What an amazing day today was!  Guests eagerly boarded M/V Sea Lion with the crew Captain Gabe, and Naturalists Sarah and Alexandria.  As we hit the water we were all very excited that within about 10 minutes of being out we saw Biggs Killer Whales (also known as Transient Orcas).  As we approached the family of orcas we confirmed that these were in fact the T49A family. 

One of the highlights from today was the amazing views we got of T49A1, the eldest male son in the family.  It...

Guests aboard M/V Sea Lion along with Cpt. Gabe, naturalist Alexandria and I were excited to get on the water on this rainy September day with a report of transient and southern resident orcas in our area. Eager to get everyone on the boat and ready to pick up speed we took off to go find these animals ourselves. 

As of earlier, the transient orca report had been spotted by kayakers and no one else, so we went to the general area to try and find them again. With no luck or dorsals in...

Saturday- 9/22 M/V Sea Lion

We eagerly boarded M/V Sea Lion in hopes that a great day was ahead of us!  Our expectations sure did not disappoint!  We were treated to orcas, and harbor seals on this trip and even the occasional harbor porpoise viewing!

 What an incredible day!  Guests on board were very eager to get some good looks at orcas, and we sure did! It seemed like each surface just got better and better!  Especially when our engine was off and those orcas were right off our...

This Sunday in September sure felt like fall. Capt Gabe, Jordan, and myself headed out with a great group of passengers into the rainy blue Salish Sea. Most people visit this area in the summer, which is beautiful here. The temperature is usually super pleasant, the sun is up for a very long time, and there is usually not a rain cloud to speak of. The rest of the year though, it looks like it did today - very misty, cool, breezy, and rainy. We ventured off into the Pacific...

Guests aboard M/V Sea Lion along with naturalist Jordan, Captain Gabe and I were ready to get out on the water on this beautiful September day! After a smokey August, September was starting out pleasantly- sunny and warm days. After around three weeks of not seeing the southern residents in our waters, they had finally came back in. Gosh! We missed them! 

There were reports of a subgroup of L-pod around- the L12s not too far away from the harbor. The rest of the residents were...

M/V Sea Lion- 9/2 @ 1:30pm

Yesterday guests aboard M/V Sea Lion were treated to the trifecta!  As we were heading out Captain Gabe, Naturalist Erick and myself were all excited to hit the water!  It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, the smoke from the BC fires in weeks prior had since cleared, and it was a perfect day!  To top it off we even had reports of orcas in our range… and not just any orcas, they were Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs)!  As Captain Gabe shared this...

Guests aboard M/V Sea Lion along with naturalist Rachel, Captain Pete and I were ready to get out on the water on this CLEAR and sunny August day! After two long weeks of wildfire smokes in our area and no visibility, it was a treat to get to see the mountain ranges in the distance. Already looking like a good day with a report from another boat who had Humpbacks south of Cattle Pass. After boarding the boat and familiarizing our guests with the natural history of the area, we left...

[Piper | 8/30/18 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30 PM]

Today, Captain Gabe, Naturalist Mariana and I boarded the Sea Lion with a great group of guests and headed north from Friday Harbor, all the way up into the Canadian waters of the Strait of Georgia. It took a little while to get there but it was so worth it because when we arrived, we found five families of Bigg’s killer whales, made up of 20 or so orcas, socializing and traveling south. These orcas were lobbing their tails and spy-hopping...

[Sarah | 08/22/2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 01:30 Classic Tour]

On Wednesday Captain Pete, naturalist Mariana, and I ventured out on the Salish Sea under smoky conditions. Though we have had record smoke from the surrounding area’s wildfires and light wind conditions making the smoke hang over the islands, our wildlife sightings have been unaffected.

We left Friday Harbor and headed south through San Juan Channel, catching glimpses of harbor porpoise and seals as we cruised through the flat...

Guests aboard M/V Sea Lion along with Cpt. Pete, naturalist Erick and I were excited to get on the water on this beautiful day with a report of orcas almost within our reach. Eager to get everyone on the boat and ready to pick up speed we took off hopeful to get to see these animals.

As of earlier, only one whale sighting from way up north had been reported. With no other reports in our area, we quickly headed up the San Juan Channel with plans to take Boundary Pass into the Strait...