Maxx | M/V Kestrel | August 31st 2024 | 10:00am

A loose rumor of whales ignited our tour today- s share based report as we left the harbor claimed a small family had been spotted over Salmon bank, south of San Juan Island. We have a heading. 

Kestrel flew south through the San Juan Channel, stopping only briefly at Goose Island to admire a small haul out of Harbor seals and of course all the incredible pelagic birds that call this tiny island home. Double Crested cormorants sunned themselves atop...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | August 23rd, 2024 | 12:30pm 

Our 12:30 Classic Tour departed Friday Harbor with the hopes of catching up with some old friends. We had heard reports that the T018’s might be in the area. The T018’s are a fan favorite Bigg’s Killer Whale family in this region, most notably because of T019B/Galiano. Galiano is a 29-year-old male killer whale, and he has one of the largest dorsal fins in the population. When male killer whales are fully grown, their dorsal fins are on average a...

Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion | 09/28/2022 | 12:30pm

    I was proper geeking out on today’s Classic Whale Watch. Now of course, the Salish Sea is well known to be an incredibly biodiverse ecosystem that allows us spectators to witness and appreciate a varied abundance of marine life- from tiny invertebrates to fifty ton cetaceans. Working out on the water, we become accustomed to our regular visitors: Humpback whales, Biggs killer whales, Steller sea lions, and Harbor seals just to name a...

Lauren | M/V Sea Lion | 9/20/2022 | 1:30 PM 

The boys are back… The boys are back… Bigg’s killer whales Onca and Lynx were back at it again, popping up on the westside of San Juan Island unannounced for the second time this week. Similar to our tour yesterday, we started our trip without any firm whale reports and planned to head south to scan for whales in Salmon Bank.  

Our 1:30 pm Classic Tour took a right out of Friday Harbor and headed down San Juan Channel. On our way down...

Lauren | M/V Kestrel | 9/19/2022 | 2:00 PM 

“The Boys,” “The Punks,” “The Brothers…” Bigg’s Killer Whales T060D “Onca” and T060E “Lynx” have many nicknames. Normally found traveling together, these sprouting boys are an industry wide favorite to observe. 18-year-old Onca born in 2004, and 14-year-old Lynx born in 2008 still have a lot of growing to do. Young males go through a stage known as sprouting, where their dorsal fin starts to shoot up and they begin to grow into the massive...

Lauren | M/V Kestrel | 9/3/2022 | 2:00 PM

Labor Day weekend is upon us, and Friday Harbor is looking just as crazy and beautiful as ever! Our 2:00 pm Adventure Tour was totally sold out. With 20 guests aboard, Captain Eric and I zipped out of Friday Harbor and took a left into San Juan Channel. Our first stop was to Green Point, which is the southeastern tip of the infamous Spieden or “Safari” Island. We viewed several Mouflon Sheep grazing on grass before heading over to Flattop...

Lauren | M/V Kestrel | 8/31/2022 | 2:00 PM

Today was the last day of August, which means our peak season for whale watching will soon be coming to an end. We see whales on 90% of our tours from June through August. Our “peak season” doesn’t actually refer to the peak of whale action, but the peak of eyes on the water. None of the whales in the area are tagged, and we don’t use any kind of sonar to find them. As members of the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA), we work...

Lauren | M/V Kestrel | 8/16/2022 | 2:00 PM 

It’s not uncommon for us to begin our trip with zero whale reports, and today was no exception. We always tell our guests that every single day, at every single hour we essentially “start over.” That’s because none of the whales in the Salish Sea are tagged, and we don’t use any type of sonar to find them. We are a part of the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA), which is a private network that works organically off eye sighting reports...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | 8/13/2022 | 12:30 PM 

What an epic day! Dare I call it the trip of the summer? Today our 12:30 Classic Whale Watch & Wildlife Tour had one of those unforgettable moments... a key memory if you will?  

With no firm whale reports in the area, we had no idea what was in store for us when leaving the dock. Shortly after cruising out of Friday Harbor, we got word that there were some rumored killer whales in Rosario Strait. I say rumored because we were working off...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | 6.18.2022 | 12:30 PM

It was my first day back to work after a week-long vacation and I had whales on my mind. I truly miss them when I’m gone, and I felt especially eager to show our guests all the San Juans has to offer. As M/V Osprey left the dock, we got word that Bigg’s killer whale family the T123s were in the area. The T123s are “frequent flyers,” or should I say swimmers, here in the Salish Sea. They are one of the families I’ve seen the most thus far...