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...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 09/24/19 | 12:00pm

It was so nice out on the water! It was super sunny and warm, and the blue skies brightened everyone’s day!

Captain Gabe and I took the Sea Lion out of Friday Harbor and headed north through the San Juan Channel.

Along the way we saw our first wildlife sighting: a bald eagle! It was soaring through the sky, elegantly flying with ease as it surveyed the area for fish before disappearing behind the trees.

We boated up towards Speiden and...

Olivia | September 23rd, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 11:00am

We started off our Classic Whale Watch trip by heading north through San Juan Channel into Boundary Pass and up through Plumper Sound. As we boated along, we saw Harbor Seals and Harbor Porpoises swimming around in the rain. Once we started to turn into Georgesons Passage, we spotted a big Bald Eagle perched up at the top of a pine scanning the water horizon! Not only that, but about two minutes later we saw a Great Blue Heron...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 09/22/19 | 12:00pm

Happy Humpback day! We saw so many humpbacks!

It all started as Captain Sarah, Naturalist Piper and I headed up through the San Juan Channel. Despite the rain, we charged onwards towards an adventurous day! We boated up President’s Channel, past Waldron Island and up towards Sucia Island. Here we saw humpback whales!

There were two humpback whales travelling and searching for food! These gorgeous animals explored the area as they swam and...

Piper | Saturday, September 21, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 PM

Captain Sarah, naturalist Olivia, and I left the docks with a really fun group today, to reports of both orcas and humpbacks swimming around the Salish Sea! We headed south down San Juan Channel, in the direction of Cattle Point Lighthouse. When we arrived in the area we stopped because there was a huge haul out of Steller’s sea lions on the small rocky outcroppings in the middle of the pass. The giant pinnipeds were...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 09/20/19 | 12:00pm

What a lovely day in the San Juan Island!

Captain Sarah, Naturalist Piper and I headed out of Friday Harbor and up north through the San Juan Channel and towards the Canadian border.

We boated up President’s Channel and saw our first blow! It was a humpback whale! This huge animal swam in circles as it fed upon its tiny prey hidden in the murky depths of the Salish Sea. We followed as the whale showed us its 15-foot wide tail! What a...

Olivia | September 19th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm

Today was such a treat all the way around. As Captain Erick, Co-Naturalist Sarah and I started heading north through the San Juan Channel with our passengers, we stumbled upon a rare surprise just south of Flattop Island- a Northern Fur Seal! We rarely get fur seals in our waters; in fact, this was Sarah’s first time in her six years of working here and Erick has only seen them once down in the Puget Sound. After taking in the...

Jordan | M/V Sea Lion | 09/18/19 | 12:00pm

What a crazy epic day today!

Captain Gabe, Naturalist Piper and I took the Sea Lion out of Friday Harbor and headed north through the San Juan Channel. We heard reports from deep within Canadian territory, so we headed that direction. Boating above Stuart Island and crossing Boundary Pass, we crossed the border. We continued up toward Georgeson Pass, intertwining between gorgeous islands, admiring the birds flying by.

As we emerged into open...

What an adventurous tour today!

Captain Gabe, Naturalist Laura and I headed out of Friday Harbor and headed down south through the San Juan Channel. It was clear skies until we reached the southern tip of San Juan, catching a glimpse of the Cattle Point lighthouse before running straight into a wall of fog.

This fog bank was really thick as we entered the open body of water. So, I could only allude to the Olympic mountains hiding behind the clouds. We travelled southwest as we boated...