[Sarah M. – 07/20/2017 – M/V Sea Lion – 05:30pm]

After a bit of a gray day in the San Juan Islands, we had a very welcome break in the clouds as we departed on our sunset whale watch from Friday Harbor. Out here in the Salish Sea your luck with wildlife sightings can change minute by minute, and yesterday was a great example of how the outcomes of previous trips can have no impact on sightings later in the day.

Captain Mike steered the M/V Sea Lion north out of the harbor towards...

[Sarah M. – 07/16/2017 – M/V Sea Lion – 01:30pm]

The M/V Sea Lion set out on another magical day in the Salish Sea. We had calm waters, blue skies, and whale reports! As has became the norm this year, we had orcas reported in an unusual location and we ended up weaving through the inner islands towards Rosario Strait and the Pea Pod Islands.

We were lucky enough to encounter the T037Bs and T034s traveling with T037. We had a lovely time watching the whales as they hunted in...

Lauren Fritz, M/V Sea Lion, 07/13/2017, 1:30 pm and 5:30 pm Tour

Today was an incredible day on the water. M/V Sea Lion ran two tours out of Friday Harbor today, each with some spectacular sea and weather conditions and some great sightings of killer whales, harbor seals, bald eagles galore, and an exploration of some unique aspects of our marine ecosystem out here in the Salish Sea - like our amazing bull kelp forests and nutrient-dense waters. I've compiled and editted some of my favorite...

[6/24 5:30 SL]

It's Pirate Days here in the San Juans! Folks stroll around town, flaunting their best pirate attire, skull-and-crossbone flags decorate our marina railings, there are concerts abound, and even two historic tall ships are available for sailing trips! It's been a weekend full of excitement and surprise, since it's the 1st annual festival that San Juan Island has hosted. What we didn't expect when heading out on our 5:30 whale watch was having the opportunity to witness...

[06/23/2017 – M/V Kestrel – 02:00pm]

M/V Kestrel is our newest vessel in our fleet of four, and she has consistently proven to be an amazing tool over the last year of use. Going into her second summer as a part of our fleet I am excited to see how we can continue to use this incredible boat to better our guest experience. We are consistently impressed by the smoothness of the ride and just the sheer distance that we can cover on this boat.

Yesterday’s tour was a great example of...

Today was super misty as we motored out of the harbor. We couldn’t see very far ahead as the wooded islands, water, and clouds all melded into one. We headed south through Cattle Pass and out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We first encountered a small group of Harbor Porpoise off of Hein Bank (a shallow area  that is a great feeding area for so many of the marine mammals that inhabit our waters) The group of Harbor porpoises quickly passed us as the followed a small group of fish...

[06/16/2017 – M/V Kestrel – 02:00pm]

The whale watching has been great lately! We are entering what local naturalists are calling the “new normal.” The diversity of our ecosystem is shifting, and we are seeing that reflected most notably in our local orca populations. With a drop in our local salmon population we are seeing less and less of our Southern Resident killer whales in our inland waterways. Traditionally we expect to see members of J, K & L Pods from about May through...

[06/13/2017 – M/V Sea Lion – 01:30pm & 05:30pm]

Today we had another wonderful day on the water with multiple whale reports and sunny skies. We had the pleasure of hosting two wonderful groups of guests on our afternoon and evening trips.

On our afternoon trip we headed north through San Juan Channel towards Spring Passage between Jones and Orcas Islands. Heading towards White Rock in Cowlitz Bay near Waldron Island we found harbor seals and a bald eagle out on the rocks. Both...

(06/11/2017 - Kestrel 2pm Departure)

One of the best things about wildlife watching is that you never know what is going to happen.  Every day is different and the day before doesn’t necessarily give you any indication of what the next day will be like.  Yesterday there were orcas just outside of Friday Harbor, today we had to travel about 35 miles one way in order to catch a glimpse of these magnificent animals.  It was an absolutely beautiful day, the sun was shining and the water...

(06/10/2017 - Kestrel 2pm Departure)

Yesterday I said that our trip was a once in a lifetime experience and one for the books.  Well today’s trip was a repeat!  We had an amazing day out on the water full of some of the best wildlife viewing in my time out on the water.  We were lucky enough to have a day where there were transient orcas right outside of Friday Harbor.  We left our dock and watched the T2C’S looking for food for about 30 minutes.  The T2C’s are a pod of 5 whales...