What a day we had on M/V Kestrel! Captain Gabe and I were very excited to hit the water with our trip this beautiful Monday afternoon!  We started out with confirmed reports of Resident Orcas on the West Side of San Juan Island- so we were very optimistic about it being a great trip from the get go!

As we headed south down San Juan Channel we stopped and checked out some incredible Steller Sea Lions who were hauled out on the rocks growling, swimming and putting on quite the show for...

Sarah | 09/21/2018 | M/V Kestrel | 01:00pm

We had an amazing day on the water, traveling further south than Captain Mike and I had ever taken one of our boats before, and most importantly, saw killer whales! When we left Friday Harbor we had no reports of killer whales in the area, but days on the water can change moment by moment.

Leaving Friday Harbor, our plan was originally to head north past Shaw and Orcas Islands, up towards the Canadian Gulf Islands. When we have no reports...

Today was an incredible day on our afternoon adventure tour from Friday Harbor. It was one of those September days that I spend allllllll summer thinking about. We left the dock under bright blue skies with great reports of whales around the San Juan Islands.

We headed north towards the reports of whales, and first encountered a pair of humpback whales know as BCY0160 “Heather” and BCY0660 “Raptor.” As we got on to scene one of the massive whales lifted its pectoral fins out of the...

When we first headed out on M/V Kestrel it was quite a rainy morning.  Nonetheless we got suited up and boarded M Kestrel- after all a little rain never stopped us here in the great Pacific Northwest!

We first headed north up San Juan Channel, checking out some Harbor Seals on White Rock.  Those little rock sausages were quite the happy campers, all relaxing on the rocks, clearly unbothered by the rain.  We crossed over the northern part of San Juan Island after jetting by Spieden...

[Saturday, 9/15/18, M/V Kestrel, 10:00]

On Saturday, Captain Gabe and I took a great group out on a cloudy morning to go look for some amazing wildlife. We headed up north. We went through San Juan Channel and up past East Point towards the Strait of Georgia. Here, in between Saturna Island and Point Roberts we started to see some blows in the distance. We slowed down and approached these whales we could see that they were members of the Southern Resident Killer Whale Community...

Guests aboard Kestrel along with Cpt. Gabe and I were excited to get on the water with two great reports already within our reach. Headed out the harbor, we decided to go south towards Victoria, where a report of transients, not yet ID’ed, had been picked up. Taking the challenge and curious to see who these animals were, we quickly went down San Juan Channel. 

As we exited the channel through Cattle Pass, we made a pit stop at Whale rocks to greet our Steller Sea lions and even got...

Leaving the harbor aboard Kestrel with Captain Gabe headed North to check out some transient orcas in our area. Although a bit rainy out, the visibility was good and the sun was already trying its best to shine through. Out of the harbor, we headed north up San Juan channel to later get to Spieden channel where the sighting currently was.  

A smooth ride up to spieden channel, when arriving on scene we could see some dorsal fins hugging spieden island in the distance. Covered by...

[Friday, 9/7/18, M/V Kestrel]

On Friday, Captain Mike and I took a group out to look for some amazing wildlife in the Salish Sea. We headed north towards the outer islands of the San Juan Islands. As we cruised north we saw a lot of Harbor Porpoises darting through the eddies around Green Point. Next, we headed further north. We headed around East Point where there is a a large number of pinnipeds! Pinnipeds are the seals, sea lions, and walruses of the world. Here we only have seals...

[Sarah | 09/03/2018 | M/V Kestrel | 02:00pm]

Yesterday’s Adventure Whale Watch was a great reminder of why I love September so much out here in the San Juans. We had so much wildlife to look for and had great encounters with whales!

We started our afternoon heading north out of Friday Harbor through San Juan Channel. We pointed for a few wildlife hot spots at Green Point on Spieden Island and then around Sentinel Island. We found harbor porpoises, harbor seals, and even some bald...