Sarah | 10/12/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

What an incredible day on the water! After an early morning report of a huge group of orcas moving east in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Captain Erick and I were eager to leave the dock here in Friday Harbor to go out and explore!

We decided to head south out of the harbor, and on the way out towards open water we stopped to check out some Steller’s sea lions hauled out on Whale Rocks in Cattle Pass between San Juan and Lopez Islands. These...

Naturalist Erick | Wednesday, October 9, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | Noon

Today, was another sunny, fall day in the San Juan Islands. Captain Sarah and I headed out to search for some wonderful wildlife. We headed south through San Juan Channel and as we passed Turn Island we spotted a majestic Bald Eagle soaring along the rocky, cliff-lined island. We usually see the Eagles being lazy and perched on a rock or tree. This one was soaring in the blustery fall air and making dives over the...

Piper | Sunday, October 6, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

Today it was Captain Erick and I on the Sea Lion with some really lovely guests and we headed south in San Juan Channel, on our way down to scan the Strait of Juan de Fuca! On our way through the channel our first wildlife spotting was a pair of bald eagles soaring through the sky just off our port side! Their impressive six-foot wingspan was in full view as we passed each other, our boat slowing down shortly after as Captain...

Piper | Saturday, October 5, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

Today started out so dreary but by the time we were gathering for our 12:00 Classic trip, the rain dried up and the sun was just starting to peak through the clouds, making for a beautiful day on the water!! Captain Sarah, Jacob, our Kayak Operations Manager, and I took a truly awesome and enthusiastic group of folks out into the Salish Sea today, heading northwest towards a report of Bigg’s killer whales which had been...

Olivia | September 30th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today was SO magical! We left Friday Harbor heading north through the San Juan Channel and cutting through Spieden Channel in order to end up near Henry Island. All along the way we saw swimming Harbor Seals and Harbor Porpoises! However, what really took our breath away was seeing a big male Southern Resident Killer Whale! It was beautiful right in the sunshine! I may use an excessive amount of exclamation points in this blog...

Piper | Sunday, September 29, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

On today’s voyage into the Salish Sea, Captain Erick took me, Alexandria, and a great group of people down south through San Juan Channel toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Along the way we stopped at Whale Rocks in Cattle Pass where a huge haul-out of Steller’s sea lions was lounging about the rocks, soaking up the bits of sun poking through the clouds. They were so much fun to watch and we noticed while we were looking...

M/V Sea Lion | Naturalist Alexandria | 12PM

What a great day we had out here on the water today!  When we got on the water we were very excited because we had reports of orcas and humpback whales!  We could not wait to see what the day had in store for us! 

We all jumped onboard M/V Sea Lion and headed north through San Juan Channel.    We worked our way up passed Waldron Island and picked up some Biggs Killer Whales- specifically the T35As and T38As. 

We got some fantastic looks at...

Piper | Friday, September 27, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

Captain Sarah, Alexandria, and I ventured out into the Salish Sea with a really awesome group of folks and reports of whales swimming about! We headed north into San Juan Channel and when we got to the top of San Juan Island we headed west towards the city of Sidney, BC. Along the way we spotted a few harbor porpoises in the Haro Strait and a haul out of harbor seals on a small Canadian island!

Shortly after passing by...

Sarah | M/V Sea Lion | 09/26/2019 | 12:00pm

September continues to impress with great weather and amazing wildlife. Today we left Friday Harbor under blue skies, enjoying some early fall sun and warmth on land. As we motored out of the harbor we were all commenting that we were happy to have our warm layers as the temperature dropped with wind chill off of the water.

Captain Erick steered M/V Sea Lion north through San Juan Channel towards a report of some killer whales in Rosario...

Sarah | M/V Sea Lion | 09/25/19 | 12:00pm

What a day out on the water! It was a spectacular September day here in Friday Harbor, and we left the dock with great reports of whales and other wildlife in our area. Captain Erick started off our tour by steering M/V Sea Lion north out of Friday Harbor.

It wasn’t long before we came across the T100 family of Bigg’s killer whales. Formerly known as the “transient” ecotype, these large bodied orcas are marine mammal eaters, specializing...