Elle | M/V Osprey | 8/23/2022 | 1:30 PM

This afternoon we took a lovely cruise up San Juan Channel and past the forested northern side of Spieden Island. As we entered the Haro Strait near Stuart Island, we were able to see huge black dorsal fins and exhalations which look like 10-ft smokestacks at the surface. The group we encountered included five Bigg’s orca whales: two sisters, Pebbles and Sabio, and Pebbles’ two offspring: Jasper and Rubble. You may be wondering, who was the...

Monday August 15th, 2022

Abby Dahl

M/V Osprey 12:30pm

Gabe, Helena, Olivia, and I pulled away from the dock with recreational boat traffic lined up for the fuel dock; a mid-summer reminder that the season end is nearer than we could fathom. With walkies attached to each hip, we navigated our way out of the harbor and introduced the wildlife and ecology of the area to a boat full of new friends.

We veered right through San Juan Channel, southbound to a humpback whale report. The...

Elle | M/V Osprey | 8/14/2022 | 12:30 PM and 5:30 PM

Today on Osprey, we spent the day with two families of Bigg's killer whales; the T099 family and the T036 family. This was a group of ten whales, including a calf born in 2021 which still had a pinkish tinge to its eye patches (the normally white spots on the side of the whale, right behind their eyes). These whales were formerly known as transient, and each individual is given an identifying set of numbers and letters, such as T...

Lauren | M/V Osprey | 8/13/2022 | 12:30 PM 

What an epic day! Dare I call it the trip of the summer? Today our 12:30 Classic Whale Watch & Wildlife Tour had one of those unforgettable moments... a key memory if you will?  

With no firm whale reports in the area, we had no idea what was in store for us when leaving the dock. Shortly after cruising out of Friday Harbor, we got word that there were some rumored killer whales in Rosario Strait. I say rumored because we were working off...

Elle | M/V Osprey | 8/11/2022 | 5:30 PM

This evening's sunset cruise enjoyed glassy waters and beautiful pink clouds around Mt. Baker (also known as Koma Kulshan) as we searched for wildlife in the Salish Sea. We departed from Friday Harbor and headed north at full speed, following rumors of some larger cetaceans. On our way towards Canada, we encountered plenty of birds, including common murres, rhinoceros auklets, and a few different varieties of gulls. We also encountered several...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | August 11, 2022 | 12:30 pm

For Thursday’s classic whale watch tour, we departed southbound to scan the open waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to find any whales and wildlife lurking about. Our search began scanning the shallow banks where nutrients pool at the surface due to topographically-associated upwelling. As the nutrients collect near the sunlight, photosynthesis occurs sparking massive phytoplankton blooms. What comes afterward is a reaction...

8/10/22 // MV Osprey // 12:30pm // Helena 

As we boarded MV Osprey we could hear booms of thunder in the distance. It was a chilly grey August morning as we waiting for a storm in the southern Strait of Juan de Fuca to blow east. Once we had our final numbers and confirmation of safe weather, we left Friday Harbor with our teeth chattering (okay, maybe just me because I mistakenly wore shorts!). 

The crew decided to head north up San Juan Channel as there were reports of orcas near...

Kelly | M/V Osprey | 8/9/22 | 12:30pm

There was a pleasant cool breeze in the air as we left Friday Harbor on this tuesday afternoon. It was a wonderful departure from the hot weather we’ve been experiencing. We had just received a report of Biggs Killer whales in the south and were excited to travel inter-island to get to their reported location. As we weaved through islands on our journey south, a small group of harbor porpoise surfaced quickly as we passed by the mouth of...

Kelly | M/V Osprey | 8/1/22 | 12:30

It was a picture-perfect summer day as we left Friday harbor and headed north in San Juan Channel. After quickly cruising up the channel, we stopped at Flattop Island. This island was bustling with wildlife! Multiple bald eagles soared over head as harbor seals lounged along the shoreline. A solo bald eagle was perched along the shoreline with its talons dug into a carcass. We watched as the impressive raptor pulled apart the animal’s flesh with...

Haleigh | M/V Osprey | July 31, 2022 | 12:30pm

As we headed off the dock on a beautiful warm day, we received an early report of Bigg’s Orca Whales… but they were running away from us. The T37A’s were making a run for it out the Strait of Juan de fuca, towards the open ocean. The only question was, could we get to them before they escaped? Captain Gabe yelled, “Full speed ahead!”, cranked the accelerator and the quest was afoot. 

We made our way through the bottle-necked channel...