Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | Saturday, June 14th, 2025 | 2:00 PM

During our afternoon trip on Kestrel, we got to cruise around the Canadian Gulf Islands and spend time with two different families of Bigg’s Killer Whales! We left Friday Harbor and headed north up San Juan Channel. Shortly after crossing the Canadian border, we stopped near Saturna Island to view a group of harbor seals resting on a small island. We then continued northwest to catch up with a group of whales that had been reported...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | Wednesday, May 7th | 2:00 PM

Today’s whale watch felt like a Hallmark Movie, or a game winning Hail Mary pass. The odds were stacked against us, but we prevailed. We left the dock knowing that no boats from Friday Harbor had found killer whales during their morning tours. It was crickets out there. The M/V Osprey decided to head north, aiming for Speiden Island. We slow cruised by the historic “Safari Island” looking at loads of wildlife. We viewed Steller’s Sea Lions...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | Saturday, April 26th | 12:30 PM

Today’s tour was a testament of how much can change in an instant in the world of watching whales. Out here we are at the will of the wildlife, and although we prefer it that way, the whales have a funny way of humbling us humans and our plans.

We left the dock with a report of two Bigg’s Killer Whales by Moresby Island. Moresby Island is a Canadian Island located just northwest of Turn Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island. Turn Point is famously...

This morning’s adventure on MV Kestrel was filled with beautiful wildlife and stunning views of the Gulf Islands here in the Salish Sea. We began our journey north out of Friday Harbor and up San Juan Channel towards Boundary Pass. Our first stop was White Rock where we spotted some Harbor Seals hauled out along the shoreline. Our harbor seal population is considered to be at carrying capacity, hovering around 40,000 individuals total, which is the...

June 19th, 2022

Helena Wiatrowski

2pm Kestrel

What an afternoon the Kestrel crew had! Today the sun was on our side, allowing for great visibility of a variety of wildlife and flora along the rocky coastlines of the San Juans. We jetted north out of Friday Harbor past Boundary Pass and found a Bigg’s Killer Whale family pod, the T123’s, along the southernmost tip of South Pender Island. This family consists of four individuals:

• Sidney (T123; F; b.~1985)
• Stanley (T123A; M; b. 2000)...

Laura | M/V Sea Lion | 3/10/2020 | 12:00pm

Today was such a fun day to be out on the water!  M/V Sea Lion left the dock of Friday Harbor and headed north.  Moments after we left the dock a large common loon came right by our boat and surprised all the passengers!  He was sporting some gorgeous spring breeding plumage and this sighting was the closest I have ever been to a loon!

We continued through the San Juan Channel and stopped at Flattop Island to watch a juvenile bald eagle take...

Laura C.| M/V Sea Lion | 10/27/2019 | 12:00pm

Today was a glorious day out on the water with Captain Sarah!  M/V Sea Lion headed north bound towards Active Pass with rumors in the atmosphere of Bigg’s killer whales!  We were all surprised of how many harbor porpoises were seen along the way!  As we passed Shaw Island, it was obvious how productive the waters were today with a plethora of wildlife to observe.  The swirling currents produced an abundance of phytoplankton for some small...

Olivia | September 11th, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 3:00pm Private Charter

This afternoon we had a private charter of two book on, which was an absolute delight. These folks were so excited just to be on the water checking out the gorgeous scenery of our many islands. We decided to wave at the Humpback Whale still hanging out in the channel from earlier in the season and attempt to go find something black and white and moving away from us. We boated north through San Juan Channel, cutting...

Olivia | July 25th, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 3:00pm

Captain Pete and I headed out this afternoon on a search for whales in our area. We decided to head north through the San Juan Channel and stop at White Rocks to catch a view of our Harbor Porpoises and their pups as they napped and swam near the water’s edge. After chatting about these small Pinnipeds, we continued on through Boundary Pass heading around East Point towards the northern side of Saturna Island.

Along our route, Mount...

Laura C. | 6-22-2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Greetings from the sea!  The M/V Sea Lion had an awesome day out on the water cruising along some fun waves and a windy breeze!  We headed north and first stopped along Flattop Island for some exciting commotion with several bald eagles circling overhead.  There was definitely some social gathering occurring or perhaps a nice meal under the trees because the eagles were so active!  We also saw some furry creatures scurrying up the rocks...