Welcome to the Whale Report Blog

Today, M/V Kittiwake had the opportunity to spread its wings and fly! This was Kittiwake's inaugural trip this season, and I was so excited to be back on the water in one of San Juan Safari's flagship vessels. She's been with us since the beginning - so many wonderful whale sightings have happened on board this beauty. Today was no exception!

On our 2pm charter, we ventured north through San Juan Channel to explore the waters north of Patos Island in the Strait of Georgia. We heard...

Lauren Fritz, 6/1/17, M/V Sea Lion, 12 pm and 5:30 pm

I was happy as a clam this morning when I woke to reports that our J-pod friends were still hanging around the islands! Every day starts out a mystery, as it should. These wild animals can swim 100 miles in a day, so just because we saw them yesterday doesn't necessarily mean we will see them the next day. In fact, that's no indicator at all! We are at the mercy of these creatures and their travel patterns.

M/V Sea Lion had two...

[May 31, 2017 -- M/V Kestrel -- 2:00pm Charter]

One of my favorite things about M/V Kestrel is that with its speed our trip gains flexibility in wildlife viewing. Yesterday we left the dock with favorable reports of killer whales, but, because of the boat we were on, we got to see so much more.

We first cruised north through San Juan Channel towards Flattop Island. In circumnavigating the small wildlife refuge we got awesome looks at Pacific Harbor Seals hauled out on the rocks...

[Tuesday, May 30th ~ 12pm Departure, M/V Sea Lion]

Scientists love to speculate as to why whales breach. Some say it's a social behavior, on par with an excited exclamation or a loud "hey!" When there's no other whales around, we like to mention that whales can generally hear about 10 miles away, so potentially they are still communicating with a distant associate. Some argue that breaching is a nice way to itch themselves, and they'll use that impact of the water to dislodge...

[Sunday, May 28, 2017 -- M/V Sea Lion -- 12:00pm and 5:30pm tours]

On Sunday we had an incredible demonstration of the strength and power of killer whales. We often throw out the stat that killer whales can travel over 100 miles a day, and we saw that fist hand from one of my very favorite families of whales.

On our afternoon trip we went headed south out of Friday Harbor through San Juan Channel towards Cattle Pass. Under blue skies we had wonderful wildlife sightings of Steller’s...

Something magical happens when two very different worlds collide and are able to coexist with each other in harmony, even if just for an hour. The human world aboard M/V Kestrel had a chance to link up with the mesmerizing orca world of the Transient killer whales today off of Green Point on Saturna Island. I've always loved orcas, and have always appreciated their cunning, intelligence, and constant ability to keep us whale-watching humans guessing. But before today, I'd never seen...

Happy Memorial Day! Today's whale watch and wildlife tour took off just as Friday Harbor's Memorial Day Parade was ending, and our introduction was punctuated by rifle blanks firing and finished up with a canon fire! How much more of an exciting start to a tour could you ask for?

As we turned away from the dock, the sun on our skin and the crystal calm waters stretching below us, we were happy to be notified about a group of transient killer whales moving south off of Point Roberts...

Sea Lion had some grand adventures today! But, don't we always? Today was unique in that we saw two very different, solitary whales. One lone humpback, which is not an unsual sight, was seen cruising through the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Hein Bank. Humpbacks are typically solitary creatures; they don't hang out with their squad at the local bars or bond with their families over lunch. So, it was expected that we see this massive baleen whale chilling on his or her own several miles...

The 25th felt like summer! We had bright blue cloudless sky and smooth waters as we departed Friday Harbor with a small, intimate group of guests on the M/V Sea Lion. We took a right out of Friday Harbor, heading south, and immediately got views of harbor seals hauled out on rocks and Mt. Baker’s snowy peaks. As we continued south, we had a wonderful encounter with some feeding harbor porpoises in upwelling currents in Griffin Bay. We had dozens of the small cetaceans feeding around...

So what if there were gale force wind warnings for this afternoon in Friday Harbor? Sea Lion wasn't going to be stopped! We're spoiled by the generally amazing weather and sea conditions here in the San Juan Islands, so even when there's gale force winds out here, it doesn't affect us too much. And, fortunately for us since we were leaving at noon, the wind wasn't supposed to pick up until later in the afternoon. So, with the sun above us and a light breeze behind us, we set off as...