Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | September 18th, 2026 | 1:30pm

This tour left the dock with some amazing weather from the start. It certainly felt more like a mid-July day rather than mid-September, so it was a great day to be out on the water! We headed East on this day through the inner islands, similar to the route that the Washington State Ferries take. We slowly cruised through a narrow waterway known as Peavine Pass before entering Rosario Strait. We were immediately greeted with beautiful...

Aly Liu | M/V Osprey | Saturday, September, 14 2026 | 1:30 pm 

Fall is so close you can taste it, especially this afternoon. The air is chillier, the sky grayer, town quieter. However, the magic of the Salish Sea persists, and the killer whales certainly don’t mind the cold.

M/V Osprey departed the dock at Friday Harbor at 1:30pm today, and within minutes we were at our first wildlife stop! Not only was my favorite seabird perched upon the kelp forest by Turn Rock, but the marine mammal with the...

Lauren Tschirhart | September 13th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 11:00 am

For the last several years, San Juan Safaris has partnered with Island Rec to get San Juan Island locals out on the water to see the beautiful wildlife that surrounds their home. Coincidentally, our tour today ended up completing a circumnavigation of San Juan Island… How fitting! 

The M/V Osprey departed Friday Harbor and headed south. We made a stop just south of Turn Rock to view some hauled our harbor seals and a sea otter! The...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | September 11th, 2026 | 12:30pm

This tour left the dock with the gift of beautiful weather and water conditions which is always a great start. We turned right out of Friday Harbor and pointed South in San Juan Channel. We began by checking a nearby kelp bed that is sometimes frequented by a Sea Otter. This is a rare species to encounter in the inland waters of the Salish Sea, but luckily this little one has taken a liking to this specific spot. It ususually can be...

Lauren Tschirhart | September 7th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 1:30 pm

Two of our favorite families were sighted close to the harbor today, so we couldn’t wait to get out on the water! The T049A’s were sighted just north of San Juan Channel in Boundary Pass, so we decided to follow up on that report first. As we made our way into Boundary, the T049A’s cruised right past White Rock, a known harbor seal haul out sight. We saw some splashing around and it seemed like they may have grabbed a seal, but we...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | September 6th, 2026 | 12:30pm

This was an exciting day for our crew, as an uncommon report of Bigg's Killer Whales popped up near Friday Harbor in the morning. The reason for it being uncommon was not because of the type of whales, but because of the individuals themselves. T65 "Whidbey" and T63 "Chainsaw" had made a rare appearance to the inner San Juan Islands and were making their way down San Juan Channel. Whidbey is one of the older living females in the...

Aly Liu | M/V Kestrel | Sunday, September 6, 2026 | 10:00 AM 

Little did I know this morning when I crawled out of bed that I was about to spend the morning with 15 whales, let alone perhaps the most iconic Bigg’s killer whale of the Salish Sea.

We usually start the trip with an introduction to the marine mammals of the San Juans, but this morning, there was no time for this, as four toothed whales were visible from the naked eye before even exiting the harbor. I failed at keeping my cool upon...

Aly Liu | M/V Osprey | Saturday, September, 5 2026 | 12:30 pm 

Beautiful weather plus one of my favorite families of killer whales plus a personal Minke whale milestone...what a fantastic day out on the water.

We headed east from Friday Harbor through Upright Channel. The ferry terminal on Lopez Island suddenly became visible, along with three large exhalations…it was three Bigg’s killer whales! And, not just any killer whales, but one of the most beloved families here in the Salish Sea. Galiano...

Olivia Esqueda | September 4th, 2026 | M/V Osprey | 12:30pm

What an extra fun day out on the water! We left the harbor and immediately came across one of our favorite Transient Orcas- T065A3 traveling along the Shaw Island shoreline. This adventurous male was weaving between the Wasp Islands and through Spring Passage, until we slowly departed in search of other wildlife. 

T065A3/Amir(a) — male, born in 2007

After traveling across the northern part of San Juan Channel and entering New Channel, we...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | September 3rd, 2026 | 12:30pm

We left the dock and turned South on this tour, pointing straight at a distant report of Bigg's Killer Whales. They were quite a ways away when we left, but they were luckily moving towards us. We were hoping that would continue and cut down our travel time. Along the way we did a drive-by of Whale Rocks which is near the bottom of San Juan Island. There were several dozen Steller Sea Lions hauled out on these rocks, many of which were...