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What a diversity of wildlife today, birds, seals and orcas. Just north of Lopez Island we saw a mature bald eagle (with a white head and tail) and a great blue heron about 10 feet away. Then we headed further south and saw some very large black dorsal fins. We knew right away that we were looking at some mature male orcas. We were then able to determine that we were looking at L-pod based on the saddle patches.

L-pod is the largest pod of the Southern Resident Community of orcas...

The heat wave here in the Pacific Northwest is starting to subside! It was the 2nd day in a row for me to wear shorts on the boat and not freeze! Can't say I can do that very often. I was out on our smaller vessel the Kittiwake with our 12 guests aboard for a little adventure this afternoon.

Rumors were that the Orcas were still west of us in the Strait of Juan de Fuca slowly making their way inbound. They were out of range when we left the dock but I had a good feeling they...

While a heat wave roars through the Pacific Northwest, we here in Friday Harbor decided to cool our heals in the waters of Boundary Pass. The orcas had been north and east and everywhere according to the reports that we were getting, but we found them heading west towards Swanson Channel and the Pender islands. Supposedly, J1 "Ruffles" had been over near Lummi Island, but almost like clock-work he and his family showed up off of the starboard bow of our boat.

Capt. Craig always...

What a phenomenal day for wildlife viewing in the San Juan Islands. We headed south in the San Juan Channel and then up the west side of San Juan Island.

We encountered L-pod off shore of False Bay. It was amazing out there. The water was so calm, we shut down our engines and listened to the orcas as they surfaced to breathe. Every encounter with the orcas is amazing but today was exceptional. Orcas everywhere.

On the way back to Friday Harbor we took a look at Long Island to see...

We had a whale-packed day out on the MV Sea Lion today! Captain Craig, naturalist Jeannette, and I cruised all over the islands. During our afternoon trip we made our way north to Turn Point on Stuart Island (the most northwestern point of the islands AND the most northwestern point in the continental United States!). When we arrived to Turn Point J Pod was cruising on past in one tight knit group, with a few members dispersed here and there. J-1 and J-27 where in the tight pack, but...

It was a double round-trip for those guests coming from Anacortes today. We loaded them on the boat in Friday Harbor and then motored through Upright Channel and Thatcher Pass to get to Rosario Strait right outside of Anacortes. There was some fog again today, but it was well inland and offered a nice soft background for viewing the orcas. And orcas there were.

J pod was all there travelling in two tight family groups down the strait. The four big boys, both calves with their...

Last night was incredible! Our guests did not realize how good they got it! We circumnavigated San Juan Island, leaving to the south and meeting up with the Killer Whales (Orcas) of J & K pods on the west side. The seas had calmed down...(earlier we had 2-3 footers & white caps)....but by the evening it was flat calm and you could see a thick fog bank looming in the Strait between Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula. The Orcas were spread out and we got great views of a 1...

K-pod today! We identified K-21, Cappuccino. Cappuccino was born in 1986 and is a male. He was traveling with a female known as Deadhead, K-27. K-pod has 19 individuals and is the smallest of the three pods that make up the Southern Resident Community of killer whales.

The Southern Resident Killer Whales are a significant population in the Pacific Northwest. SRKW’s have been listed as an Endangered species in both the US and Canada. These resident orcas are often in the San Juan...

Today we headed north in the San Juan Channel. We had a few sightings of orcas earlier at False Bay on the west side ofSan Juan Island. We were originally considering going south. But as we motored out of Friday Harbor, we heard that the orcas were moving up on the west side of San Juan Island - fast.

So we went north and cruised past the south side of Spieden Island, which is just north of San Juan Island. As we looked for big black dorsal fins or a big blow from the bow of our...

Can go awry. You design a vacation around a wild animal that decides that it does not want to be on display that week. You devise a foolproof schedule and then the world conspires against you and nothing is on time. You take every precaution and still chaos ensues.

Such was our week in the whale and wildlife watching business. You never know when that perfect storm is going to hit, but when it does you always feel it. When times like this come upon us we in the tourism industry...