Today was a great day to get out on the water!  The sun was shining, the summer weather was upon us, and to keep with the theme of Summer- there was a Humpback whale just a short trip away!

Captain Pete and I were excited that we had a report of a humpback whale in Haro Strait before our trip left, and we were hoping that if this whale cooperated by the time we worker our way north through San Juan Channel that we would be able to cut across the northern side of San Juan Island and...

Maxx K. | M/V Sea Lion | 06/24/2021 | 2:00

    When Sea Lion left Friday Harbor we had heard mere rumors of Killer Whales south of us in the Juan de Fuca. As we trudged through the current at Cattle Pass these rumors swiftly became a reality as blows and dorsal fins appeared on the horizon heading towards us. 

    We were slowly approaching a T-Party. Bigg’s Orca (Also known as “Transients”) typically travel alone or with small groups. Every now and again they will join up with...

Abby | Sea Lion | 6/21/2021

It was a sunny day, weather forecasted to be 75 degrees, although it felt like a blistering 90. We boarded Sea Lion in Friday Harbor, 28 smiling faces awaiting a trip through the islands. After Captain Pete and I left the dock, we cruised north through San Juan Channel, on route to meet a matriline of Bigg’s killer whales that were headed south around Henry Island in our direction.

When we arrived on scene with the T046B matriline, we watched in awe as the...

Jordan Higgins | M/V Sea lion | 06/20/21 |2:00pm

Today was one of my favorite trips of the season! Thank you so much to all my guests for being wonderful human beings with inquisitive minds and great questions.

The day began with sunshine and a wonderful, warm summer’s breeze. We gathered on the boat and were all so excited to begin our adventure. We headed out of Friday Harbor and boated down south. It only took a few minutes before we found orcas! Just past Mitchell Bay, we found a...

Jordan Higgins | M/V Sea lion | 06/19/21 |12:30pm

It was a gorgeous sunny day out in the San Juan Islands.

We began in Roche Harbor as Captain Pete and I jumped on Sea Lion and headed out of Roche Harbor. We boated straight up towards Stuart Island and boated towards Turn Point Lighthouse.

Just around the corner, we found orcas whales! We were very close to the boarder so we could see Canada just a few miles away. The whales cruised along the northern shore of Stuart Island exploring...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 05/30/2021 | 2:00pm

Captain Pete and I enjoyed a beautiful day today! 

We grabbed our guests and headed north out of Friday Harbor towards northern waters to explore. We shot up in between Waldron and Orcas Island and spotted a whole group of harbor porpoises bobbing up and down all around us! They were so cute. 

As we reached Patos Island near the boarder of Canada, we enjoyed a gorgeous view of the lighthouse and Mount Baker glowing in the sun amongst the...

Abby | Sea Lion | 5/29/2021

We set out on M/V Sea Lion. Or at least, we tried. At the lowest tide of the year (or more notably, the past few years), we began our reverse into some shallow water. With the wake from the ferry and hardly any depth, we motored forward and tried again. This time, Captain Pete reversed almost symphonically, as the crowd on the stern cheered in joy that the ferry wake had ceased long enough for us to pull out of the harbor.

We made a beeline for the...

Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | May 27th, 2021 | 13:00 

Leaving the dock today, we had one of the lowest tides I have ever seen with the Super [Blood] moon in full effect this week. With mud flats extending below the pier and lots of crabs and critters making their debut, we set out in search of whales and wildlife. We also had the pleasure of leaving he dock with some reported orcas in the area. To give our guests the best chances of seeing these whales, we immediately started heading south...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 05/09/2021 |1:00pm

What a beautiful day!

Captain Pete and I headed out of Friday Harbor with all our new friends and headed north through the San Juan Channel. The sun was shining high in the sky, so it made everything look extra blue and gorgeous today. The water stood completely still and flat.

As we arrived at Waldron Island, we saw our first blow! The crystal-clear surface water broke as the first hump emerged. We found two humpback whales! In fact, it was...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 05/08/2021 |1:00pm

What a fun day today!

Captain Pete and I excitedly hopped on board with our guests and boated out of the harbor and headed between Shaw and Lopez Island. Continuing on we went through Pevine Pass and out into the open waters of the Rosario Strait.

Here, we found orca whales! By looking at the unique patterns and shapes of their dorsal fins, we identified them as a transient pod of orcas (also known as Bigg’s Killer whales) named the T123s...