Well, well, well, we have whales again! It's been a great summer with lots of whales and today was no different. Unlike the past few days, the whales decided to take a jaunt up north towards Active Pass in Canadian waters. This was quite alright with Captain Mike, Naturalist Heather, passengers aboard M/V Sea Lion, and myself, since we are always a fan of crossing over into the friendly waters of our Canadian Neighbors. Aside from the occasional warnings that pop up on your cellphone...

Today was an outstanding day on the water! The weather was gorgeous and warm and the water was flat calm. Spent the afternoon trip with some transients near Battleship island and a small part of J pod the J17s hanging out near turn point on Stuart island. Had many opportunities to see the whales in all their glory, with a number of breaches and spy hops, but this was just the first trip of the day.

I don't know if it was the summer solstice or what but we had an amazing evening and...

Rained on and off throughout the day, but opened up to clear skies for our 2pm charter today. All passengers aboard the M/V Kittiwake were in full support of some sunshine and whales! Captain Jim is not one to disappoint, and with reports of resident orcas along the west side of San Juan Island, the whales were also in on making it a great day on the water! We made great time on our original San Juan Safaris vessel, the M/V Kittiwake, and made it just in time to see some of J pod...

Today started off dark and rainy; however, as we left our Friday Harbor location in search of killer whales, the sun started to peak through the clouds. The day was starting to look beautiful, and as we rounded the corner of Cattle Pass, you could clearly see the snow-capped Olympic mountains. The only thing that could make this scenery better was a tall black dorsal fun slicing through the water.

Well you can probably guess it, but it was another beautiful day on the water! Today, Captain Pete and myself, were accompanied by a small group of passengers who were eagerly awaiting to get out on the water and find some wildlife! Captain Pete isn't one to disappoint, and with a few sightings of Residents on the westside, M/V Sea Lion was ready to find them. Our intention was to meet up with J Pod  along the north end of San Juan Island, but the orcas had other plans for us when...

Another lovely day out on the water here in the San Juan's! Today we got to head a bit of a different direction from our normal jaunt along the westside of San Juan Island, and headed through Obstruction Pass, between Orcas Island and Blakely Island. Waiting just outside Obstruction pass, in the Rosario Strait, Captain Mike, Naturalist Chelsea, and passengers aboard the M/V Sea Lion, we're rewarded with a few blows off in the distance. Upon closer inspection, it was none other than...

Our first evening charter of the season headed out tonight into the rough waters of Haro Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We had a possible report of Biggs killer whales heading in from the Pacific Ocean, a roughly 80 mile trek. The whales were last sighted near Victoria, Canada; with a crew that was willing to brave the elements to see killer whales, we went for it! A little rain, wind, and choppy water wasn’t going to stop us from giving people an experience of a lifetime...

After leaving our Friday Harbor location today and traveling the waters of the Salish Sea for the majority of our tour, captain Mike and I decided to head in the direction of San Juan Island. Guests aboard the M/V Sea Lion saw harbor porpoise, steller sea lions, harbor seals, and a wide variety of sea birds. Still, we had yet to find any orcas. That was until we received a call over the radio while we were passing the southwest side of Waldron Island. The radio call notified us of a...

The M/V Sea Lion departed Friday Harbor yesterday in search of the killer whales that inhabit the Salish Sea. When we got underway Captain Mike got a report of Biggs Killer Whales, or Transients, off the Southeast side of Galiano Island. Even though that was far into the Strait of Georgia, and into the Canadian Gulf Island of British Columbia, we decided to go for it! With the bow of our boat pointed north, guests enjoyed a beautifully scenic route into Canada where we spotted about...

We left our Friday Harbor location Sunday with strong winds, a little bit of rain, and choppy water. Still, our spirits were high in hopes of finding killer whales in the Salish Sea even though we didn't have a confirmed killer whale sighting that day. We headed north in search of Transient killer whales, or mammal-hunting killer whales. We came across many harbor seals, harbor porpoise and even some steller sea lions. These are all great food sources for transients. However, when...