Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 06/02/19 | 12:00

Today Captain Erick and I took the Sea Lion out of Friday Harbor for a wonderful cruise around the islands. We, first, headed north through the San Juan Channel and passed the eastern tip of Speiden Island.

Then, we made a pitstop at Flattop Island! This beautiful national wildlife reserve hosted various birds flying overhead and a few harbor seals laying on the protected rocks. There was even one seal swimming gracefully through the water...

Jordan | May 25, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 trip

As 11:00 am rolled around, the rain was still pouring down. But all our guests were troopers! So we embraced the soggy adventure and headed out into the fog! Navigating purely on GPS technology as the islands hid behind layers of mist, we wound our way around the San Juan Islands.

Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel and we headed north through the San Juan Channel passing by Spieden Island as we headed into Canadian waters! Then...

Jordan | July 30, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30 trip

Today’s trip started out with sunny skies and excited guests as we left Friday Harbor for our 1:30 trip on our Sea Lion vessel. Captain Pete, Naturalist Rachel and I heard reports of some whales far up in Canada. Luckily, they were headed south towards us, so we headed north to meet them! We boated up through the San Juan Channel and through Boundary Pass alongside the west side of Waldron island as we entered Canadian waters 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...

[Sunday, 5/13/18 - M/V Kestrel - 1:00PM - Naturalist Erick]

Happy Mothers’ Day!

This Sunday, Captain Brian and I left Friday Harbor looking for all the wonderful whales and wildlife out here. We started out by going north through San Juan Channel and made our first stop at Green Point on Spieden Island to check out the remaining Steller Sea Lions resting on the point. There were a group of about 20 adult male Steller Sea Lions wrestling and growling at each other. These amazing...

[Saturday, 4/21/18 – M/V Kestrel – 1:00PM – Naturalist Erick]

The past few weeks we have started running trips on our adventure vessel, M/V Kestrel. This craft is a RIB, a Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat, and can go pretty fast, around 30 – 40 knots. We suit up in these dope red and black exposure suits and head off. Captain Brian and I took a full group of folks northward to go search for somefun and exciting wildlife. This Saturday was sunny with a little breeze. We made our first...

[Naturalist Sarah C. 9/3/17 M/V Sea Lion 1:30pm departure]

Transient orcas have been spotted in the dozens around the San Juans this week. It's not always the case that we get to choose which whale sighting we pursue on our daily departures from Friday Harbor. With multiple families spotted within our range, we chose a company favorite for today's adventure - the T65A's.

Orcas, as a species, are matriarchal, meaning that the oldest female in a family group is in charge. For...

[7/12/17- M/V Kestrel- 2:00PM]

Wednesday’s are hump days, and hump days are meant for humpback whales! It was another beautiful day with sunny skies as we moseyed outside of Friday Harbor from San Juan Island and headed north to Canadian waters. We cruised over the calm waters with no problems at all, simply enjoying the scenery and the windless skies.  We slowed down and approached a small little outcrop of rocks by the East Point lighthouse on Saturna Island, and we saw a plethora...

Lauren Fritz, Naturalist, M/V Sea Lion, 6/20/17, 1:30 pm & 5:30 pm tours

Anyone who's around me long enough has fallen victim to my ramblings about how amazing humpback whales are. I spend a significant portion of my year with these whales down in Maui, one of their main breeding grounds, so it's very exciting to see them up here in one of their feeding grounds as well! It's difficult not to marvel over the amazing migration of 2,500-3,000 miles that these whales make every year -...