Some days on the water are perfect. I am always amazed by how engaged and open to learning about the Salish Sea our guests can be. Yesterday we had one of those magic, early-spring trips into the wonder-scape of the Canadian Gulf Islands.

Leaving Friday Harbor we headed north towards Spieden Island to find some Steller’s sea lions hauled out at Green Point. The massive animals were sleeping in the warm sun on the rocky outcropping, soaking up some much needed rays. Soon these sea...

Big Mama the humpback whale was spotted fishing with friends just north of the border today.  After marveling at her broad back, knobby head, and impressive blows, we turned around to find another adult and juvenile humpback feeding in the same vicinity.  Humpbacks are solitary beasts, but are known to congregate at productive feeding sites.  Adult whales spend their day gulping about 3,000 pounds of tiny crustaceans or schooling fish, such as sand lance, surf smelt, or herring.  A...

Today I want to write about the foundation of the entire food chain in the Salish Sea as well as all the worlds ocean.  That’s right, I’m talking about plankton!  There are two types of plankton that exist: phytoplankton, tiny plants, and zooplankton, tiny animals.  Because phytoplankton are in fact plants, they are going spend a majority of time at the surface of the water in order to have access to their main food source, the sun.  These animals are going to photosynthesize in...

Today we left Friday Harbor with no immediate reports of whales in the area.  But, as whale and wildlife watching goes, there was ample opportunity for a great day on the water.  As we started heading North to survey for whales we got the report of a humpback whale in Boundary Pass just South of the Canadian Gulf Islands.  As we headed up to that area we saw multiple bald eagles in flight as well as harbor seals and harbor porpoises.  We made it to the area of the reported humpback...

(April 27, 2017) Our guests today were treated to an encounter with “Big Mama,” a school bus-sized member of the baleen whale family.  Just a few decades ago, humpback whales such as Big Mama were on track to becoming locally extinct in the northeast Pacific.  After a moratorium was placed on commercial whaling, several whale species began to recover their populations.  Today there are estimated to be about 20,000 humpbacks in this part of the world.

In some parts of the world...

We left Friday Harbor with reports of transient orcas headed to the South side of San Juan Island.  On our way to the area where the killer whales were seen we saw a variety of wildlife that resides here in the Salish Sea.  We saw quite a few bald eagles both perched and in flight.  We also saw a pod of harbor porpoise swimming in the area as well.  Harbor porpoise are one of the smallest cetaceans and they also tend to be shy around boats.  A surprise sighting during our venture was...

I drained a few tablespoons of sea water from the pocket of my rain jacket while recounting the details of yesterday’s wild adventure to our Sunday guests.  Today had to be a smoother ride, I promised, and indeed it was.  The skies were just as ominous, however, and the wise whale watchers left nothing to chance, immediately taking refuge in the protected cabin. 

Our first stop was the San Juan version of Jurassic Park:  Spieden Island.  In the late 1960s, two taxidermists from...

Captain Mike seemed antsy to board our guests and depart on the day’s safari.  The skies were dark and brooding, but there wasn’t a puff of wind and the channel outside of Friday Harbor was calm.  By the time we left the dock, the wind had cranked up and white caps busted against the bow, blurring the line between sea and surface as sheets of salt spray soaked the aft deck. 

Fortunately another captain in the whale watching fleet had sighted killer whales near Lopez Island and we...

That’s just how the cookie crumbles.  When my granny bequeathed to me this idiom, I understood that sometimes you’re unlucky, and sometimes you win big.  Whereas yesterday’s guests rode wild seas and saw zero whales, today’s guests experienced placid waters and a once-in-a-lifetime whale sighting. 

East of Orcas Island, the M/V Sea Lion glided beside a group of approximately eight transient killer whales.  The light was ideal for photography as Captain Mike set us up to enjoy the sun...

Today on M/V Sea lion we left the dock with no whale reports and rain in the forecast.  This is not an uncommon start for our pre-season tours; however, today our expectations were exceeded as the day continued.  We left Friday Harbor with plans to go to the Canadian Gulf Islands in hopes of finding some transient orcas.   We quickly got reports of transient orcas near Matia Island, on the North side of Orcas Island.  We headed towards the area and saw a large pod of harbor porpoises...