What do you think about when you think about sound? Maybe you think about music, or birds, or waves crashing, but I bet you think about all of those sounds going into your ears right? We hear sounds all the time, even when we’re sleeping, but imagine a world that you experience almost everything through sound. This the world of dolphins, and especially the largest species of dolphin, the orca. Orcas echolocate. This is how they mainly interact with their watery world and it kind of...

Did you know that orcas live all over the world? They’re a cosmopolitan species just like us, the humans! There are ten distinct ecotypes worldwide that look similar but differ, in their behavior and their feeding habits. Here in the beautiful Salish Sea around the San Juan Islands there are two ecotypes that commonly pass through our waters! In the summer the famous Southern Residents swim through the islands in search of Chinook Salmon, but year round there is another ecotype that...

This Friday, we got a very welcome break from the heat wave that hit us earlier this week. Capt. Pete and I headed out to a cool, calm afternoon. We’re currently in the shoulder season where anything can happen. This area is most famous for seeing the Southern Resident Killer Whales, but they make up only a small portion of the cetaceans and marine mammals that call this place home. They are also not even the only type of Killer Whale that inhabits this area! There is another ecotype...

Yesterday we had a rollercoaster of a trip: there were ups, there were downs, and sometimes it even felt like we were flip turned upside down. Let me elaborate…

We left Friday harbor with killer whales reported everywhere around us, we had a few groups of killer whales reported to the south moving away from Friday Harbor, some whales out West by Victoria heading west, and we had a group of whales who reportedly were moving towards us up North near Prevost Island in the Canadian Gulf...

Orcas, Killer Whales, Blackfish, Sea Pandas – the species scientifically labeled Orcinus orca is known by many names, and they are probably one of the most distinctive looking mammals in the sea. Although these large, intelligent, black and white dolphins look a lot different than you or me, you’d be surprised how similar we and they are… but first let’s talk about an awesome day.

            It was one of the sunniest and clearest days that I’ve seen this spring as we left...

Some days you just get lucky. In April, the orcas are a little harder to predict. The Southern Resident Killer Whales who eat fish are always in and out traveling long distances to find the best fishing spots in the spring, whereas in the summer they usually follow a regular pattern of following the main Salmon schools up and down the west side of the islands towards Vancouver. The Transient Killer Whales are always hard to predict since they travel in smaller groups and zig-zag...

On Saturday, we had a pretty unique trip.  Our crew had the honor of assisting in the memorial service of a long-time island resident. Our guests said their goodbyes on a beautiful sunny day in front of the back drop of the Olympic Mountains. As the current gently pushed us along in San Juan Channel and the service ended Captain Mike had a hunch that There may be some Transient Orcas travelling in the thick fog bank sliding through Haro Strait. Transient Orcas usually travel in...

Today we were again treated to orcas close to San Juan Island. On the warmest day of the year (as of yet) and some of the best sunshine we’ve had in a while, it’s safe to say that the stoke factor was high for both guests and crew.

We again left the dock with no reported whales in the area, but as we have seen in the past few days that is in no way indicative of the sightings that we will have out on the trip. We changed things up today and headed south, enjoying the scenery of the...

Yesterday all of our stars aligned. During April, cetacean sightings have historically been a bit hit or miss… whales here one day and then gone the next. Lately we have had a lull in whale sightings, but we have still been out enjoying the beautiful weather and ample wildlife of spring in the Salish Sea.

We left the dock with no good report of orcas; no one in the Pacific Whale Watch Association’s spotting network had spotted anything. About 30 minutes off the dock, Captain Mike...

Yesterday was another beautiful spring day in the San Juan Islands. The sun was shining and there were reports of whales before we left the dock, an unusual occurrence for this time of year, but I feel like I have been saying that a lot in the past weeks!

            We headed north up through San Juan Channel hugging the shoreline, motoring past scenic Roche Harbor and around Battleship Island. We marveled at how it is starting to feel and look a lot like summer, while watching...