Haleigh | M/V Osprey | June 18, 2021 | 12:30pm

Today’s wildlife viewing was quite exceptional. We departed from Friday Harbor heading East on an inter-island excursion. We navigated the channels of the Salish Sea with Koma Kulshan (aka Mount Baker) off of our port and Tahoma (aka Mount Rainier) a mound in the distance at 150 miles away! 

Nearing the port of Anacortes, our captain Gabe spotted the exhales of distant orcas about ½ mile off shore. The killer whales were swimming in...

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 05/15/2021 1:30pm

We were all really excited to get out on the water as Captain Brian and I gathered our new friends and boated out of Friday Harbor.

We heard whispers of something exciting down south, so we boated down the Channel and out into open waters. Boating out towards the Olympic Peninsula, we reached an area called Middle Bank where we started to see boats! As we approached, we began to see blows and wow it was beautiful!

The mottled gray and white...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | April 23rd, 2021 | 13:00

Kicking off the weekend, Captain Pete decided to start the trip by heading inner island through Upright Passage, eventually turning south into Lopez Sound. Just off Coleville Island, we spotted a large spout as it shot above the surface of the water. This spout belonged to a Gray Whale that was feeding in about 80 feet of water. This baleen whale feeds on about 2,400 pounds of food every day during the summer feeding months here in the...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion| March 26th, 2021| 13:00

Heading south today towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we immediately spotted a swimming Steller’s Sea Lion, as well as multiple species of cormorants, gulls, and even loons! This was a good foreshadow for what was to come at Whale Rocks at the bottom of Cattle Pass. Slowing down to gain a better look, we not only saw multiple Harbor Seals right at the base of the water’s edge, but also heaps of hauled out Steller’s Sea Lions! These...

Olivia | M/V Kestrel | September 13th, 2020 | 14:00

With wildfires burning in California, Oregon, and Washington, the San Juan Islands were cradled in a thick layer of smoke. In addition to that, a thick fog settled in, making visibility extend only about 100 yards and eventually 250 to 300 yards off every direction of the boat. We did not let this weather get us down and set off north in search of whales!

Just north of Spieden and Flattop Islands, we caught a glimpse of black dorsal...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 15th, 2020 | 13:00

With Mount Baker standing tall and a warm breeze lightly drifting over the water, we started our long haul towards Whidbey Island in an attempt to see some Bigg’s Killer Whales. Leaving the dock, these 8 individuals were originally just south of Lopez Island and continued southeast of Deception Pass. After traveling for over an hour keeping all our fingers and toes crossed, passing a large, swimming Steller’s Sea Lion on the way, we...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | August 2nd, 2020 | 13:30

Starting off our trip, Captain Pete and I decided to head south towards Haro Strait where we have been finding Baleen Whales foraging the past few weeks. On our route we stopped and saw heaps of Steller’s Sea Lions. These are my absolute favorite and the males are starting to return back to our waters after spending the summer in Alaska breeding with those females. The previous week we were only seeing roughly 3-5 individuals and now...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 20th, 2020 | 13:30

On what felt like the warmest day all summer (I wore shorts for the first time!) we left the dock with a Transient Orca report, which started us of with a boat full of excitement. Heading inner island through Upright Passage, we admired the Shaw and Lopez shorelines while spotting Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, and Bald Eagles. The sun was effortlessly radiating off the water as we caught astounding views of Mount Baker as she looked...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 18th, 2020 | 17:30

We initially received word that the same family group of Transient Orca we saw on our 13:30 trip was traveling south away from the island. Trying to get off the dock quickly, we were humbly surprised that they turned INTO San Juan Channel!  We headed towards Shark Reef where we first caught word that they were hunting along the shoreline. Upon arrival, they happen to be on a long dive and ended up surfacing near Big Rock off Lopez...

Erick | M/V Kestrel | Saturday, July 18, 2020 | 2:00PM

It was another beautiful summer day here in the San Juan Islands! It was sunny, breezy, and beautiful blue skies everywhere you look. We could see Mt. Baker, the Olympic Mountains, and all the way down to Mt. Rainier! Capt. Brian and I took a full crew of guests out to look for whales and other wildlife. There were some early reports of some Orcas east of San Juan Island that were spotted near the ferry lane, so we headed that...