Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 06/28/19 | 5:30pm

This evening was absolutely beautiful. Captain Pete and I took our vessel, the Sea Lion, out of Friday Harbor just as the sun decided to sink a bit lower in the sky.

Hearing hopeful reports up north, we headed up through the San Juan Channel. We passed between Waldron Island and Orcas Island as we boated towards the northeast. We went between Patos and Sucia Islands entering the Strait of Georgia up towards Point Roberts. Here we found the...

 

Jordan | M/V Kestrel | 06/23/19 | 11:00am
 

The day started with clouds floating low in the sky. It wasn’t the typical overcast but somehow much more beautiful as they hid the distant mountains. Captain Gabe and I took the Kestrel out of Friday Harbor and headed north through the San Juan Channel.

We sped towards this beautiful island called Flattop and stopped along its shoreline. Here we found a bald eagle perched high in a tree, its white head glowing in the light. Then we saw...

Piper | Thursday, June 13, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00 AM

It was Captain Gabe and I on the Kestrel again today, but the crazy heat from yesterday had faded some, making the exposure suits we provide for guests extra helpful on the water. We had an awesome group of people today and we left the marina in Friday Harbor and headed north along San Juan Island. We stopped at White Rock near Waldron Island where we spotted a pair of bald eagles atop the rocks, which were also littered with h...

Erick | Friday, May 10, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00AM

 

Out here as the weather is getting sunnier and warmer, we are starting to run our Adventure Tours aboard M/V Kestrel. Captain Gabe and I took an excited, adventurous group out to find all the amazing creatures in the Salish Sea. We started by going north on the flat, calm waters of San Juan Channel. We made our first stop at Green Point on Spieden Island to see the group of Steller Sea Lions gathered out there. They were sleepily...

[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...

Leaving the harbor aboard M/V Sea Lion Captain Gabe, naturalist Eric and myself were excited to get out on the water and see some orcas! We had been hanging around a humpback earlier that day and there were now reports of transient orcas up north. Although pretty far out, we were hopeful we’d be able to catch up to them and get a chance to see them on this afternoon trip! The orcas were far out by Point Roberts well into the Strait of Georgia, but Captain Gabe decided to go for it...

Jordan | July 9, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00

Today was a lovely day despite the gray skies that hung over the San Juan Islands. Luckily, we had our speedy boat, the Kestrel to take us around the seas to try and see as much as possible!

Captain Mike and I journeyed up the San Juan Channel, and east through Spieden Channel. Here we stopped and found some adorable seals along a nearby rocky outcrop. They were relaxing near the surface of the water with a few baby pups! As we kept...

Jordan | July 8, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00 & 2:00 trips

For both trips today, Captain Gabe and I hopped on the Kestrel and booked it up north to find some whales!

On our first trip, the whales were far northwest within the Strait of Georgia so we boated as fast as possible towards that direction. Along the way, we found a huge pod of harbor porpoises! There were about fifty porpoises all around our boat! This rarely happens so it was great to witness. Once we reached the far depths...

Wednesday, May 23rd | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 PM

This afternoon, Captain Gabe and I assisted our guests aboard the M/V Kestrel and set out to find some whales! With only second-hand reports we headed north to check things out. We arrived off Jones Island and slowed to nearly a stop. Scanning the waters, we found a small pod of harbor porpoise frolicking nearby! We moved west toward Green Point on Spieden Island and found a couple of Steller sea lions soaking up the sun.

Continuing our...

Saturday, May 19th | M/V Sea Lion | Noon

On this sunny May day Captain Mike, naturalist Rachel and I headed north with a great group of folks, up through San Juan Channel and Boundary Pass, searching the Canadian waters under South Pender and Saturna Islands. We got all the way over to the east side of Tumbo Island, part of the Southern Gulf Islands, where we spotted a humpback whale traveling northwest along the coast.

When we saw this behemoth’s flukes we could tell it was a BCX...