Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | August 4th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We were able to leave the dock a few minutes early today, which is always a nice start. We turned right out of Friday Harbor and began moving South down San Juan Channel. We made an early stop at a nearby kelp bed to watch an adorable Sea Otter that likes to spend time there. He is not always there, but today he was right at the edge of the kelp, with some wrapped around his stomach to keep from floating away in the currents. I always...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | August 3rd, 2026 | 1:30pm

This trip had it's first wildlife sighting before we had even untied our lines from the dock. An adorable mother/pup pair of Harbor Seals swam just past us after our passengers had boarded. This certainly started the day off on the right foot! We left the dock with beautiful weather on this tour which is always a plus. We travelled South down San Juan Channel, and our first stop was at a small island called Goose Island. We got great looks...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | August 2nd, 2026 | 12:30pm

We were gifted absolutely perfect weather on this day, as well as extremely calm seas. This was a great start to the trip as we cruised North up San Juan Channel. We made an early stop at White Rock to view some adorable Harbor Seals that were hauled out and resting. From there we continued a bit further North in the area of Waldron Island towards a newly developing report of whales. As we were approaching, we were so excited to spot two...

Kelly | M/V Osprey | July 31th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We wasted no time traveling south through Cattle Pass and into the Strait of Juan De Fuca. Following a whale report by Smith Island, we began to slow our speed to under 7 knots as we approached the island from a half mile. This island lies in the middle of the strait surrounded by nothing else but water for miles around its perimeter. It has lately been quite the hotspot for Biggs killer whales, and in particular the family we watched today...

Aly Liu | M/V Osprey | Thursday, July 30, 2026 | 12:30 pm 

Today was the epitome of a summer July day out on the water here in the San Juans; the sun was shining, the wildlife was incredible, and the energy was high! Our first sighting of the day was a lone Stellar sea lion hugging the shore in Upright Channel, one of the prey items of the group of animals in store for us through Rosario Strait by Fidalgo Island.

Here are the two families of marine-mammal-eating Bigg’s killer whales we had the...

Kelly | M/V Osprey | July 29th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We pointed south in San Juan Channel towards the nearest whale report. Cruising past the scenic Cattle Point Lighthouse and eventually into the Strait of Juan De Fuca. Transiting in this bigger body of water we were treated to views of both Mt.Baker, Mt. Ranier (in the haze) and the Olympic mountain range. We began to slow our speed as we approached Smith Island, a lonely island off the coast of Whidbey Island. In the distance along the shoreline...

Lauren Tschirhart | July 26th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30 pm

Whales are wild animals, so sightings of them are never guaranteed. With that being said, we see whales on approximately 90% of our tours during peak season. Peak season is considered the months of May through September. This is because during the summer months our sightings network is the strongest and we also have an increase in migratory baleen whale species like Humpback Whales, Gray Whales and Minke Whales. Orcas are a non migratory...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | July 28th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We left the dock full of excitement today as there was an exceptionally rare report of whales within our range. A group of 11 Transient Killer Whales were making their way North up Rosario Strait. Eight of those whales were from our Bigg's Killer Whale population here in the pacific northwest. This large of a group would have been extremely exciting regardless, but they were also accompanied by three CALIFORNIA (CA) TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | July 27th, 2026 | 1:30pm

We left the dock and pointed North out of Friday Harbor on this trip. We travelled up San Juan Channel and turned Northeast into Presidents Channel. We saw quite a few Harbor Porpoise on our way up! This is an excellent area to see them, and there was no shortage today. We continued on our way as we had a whale report a bit North of here to catch up to. Eventually we arrived to Sucia Island and just beyond that was a family of Bigg's Killer...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | July 25th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We ventured South down San Juan Channel on this trip, and were immediately greeted by an adorable Sea Otter just minutes in! He was swimming around the outside of a kelp bed just off of Turn Island. As we were arriving, he swam into the kelp and began wrapping himself in it so that he wouldn't float away. We then watched him roll around for several minutes as he groomed himself. Sea Otters are obsessive over keeping their fur clean, as it...