Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | June 26th, 2026 | 2:00 pm 

The population of Bigg’s (Transient) killer whales in the Salish Sea is growing exponentially every year; sometimes you must only travel 15 minutes before spotting their blows!

After going north up San Juan Channel from Friday Harbor, we hung out with the T049A matriline of Bigg’s killer whales, including the following individuals:

T49A "Nan" (F) b. 1986

• T49A3 "Nat" (M) b. 2011
• T49A4 "Neptune" (M) b. 2014
• T49A5 "Nebula" (F) b. 2017
• T49A6 "Charlie ll" (...

Olivia Esqueda | June 24th, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00pm

Today’s Adventure Tour spoiled us despite the distance; we had calm seas and even a warm wind hitting our faces! Heading north through San Juan Channel, we passed heaps of Harbor Porpoise-literally everywhere! We consistently saw these small cetaceans our entire route up through Canada. Dipping through Navy Channel, we eventually threaded the needle in Georgeson Pass and entered the Strait of Georgia. Looking directly at Vancouver, B.C, we...

Lauren Tschirhart | June 25th, 2026 | M/V Kestrel | 2:00 pm 

Our Adventure Whale Watch & Wildlife Tour was filled with overcast skies and orca whales! Our cruise began by departing Friday Harbor and making a stop near Point Caution to view a bald eagle. We continued northeast, eventually making our way into Presidents Channel. We made another stop at Skipjack Island to observe some rock sausages, aka harbor seals. Next we cruised by Eastpoint Lighthouse on Saturna Island, eventually making our...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | June 23rd, 2026 | 2:00 pm

After a successful morning whale search, Captain Vaun and I were confident we would find whales again for our afternoon trip.  As the day went on, more reports had come in and we were excited to check out some rumors in Rosario Strait. Today was also a particularly hot day, so it was wonderful to be zooming on the Salish Sea again! We departed Friday Harbor and made our way east in between Lopez and Shaw and then through Peavine Pass. Mount...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | June 23rd, 2026 | 9:00 am 

Captain Vaun and I began our morning as the first PWWA vessel searching our area for whales on our 9:00 tour, which meant that anything was possible! We departed Roche Harbor and decided to head north east toward the boundary waters, pointing towards Waldron Island. We stopped at White Rock to view some harbor seals and a bald eagle that was being harassed by a group of gulls. It’s always amazing how the smaller birds can intimidate an...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | June 22th, 2026 | 2:00 pm 

M/V Kestrel departed from the dock at Friday Harbor at 2:00pm today, and by 2:05pm we had sighted our first animal: a soaring bald eagle! We cruised in beautiful conditions up north to President’s Channel; the sea was a glossy emerald green reflecting the evergreen trees atop the San Juan Islands, and the skies were blanketed in cirrus clouds.

Captain Vaun and I jumped in excitement when we realized who was ahead; it was a matriline of orcas...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | June 21st, 2026 | 2:00pm

This tour headed East out of Friday Harbor and began taking a similar route as the ferries do to get between San Juan Island and Anacortes. The only difference is that the M/V Kestrel is much quicker than those ferries, so it only took us about 25 minutes to arrive in Rosario Strait! We then travelled South for a few minutes and arrived on scene with a group of 10 Bigg's Killer Whales! This group was comprised of the T46B family which is...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Kestrel | June 20th, 2026 |10:00 am and 2:00 pm

Our morning adventure tours are always my favorite, as we get to be part of the first group of boats searching for whales. We departed Friday Harbor with some rumors of killer whales in the Canadian Gulf Islands, so we began by heading north to check it out. We cruised up San Juan Channel, made our way west into Spieden Channel, and stopped at Sentinel to see some harbor seals. Looking out across the Haro, there was some fog...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Kestrel | June 19th, 2026 | 2:00pm

On this day there were several reports down in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, so we turned South and went that way immediately. Lucky for us, the weather and conditions down there were absolutely beautiful! The first whales that we encountered were quite a rare duo; T125A "Jetsam" and T128 "Flotsam"! These presumed brothers do not visit this area very often at all. In face, this was my first time ever seeing them! These two adult males are...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | June 18th, 2026 | 2:00 pm 

After departing the dock at Friday Harbor, Kestrel cruised south down San Juan Channel past Cattle Point Lighthouse on San Juan Island to Whale Rocks, a common Steller sea lion haul-out site in our region. 2400-pound male sea lions started our trip off with a bang by plummeting head-first into the water beneath them, allowing gravity to do the rest and create massive splashes. How dramatic they were!

We continued our journey southeast towards...