(6/21/17 - Kittiwake 10:00 am & 2:00 pm Departure)

On M/V Kittiwake we had two private charters for the day, both wonderful trips!  Our first trip was with Skagit Valley College and our second trip was with a family visiting the San Juan’s for their annual family vacation.  Both trips we saw the T75B’s and the T77’s, with a total of about 7 whales between the two families.  On our earlier departure the whales were first spotted under the deception pass bridge, which was very exciting...

(06/18/2017 -Kestrel 2:00 pm Departure)

Today was a true Pacific Northwest day here in the San Juan Islands, with light rain and fog throughout the entire day.  We headed South towards reports of transient killer whales.  On our way to the whale report we stopped by the whale rocks to see some Steller’s sea lions.  Many of these huge animals were hauled out on the rocks while a few were playing in the water nearby.  While we watched the sea lions we got a report two humpback whales...

(06/17/2017 -Sea lion 01:30 pm Departure)

Today we left Friday Harbor only needing to travel about 10 minutes before reaching our first pod of whales! We first encounter a group of transient, or mammal eating orcas, on the Eastern side of San Juan Island.  These whales were specifically the T36A’s as well at the T65B’s.  These two families were seen traveling together throughout the entire day today and we were lucky enough to see them complete a kill and engage in some social...

Lauren Fritz, M/V Sea Lion, 6/15/17, 1:30 pm Tour

Wow! Today was a true PNW day, with blustery winds and scattered rainshowers. Lucky for those of us on the 1:30 whale watch tour, M/V Sea Lion was well prepared to take on some rough waters. Tucked away and cozy in our cabin, we headed out of Friday Harbor with orcas on our mind. Transients had been spotted along the northeast side of Orcas Island, by Sucia and Patos Island. We were true mariners today! It was wet, but we had so much...

(06/09/2017 - Kestrel 2pm Departure)

Today was one of those once in a lifetime experiences out on the water. We headed North West towards Swanson Channel where there were reports of a large group of transient orcas.  On our way to look for the orcas we stopped to see some of their favorite food, harbor seals!  We looked at those adorable rock sausages for a bit and then ventured on.  We got into the area where the orcas were located and saw them moving rather erratically.  They were...

Yesterday the Kestrel left the dock heading West towards the city of Sydney, which is located on Vancouver Island.  That’s right, we were headed for Canada!  A lot of guests ask about whether or not we are able to travel into Canadian waters for whale watching and the answer is yes!  As long as we do not dock our boat we are welcome to motor into the Canadian Gulf Islands.  Captain Brian had reports of transient orcas traveling North next to the city of Sydney.  We watched as 4 orcas...

We left Friday Harbor with reports of transient orcas headed to the South side of San Juan Island.  On our way to the area where the killer whales were seen we saw a variety of wildlife that resides here in the Salish Sea.  We saw quite a few bald eagles both perched and in flight.  We also saw a pod of harbor porpoise swimming in the area as well.  Harbor porpoise are one of the smallest cetaceans and they also tend to be shy around boats.  A surprise sighting during our venture was...

Today on M/V Sea lion we left the dock with no whale reports and rain in the forecast.  This is not an uncommon start for our pre-season tours; however, today our expectations were exceeded as the day continued.  We left Friday Harbor with plans to go to the Canadian Gulf Islands in hopes of finding some transient orcas.   We quickly got reports of transient orcas near Matia Island, on the North side of Orcas Island.  We headed towards the area and saw a large pod of harbor porpoises...

We see whales most days and they are super! But some days we have an extra special day. Today we went north and motored through some of the outer islands north of San Juan Island. We first stopped around Flattop Island to look at some really cool Harbor Porpoises surfing in the windy chop south of the island. After we checked out their silly antics we continued north and saw quite a few majestic Bald Eagles and as we approached East Point on Saturna, one of my favorite places in the...

Yesterday was another wonderful day on the water. Fall still has amazing wildlife to show off here in the San Juan Islands. We headed north to start the search for whales yet again. We went all the way up into the Canadian Gulf Islands which are still beautiful but in a different way. As you move north into the Southern Gulf Islands of Canada the islands become taller and closer together crating these beautiful narrow passageways that we got to motor through yesterday. We went...