Captain Gabe and I headed down to the docks early morning already with some reports of killer whales up North near Point Roberts. Although this is quite far from us, we thought we might be able to encounter these animals in time, so we got the guests on board and hurried up North! As we were heading up the San Juan Channel, we realized that the wind was a lot stronger than we had hoped for. The whales were moving quickly farther north, and the wind was blowing against the current...

Jordan | July 9, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00

What a great trip we had today! Even though it was a bit cloudy and cold and it began to rain, the animals sure made up for it! As we traveled north, we stopped by Turn Point on Stuart Island to check out a bald eagle perched right next to the lighthouse! We were so absorbed with the eagle that we almost didn’t notice the huge pod of orca whales sneaking up on us! All of a sudden, we turned around and saw orcas headed straight toward us!

We...

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...

Captain Gabe and I headed down to the docks on the busiest day of the year in Friday Harbor- 4th of July! Unfortunately, we had not heard of any whales in our area yet this morning. With smiles on our faces and high hopes, we gathered our guests and headed up the San Juan Channel to see what whales we would be able to find this busy day on the water! At least hoping to spot some majestic bald eagles on this United States Independence Day. As we approached Flat Top Island, we stopped...

Captain Mike, Naturalist Alexandria and I were excited to be on the water on this VERY hot summer day. We had not heard of any reports in our area yet this morning, so we were a little anxious leaving the harbor with a full boat of hopeful guests. Some other boats had found a humpback on the West side of San Juan Island, but we were hoping that we would be able to find our own whales, so we headed up North towards the Canadian Gulf Islands. The whole way up the channel, our eyes were...

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...

Captain Brian and I arrived at the docks this morning with no reports of any whales in our area. Both hopeful that we would be able to find our own animals on this rainy and gray morning, we gathered our excited guests and headed out the harbor. As soon as we left the harbor, a couple of killer whales were spotted on the East side of San Juan Islands near Cypress Island. Thankful that we had a lead, we headed that way to see who we could find. As we approached where these individuals...

Jordan | July 1, 2018 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 trip

On this second trip of the day, we were really lucky that it stopped raining and the sun came out! Captain Mike and I were happy to hear of whales up in Canada, so we sped off north. We wound through Canadian islands until we hit Vancouver Island, then headed north along the west side of Salt Spring Island.

And then we found a pod of whales! We recognized them as the T65As! As one of my favorite pods, they have a tiny baby who is only a...

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...