taking our lovely passengers out to go find some exciting wildlife the sun had come out on another glorious spring day. Captain Brian, Alexandria, and myself took this group aboard M/V Sea Lion north through San Juan Channel. We made our first stop at Green Point on Spieden Island to view the smorgasbord of pinnipeds hauled out there. On the sunbaked rocky shore there...

[Sarah | 04/7/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

Today Captain Brian and I took a lovely group of guests out to explore the Salish Sea. After a few days of windy conditions, it was nice to be out on the water in relatively calm conditions. We started our day by taking a left out of Friday Harbor, pointing north on the hunt for wildlife. This time of year is still considered early season for orcas, but we have enjoyed over 75% success rate this spring, so spirits and optimism were high!

W...

Erick | Monday, March 25, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 

It felt a little bit more like normal springtime weather today. There was a heavy grey cloud cover that diffused all the sun light, but the good news is that the clouds were quite high up so you could still see far into the distance where Mt. Baker loomed on one side and the Olympic Mountains stretched west on the other. Captain Mike, Alex, and I took an excited group out to look for all the fun spring time wildlife in the...

Erick | Sunday, March 24, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 

Listen to the Bigg's Orca Vocals we recorded this day here

Yet another day of beautiful sunny weather today. Captain Mike and I took a pretty large group of folks out on M/V Sea Lin to look for some marine wildlife in the San Juan Islands. We left Friday Harbor and headed north towards the northern edge of the islands. We made our first stop at Flattop Island. This whole island is a nature preserve and it is a perfect spot to...

[Sarah | 03/23/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

Today was spectacular… there is no other way to put it. Oftentimes today the waters of the Salish Sea were so calm that the islands and tiny puffy clouds were reflected perfectly in the surface. It feels like spring all through the islands, with flowers sprouting and baby animals running around on the slope of Spieden Island. We left Friday Harbor with an early morning report of orcas spotted on the west side of San Juan Island and the...

Erick |Friday, March 22, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 

Today we caught a short sunny period as we left Friday Harbor to search for some amazing wildlife on this beautiful spring day. Captain Mike and I left with a smaller group and headed north up through beautiful San Juan Channel. We cruised through Spieden Channel and went out into the northern part of Haro Strait and soon saw a few scattered groups of blows in the distance. It was a large group of Orcas travelling spread out...

Erick | Tuesday, March 19, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 

Today. We took a wonderful group of folks out on a pretty warm sunny very springtime day. Captain Pete, myself, and Alex motored south to look at Griffin Bay and saw some Harbor Seals lounging on the rocks soaking up the sun as much as we were. We did not see any whales so we turned and headed north. Right around Turn Rock we saw a Steller Sea Lion that had grabbed a Giant Pacific Octopus! He was tearing into it and swallowing...

Erick | Monday, March 18, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 12:00 

Spring is here! On this warm and sunny day Captain Brian and I took a great small group out on Kestrel to see what wildlife was out enjoying the sunshine too. We headed out of Friday Harbor and almost saw blows immediately! They were right off the shore of Brown Island. We approached this group of whales and soon saw that they were Bigg’s Orcas. Orcas aka Killer Whales are divided into different ‘ecotypes’. These ecotypes are...

[Sarah | 03/17/2019 | M/V Seahawk | 12:00pm]

What a beautiful day in the San Juan Islands! Captain Erick and I got to take out the M/V Seahawk from Friday Harbor under bright blue skies on the search for wildlife… and what the search we had. We decided to leave the dock and head south to start, motoring our way towards Turn Island to search for some seals as well as to look for whales and other wildlife in Griffin Bay. We got some great looks at harbor seals, our most numerous marine...