*I’d like to start this blog off by apologizing for my overzealous and excessive use of “amazing,” “incredible,” and “awesome” but after a day out on the water like today, no words can truly do it justice.

What an AMAZING day it was today!  We had such an incredible trip!!!  We started off the day with reports of orcas in Rosario Strait (on the East side of Orcas Island).  We headed through Thatcher Pass and continued over to Rosario Strait but were so excited when we met up with J-...

Erick | Tuesday, April 30, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00

What a beautiful day!! Captain Pete, Sarah, and I set out with a wonderful group of folks to look for fun wildlfie out in the Salish Sea! It was beautifully sunny and calm today as we headed north. We started by going through Spring Pass and President Channel in between Waldron and Orcas Islands. Just as we reached the eastern entrance to this channel we got to see quite a few Harbor Porpoises fishing around Point Doughty. These...

[Sarah | 04/29/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

Today was yet another spectacular day out on the water in the San Juan Islands. We had amazing weather for a super long trip to find killer whales, and it was worth every moment on the water! Captain Pete and I decided to head south out of Friday harbor and, boy, did it pay off!

We travelled south through San Juan Channel and Griffin Bay popping out of Cattle Pass into the wide expanse of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The sky was a bright...

Piper | 04/28/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | Noon

I'm back for another season on San Juan Island and what a great day to kick off the summer aboard the M/V Sea Lion! Captain Pete and I were onboard with a great group of folks today, the sun was shining bright, and the wind had relaxed after a very breezy Saturday. We started off the day with a report of orcas near Sucia Island so when we left Friday Harbor we headed north through San Juan Channel. Just before entering President Channel we...

[Sarah | 04/25/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

Today was the day! The day we have all been waiting for! Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you that I have been talking about the day we would finally see a humpback whale in the 2019 season and that day was today!

Captain Pete and I had no reports of cetaceans when we left the dock in Friday Harbor. Undiscouraged we decided to head east, interisland, to search some waterways that hadn’t been looked at by any whale watchers yet...

[Sarah | 04/24/2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm]

Springtime in the San Juans is absolutely magical. The Salish Sea is in flux and there is such an interesting mix of our overwintering wildlife still lingering and some of our summertime species just arriving to our nutrient-rich waters. These conditions make the spring one of my favorite times to be on the water as the ecosystem is so incredibly dynamic and you just never know what you’ll see or where you’ll end up.

We started our tour...

Stellar Sea Lions

Today was a great trip.  While we didn’t have any reports of any whales within our range we still had a great time on the water!  We all boarded M/V Sea Lion knowing that we didn’t have any firm reports of whales so we decided to hear north up San Juan Channel.  We continued up past Pender and Saturna Island- both on the northern side of Boundary Pass.  Boundary Pass is part of the border that separates the United States from Canada which meant that on this trip we...

Erick | Sunday, April 21, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00

Happy Easter everyone! Today we had a fantastic trip. Captain Pete, Ryder, and I headed out with a full boat on a beautiful sunny day! He headed north through San Juan Channel and then through President Channel following up on a report of orcas near Sucia and Matia Islands just north of Orcas Island. Once we got nearer to Sucia and Patos Islands we started to see the blows! We soon identified them as part of J pod! J pod, probably...

Erick | Saturday, April, 20, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00 

Happy Earth Day! 

This was a sunny Earth Day out in the San Juan Islands. Captain Pete, Alex, and myself took a large group out to celebrate the day and find some other great denizens of Earth out there. We headed north through San Juan Channel and into President Channel where we had a few Bald Eagles soar above us. After we passed Waldron Island we stopped by Bare Island to look at the Harbor Seals that were trying to escape...

Erick | Thursday, April 18, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00

Today, was a classic rainy PNW spring day. Many of the widlflowers are comign out and the landscape blushes with hints of pink, purple, white, and yellow. Captain Pete and I headed north through San Juan and President Channel. As the low lying clouds hovered over the mostly still sea and scraped over the forested islands that towered above us we cruised along and made our first stop at Patos Island. Here we cruised by the Patos...