[M/V Sea Lion- 7/31/18 5:30 Sunset Trip Naturalist Alexandria]

What a beautiful day we had on the water today!

Our guests eagerly boarded M/V Sea Lion for Wildlife and Whale Watching trip!  Naturalist Mariana and myself, along with Captain Mike were very excited about what the day might hold!

As we got on the water Captain Mike received report of orcas in Haro Strait.  We excitedly headed in that direction as we kept our eyes peeled for more wildlife in our area!

As we got into Haro...

Jordan | July 26, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 trip

As the sun started setting in the sky, it cast shadows everywhere making everything look even more beautiful. Captain Pete, Naturalist Rachel and I set off on our vessel towards reports of whales on the other side of the island! So, we set off.

Out of Friday Harbor, we headed south down the San Juan channel, through Cattle Pass and Cattle Point lighthouse. We rounded the corner and headed straight up the west side of San Juan through...

Jordan | July 26, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30 trip

The sun was out and shining as Captain Pete, Mariana and I headed out on our Sea Lion vessel towards the promise of a great whale day. We headed south through the San Juan Channel and passed through Cattle Pass. Here we stopped briefly to watch some harbor seals playing in the waves and bounding between huge stalks of kelp. A few were flopping about on the rocky Whale Rocks while others idly watched. They were super cute.

Then we...

Jordan | July 24, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 trip

What a fantastic day out on the water! As the sun went down, the hot day cooled off a bit and made our ride incredibly pleasant as the sun cast picturesque shadows across the landscape. Captain Pete and I heard reports of whales down on the southwest side of San Juan Island.

So, we headed south through the San Juan Channel, past Cattle Point lighthouse and headed into the Salmon Bank where we found a small group of Southern Resident...

M/V Sea Lion was all boarded and ready to go along with Captain Pete, naturalist Jordan and myself. The sunset trip was sounding like a good one already with a report of southern resident orca within our range. The only problem was, we didn’t know whether to head south or north to get around to the West side of the island from Friday Harbor. We were hesitant that if we went one way versus the other, they would keep moving the opposite way and away making it harder for us to catch up...

Jordan | July 22, 2018 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30 trip

Today was one of the warmest days of the summer which made the trip all the more enjoyable as the cool sea air made our boat perfectly pleasant. Captain Gabe and I heard reports of whales toward the north end of San Juan Island heading south through the Haro Strait.

So, we set out south down the San Juan Channel and through Cattle Pass, past Cattle Point lighthouse and up the west side of San Juan Island. But, before we reached the...

Guests aboard M/V Sea Lion along with the Captain Gabe, naturalist Alexandria and myself had the most rewarding encounter today! Heading out for our second trip of the day, we were so excited to have seen the Southern Resident Orcas and were hoping they were still around and within our reach. Reports we were getting were not very encouraging and we were hesitant to go their way because it seemed that they were barely in our reach and moving quite fast north (opposite way of us)...

Guests aboard M/V Sea Lion along with the crew had quite a day today!  Heading out Naturalists Piper, Captain Gabe, and I were so excited that the Southern Resident Orcas had not yet left our waters. There were reports received earlier that morning about a group of them spread out on the West side of the island so we were excited to go look at what pod this was. We boarded M/V Sea Lion with the biggest smiles on our face and genuine excitement to see the Residents!

After boarding...

Guests aboard M/V Sea Lion had quite the treat today!  Heading out Naturalists Mariana, Captain Gabe, and myself (Alexandria) were very excited about reports we had heard about Southern Resident Killer Whales in our area! We boarded M/V Sea Lion with high hopes excited to find some Ressies! 

We got on the water right away and headed toward the reports!  Quickly we were treated to some awesome tail lobs and surface action from our guests of honor!  They put on quite the show for us...

Guests aboard M/V Sea Lion had quite the treat today!  Heading out Naturalists Mariana, Captain Gabe, and myself (Alexandria) were very excited about reports we had heard about Southern Resident Killer Whales in our area! We boarded M/V Sea Lion with high hopes excited to find some Ressies! 

We got on the water right away and headed toward the reports!  Quickly we were treated to some awesome tail lobs and surface action from our guests of honor!  They put on quite the show for us...