Kelly Klein | M/V Osprey | June 19th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We left the harbor and continued south in San Juan Channel eventually making our way into Cattle Pass. We made a quick pit stop at Goose Island, one of our birding hotspots. Enjoying looks at the cormorant nests and a few scattered harbor seals on the shoreline. Making our way into a bigger body of water known as The Strait of Juan de Fuca, we were treated to crystal clear views of the Olympic mountain range, perfectly mirrored in the glassy...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | June 18th, 2026 | 12:30pm

This tour was able to leave the dock a few minutes early, and every minute counted because we immediately turned South and began travelling towards a report of whales down in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On our transit we still took a few moments to admire a perched Bald Eagle, Cattle Point Lighthouse on our right, and a large group of Steller Sea Lions on our left. Our crew knew the general area that these whales had been spotted earlier...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | June 17th, 2026 | 12:30 pm

It seems like we are back in our warm weather and glassy waters streak as today was an exceptionally beautiful day in the Salish Sea! Getting to watch whales in glassy, green water while hearing their exhalations will never get old. We traveled towards Rosario Strait today to catch up with a report of some Bigg’s Killer Whales. The amazing water conditions allowed for perfect scanning conditons as well, so we searched along the interisland...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | June 15th, 2026 | 1:30 pm

This afternoon’s windy forecast could not deter us in our search for whales! We began heading south, and had beautiful views of Mount Baker and even Mount Rainier in the distance, but quickly began to feel the wind and waves a bit more as we neared Cattle Pass. We got some looks at the Stellar’s Sea Lions on Whale Rocks among the strong current, but we definitely were rocking! Soon we moved on from the sea lions and followed along Lopez to...

Kelly Klein | M/V Osprey | June 16th, 2026 | 12:30pm

The gentle breeze felt amazing as we left Friday Harbor and pointed north in San Juan Channel. Eventually we made our way west through Spieden Channel and into the Haro Strait. Two exhales erupted from the glassy calm water ahead. A pair of humpback whales identified as "Monarch" and "Yakima" were traveling side by side! We watched as they continuously surfaced, eventually throwing up their elegant tails to indicate a long deep dive. It's a bit...

Levi Vandebunte | M/V Osprey | June 13th, 2026 | 12:30pm

This tour had just left Friday Harbor and was making the turn to head South when a passenger spotted something splashing around a few hundred yards to the left of us. Everyone moved to the side of the boat and watched the area, when suddenly a Humpback Whale launched straight up into the air! Seeing a Humpback breach is already rare in this region, but just two minutes into the trip??? That's unheard of! This jumping whale was a calf, and...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | June 12th, 2026 | 12:30 pm

This week has been full of so many fun encounters, and multiple species of whales all around San Juan Island! Today’s travels led us north in San Juan Channel towards a few reports near President’s Channel. As we entered President’s, we slowed down in the hopes of finding a Humpback whale, scanning all around for any exhalations, dorsals, or flukes. After a few minutes, we saw a blow in the distance ahead of us… and realized it was actually...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | June 11th, 2026 | 12:30 pm

The sun is back and summer is here! After some rainy days on the water, it was amazing to be out in perfect visibility and glassy waters. Even Mt. Rainier was out, and probably the most visible I had ever seen even though we are about 100 miles apart! After leaving the harbor, we spotted a sea otter swimming up the channel, but lost track as it disappeared beneath the surface… We planned to try to find it again on our way back. We traveled...

Olivia Ellman | M/V Osprey | June 8th, 2026 | 12:30 pm

Wind, waves, and a bit of rain joined us on our afternoon classic tour as we searched for whales in the Salish Sea today. We began by heading east, scanning the interisland route. Even though it’s cold in the wind, I love scanning for exhalations in the grey backdrop. We reached Rosario Strait and spotted the blow of a humpback a mile away ahead of us. While we had some killer whale reports we were making our way towards, this was a fun...

Kelly Klein | M/V Osprey | June 10th, 2026 | 12:30pm

We had truly backyard Biggs today aboard the M/V Osprey! Not but 5 minutes after motoring out of the harbor we slowed our speed to 7 knots and approached a group of killer whales identified as the T100's including:

T100/Hutchins — female, born around 1979

• T100C/Laurel — male, born in 2002
• T100F/Estrella — born in 2014

We watched this group of three transit in a zig zag pattern making their way slowly up San Juan Channel. Laurel's (T100c) 6 ft tall...