Harbor Seals

It’s cooled down a little bit here, getting closer to normal May weather. The sun was still out in full, bright force but air wasn’t so hot as it has been, but summer still feels like it is here a little early. Everything is opening on the island, more folks are starting to walk around enjoying the longer sunny days, and all the plants are so excited for the sunshine after a pretty grey winter. This sunny Saturday we had a choice to make, since there was no reports out...

Yesterday did not seem as though its was going have such a magical outcome. We left the dock with no good report of orcas. Then, thirty minutes off the dock, Captain Mike pulled me into the wheelhouse to pass along the news: Orcas, and lots of them! I hurriedly passed the news along to guests as we cruised under sunny San Juan skies watching gulls and harbor porpoise flit past.

We continued North around East Point on Saturna Island in British Columbia and stopped to...

I don’t know about you, but I love babies, and most of all I love orca babies! Especially when they spyhop and fluke and are extra chubby. First though I got to back up. This Saturday, the M/V Sea Lion received reports of killer whales off the west side of San Juan Island, heading north through Haro Strait. We set off with Capt. Mike, Naturalist Sarah, and myself to go find these big, black and white animals on another spectacularly beautiful, sunny, spring day.

As we...

My blogs usually take place from the platform of our whale watching vessel, the M/V Seahawk. Today, however, history was made: My guests and I "got whaled" from kayaks!

Taking people kayaking compared to cruising on the whale watch boat is a completely different perspective. We are lower to the water, propelling ourselves along our path using nearly silent paddle strokes as opposed to the noisy diesel engine, typically in much smaller and intimate groups, and we are much...

Today we left Roche harbor with the reports of J pod at Eagle Point headed South.  We headed out Mosquito Pass towards Haro Strait and saw a number of seals on our route.  It is currently seal pupping season so those cute little guys are an adorable sight this time of the year.  Since the whales were headed south during our travels they ended up on the South end of Lopez Island traveling East.  Thankfully there was a trailing group of four whales that were moving at a...

Looking for a good way to spend your weekend? Consider a getaway on the beautiful Stuart Island with San Juan Outfitters crew. A wonderful group of eleven set off from Roche Harbor last Friday afternoon with kayaks loaded full of camping gear, delicious food, and happy spirits! Kayak guides, Tyler, Adam, and Jaclyn lead the group from San Juan Island to the nearby Stuart Island. Along the way, the group spotted many majestic bald eagles and happy harbor seals while taking...

Today we left Roche Harbor with no whale reports in the area.  We traveled up through John's Pass in route to Boundary Pass in hopes of coming across some whales.  During our search we came across a few bald eagle pairs in flight as well as some harbor seals and harbor porpoise.  We received a report of two humpback whales, and mother and calf pair, a few miles north of Waldron Island.  We changed course and headed in that direction.  We got to see some great looks at the...

TRANNNNNNSIIIIENTSS! Hide your seals, Hide your porpoises, the transients are here. The T-65A's were spotted along the Eastside of Waldron, moving up island, and they were on the hunt! When M/V Sea Hawk came on scene the orcas were porpoising and flinging themselves out of the water to keep potential prey from getting a breathe. They settled for a bit as they headed north, but then quickly picked up the pace as they corralled potential prey into a bay. It looked as if...

Captain Nancy, myself and guests travelled all the way to Active Pass in order to see Orcas! In order to get to Active Pass, M/V Sea Hawk motored through Haro Strait and Swanson Channel. Active Pass is located in the Canadian Gulf Islands and is the passage way between Mayne Island and Galiano Island. This passage way is relatively narrow and can have very turbulent water, which our guests did get to experience! The Orcas that were in Active Pass were Transients and it...

With sunny skies and a soft breeze we had the perfect recipe for our 3-hour tours today, complete with many sightings of the iconic wildlife of the Salish Sea and San Juan Islands. Harbor seals swam gleefully around our boats, Bald Eagles stood stoic in the tallest of trees and Harbor Porpoises surfaced on the horizon of the Haro Strait as we paddled down the West side of Henry Island. Overall, a lovely and delightful day on the water.

Kayak guide Courtney, 3-hour tour...