Erin | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM | Saturday, July 6, 2019

What an amazing trip aboard Kestrel this morning! We started our trip heading north out of Friday Harbor. We found out that members of the critically endangered Southern Resident population were travelling from Canada into U.S. waters! We headed toward Waldron Island and saw the orcas inshore towards Saturna Island. They were members of J pod. The Southern Residents haven't been back into the inland waters of the Salish Sea for a...

Olivia | July 4th, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am / 5:30pm 

What a fun Fourth of July! We started off both our 11:00am and 3:00pm tours seeing Bald Eagles, Harbor Porpoises and Harbor Seals. Would it really be Independence Day if we didn’t see any Bald Eagles? We even got the chance to see a Harbor Seal pup cuddling with its mother on the coastal shore of Flattop Island. I may have gotten particularly excited since it was my person first pup sighting of the season. This was thrilling...

Erin | M/V Kestrel | Sunday, June 30, 2019 | 11:00 AM

Today was an awesome day on M/V Kestrel. We began the trip heading north out of Friday Harbor, as there were some reports of orcas in that direction. It was gorgeous out on the water. The sun was shining and the water was calm. We got to stop at White Rock, which is right by Flattop Island. There were about twenty seals hauled out on the rocks, and there were at least five bald eagles resting on the rocks as well! Some of the...

Olivia | June 28, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

It is always nice to leave the dock with potential whale sightings in our range. We decided to boat right between Shaw and Lopez Island and cut through Obstruction Pass to pop out over by Cypress Island in the Rosario Strait. On our way over there we passed many Harbor Seals which provided us with good set up conservation on balance in the ecosystem and how we start to see an increase in Bigg’s Killer Whales when there is a spike in the...

Laura C. | 6-28-2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

This afternoon was an awesome day to spend on the water!  Captain Gabe drove M/V Kestrel north and stopped along Spieden Island to see some cool wildlife, including bald eagles and harbor seals!  We continued onward and were so excited to find TWO Bigg’s killer whale families traveling together near Saturna Island!  Passengers watched this active group gathering at the surface with calves splashing around and coming fully out of the water...

Laura C. | 6-27-2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

Passengers boarded M/V Sea Lion today with vigor, in hopes of either witnessing whales in their natural environment for the first time or reconnecting with these charismatic leviathans once again!  And we were not disappointed!  Captain Pete manned the helm as we ventured north through San Juan Channel and rounded Orcas Island to join fellow whale-watching vessels near Sucia Island.  We were elated to see a familiar family in the area...

Olivia | June 27, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am

Our morning trip out on M/V Kestrel definitely started off as an adventure as we were getting everyone suited up in the rain. Despite the June showers, we wore smiling faces as we set out to find the whales we received word about. We traveled north through the San Juan Channel and made a pit stop at Flattop Island to look at some Harbor Seals who were napping on the coastline. Things heated up fast as we then saw a bunch of Pigeon...

Laura C./ 6-26-2019 /  M/V Sea Lion / 5:30pm

Our whale watch this evening was one of my favorites of the season!  Captain Pete, Olivia, myself and a full boat of passengers voyaged north to Saturna Island.  We were ecstatic to find three families of Bigg’s killer whales joined together in what seemed like a celebration!  The guests for this evening’s celebration included the T36As, T65As, T65Bs, and T77A, with a grand total of around 14 whales!  The calves were tail breaching and...

Olivia | June 26, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm

What a spectacular day on the water! We started off the trip heading north through the San Juan Channel and rounding the northern end of San Juan Island through Spieden Channel. Prior to this, we had already started to see Harbor Porpoises swimming around which was a fun start to the trip. These Harbor Porpoises are a common cetacean found in our waters. Since they are so shy, we tend to view them as we carry on at speed.

We continued to...

Erin | M/V Sea Lion | Tuesday, June 25, 2019 | 1:30 PM

What a lovely afternoon in the Salish Sea! We began our trip heading north out of Friday Harbor. The sun was shining and we were ready to see some amazing wildlife. We headed toward some reports of orcas near Stuart Island. When we got to Stuart Island, we saw the beautiful lighthouse at Turn Point. Turn Point is the most northwestern point in the contiguous United States. We continued on across Haro Strait, and made it to...