Olivia | June 16, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am / 3:00pm 

What an incredible adventure Captain Gabe and I had out on the water today! For our 11:00am tour we headed north around Spieden Island where we viewed many Harbor Seals and Bald Eagles. We didn’t hang out too long, as we wanted to continue towards our whale sightings. As we traveled through Swanson Channel near Moresby Island, we caught our first glimpse of a lone male Bigg’s Killer Whale known as T77A who is often seen...

Sarah | 03/08/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Wowza what a day whale watching in the San Juan Islands. March is one of my favorite times to be out on the water because there is just so much wildlife that can be found in and around the islands while there is always the possibility of finding whales. Leaving Friday Harbor we experienced all of the possible weather conditions we could think of - flurries, a drizzle, clouds, and then bright sunshine – and we found amazing wildlife!

Based on the whale...

Jordan | July 5, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 trip

We had such a fantastic day on the water! It started out as one of the warmest days of the summer, so people were feeling pretty toasty in their adventure suits as we sat on the dock. Luckily it cooled down as our speedy boat created its own wind and that cool sea air swirled around us. Captain Mike and I heard whispers of whales in Canada so we voyaged north!

Just as we reached the southern tip of Moresby Island, we suddenly found two...

Jordan | July 1, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 10:00 trip

 The morning was a not-so-sunny morning as the drizzling rain sprinkled across the calm waters of Friday Harbor. Captain Mike and I were excited for the day, nevertheless, and embraced the wetness with open spirits of adventure!

As we headed out, we spotted bald eagles right away! Perched high in a tree, they didn’t seem to mind the rain as they overlooked the harbor. Then Mike caught wind of some whales up in Canada! So, we decided to...

Thursday, May 17th | M/V Sea Lion | Noon

Pushing off the docks in Friday Harbor this afternoon, Captain Mike took the Sea Lion to the north, toward Spieden Island, where we found a few remaining Steller’s sea lions lounging on Green Point, savoring the last seconds of laziness before making the trek to Alaska for their breeding season.

Moving through New Channel and up John’s Pass we spotted quite a few bald eagles perched on trees and soaring overhead! We continued up through...

April 16, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

Today was a very stereotypical Pacific Northwest day, with a lot of cloud-cover producing a lot of rain, but the islands were dotted so beautifully with those wispy low-lying clouds just touching the evergreens, the type of scene that made me fall in love with this area. Captain Mike, myself, and a small group of great people left Friday Harbor and made our way north through San Juan Channel. We got a great look at a large group of harbor...

There's a few things you should know about orcas. First: they're fast. They can get up to 30 knots on a good day. And you're all, "But that's not that fast, Erick" and then I'm all, "Well, imagine 8 tons of pure speed and salmon eating muscle traveling through heavy currents traveling at 35 mph (56kph for the rest of the world)" and now I'll give you time to be impressed... Orcas are one of the fastest marine mammals alive and in groups they can travel around 100 miles (161 km) in a...

Long trek to get to the whales today. Earlier reports had transient, our marine mammal-eating orcas, near Captains Pass heading Northeast towards Active Pass. By the time M/V Sea Lion got there from Friday Harbor the whales were at the mouth of Active Pass. Although this was a long trip to the transients, it was also well worth it! Traveling through the Canadian Gulf Islands is always a favorite of our staff and passengers, because of the sheer cliffsides and the narrow passages...

Around 10:40 AM this morning we received a Southern Resident Killer Whale report: members of J, K, and L pod headed north in Haro Strait. We were extremely excited yet a bit uneasy knowing they were headed for Active Pass (Canada). Luckily enough by the time we boarded and headed out for the strait the whales had turned around. It couldn’t have been more perfect timing.

As we made our way into the gut of the strait, reaching a center point between Stewart, Moresby, Sidney, and...

Today we met up with 7-8 members of J-Pod on the southwest side of Mayne Island (Canada) headed north for Active Pass (48°50.93’N, 123°20.55’W). They were resting, traveling in a tight-knit group, surfacing in unison for a few breaths, and then taking deep dives for a few moments. In this group we identified Blackberry (J27), Doublestuf (J34), and Princess Angeline (J17). We left them headed north around 3:30 PM in hopes of finding more whales south for our evening cruise.

Naturalist...