fallow deer

Olivia | September 1st, 2019 | M/V Sea Hawk | 2:00pm

It is always wonderful leaving the dock with reports of whales in the area. We had potential Minke, Humpback, Gray, and Killer Whales today, but with their far distance apart from one another, Captain Sarah decided to go see something black and white swimming around. That being said, we left Roche Harbor, took a turn around Henry Island, and headed southwest across Haro Strait towards D’Arcy Island.

The Haro Strait was...

Jordan | M/V Sea Hawk | 08/24/19 | 2:00pm

Today was unbelievable!

Captain Erick and I boated out of Roche Harbor and west towards Henry Island. It only took a few minutes before we started seeing whale watching boats along the coastline. We found orca whales!

We were able to identify the pod as the T36As! This pod consists of a young mother, T36A (born in 1990), and her 3 young children, T36A1, T36A2, T36A3. They travelled closely to shore looking for food and battling...

Olivia | August 20th, 2019 | M/V Sea Hawk | 5:00pm Charter

This evening, Captain Sarah and I had a private charter booked on Sea Hawk that was a reunion for some old college friends and their families. It was such a fun group of folks right off the bat that came pouring on with all the yummy foods to make it a social outing in the Salish Sea. We headed north through the San Juan Channel in hopes to see a potential whale sighting near Sandy Point off Waldron Island. Being...

Olivia | August 7th, 2019 | M/V Sea Hawk | 2:00pm

What a fun trip we had today out of Roche Harbor! While leaving the northern side of San Juan Island, we immediately saw a Harbor Seal swimming around by the docks. With a nearly full boat, Captain Erick and I started heading east through Spieden Channel and south down the San Juan Channel in search of some Bigg’s Killer Whales that were...

Jordan | September 8, 2018 | M/V Sea Hawk | 2:00 trip

Today was such a great day out on the water! Although the sky was gray and it was slightly drizzly, the day was still full of great excitement! Captain Erick and I headed out of Roche Harbor on the Sea hawk in search for our whales!

We heard reports of wildlife nearby so we headed out of the harbor towards the animals. Almost immediately we found our whales! We found the killer whales within the Spieden Channel near...

Jordan | August 28, 2018 | M/V Sea Hawk | 2:00 trip

Today was such fantastic day out on the water! The skies were a beautiful blue and the sun was shining as we left Roche Harbor. Captain Pete and I headed north towards Spieden Island.

Here we found some harbor seals lounging on the shoreline! There were a bunch of them taking advantage of the sunshine. There was even one seal in the water flopping around in the nearby kelp forest. He squirmed around until he flopped on...

Jordan | August 1, 2018 | M/V Sea Hawk | 2:00 trip

Today was a great day for the Sea Hawk! It was a sunny day with a crisp breeze and Captain Sarah and I heard reports of whales up in Canada so we headed north. We passed by Spieden, alongside Waldron, across Boundary Pass and up towards East Point off of Saturna Island.

Here we found J pod! J pod is one of only three Southern Resident pods that are found within the San Juan islands. Here we found them traveling south from...

[Naturalist Erick D., M/V Seahawk, 8/7/17, 2:00PM]

Some days are amazing whale days, and other days are amazing other wildlife days. The past few days have been super hazy here with a mix of smoke from Canadian wildfires and the normal fog that appears in August. It has made all the islands appear otherworldly as they slip in and out of view as the smoggy clouds traverse across the glassy waters. Yesterday, Captain Joe and I took a group of great people through this...

The blustery weather cleared long enough for Captain Brian and I to set out on a whale watch tour. We were hoping for a sighting of transient orcas (killer whales), but no luck. We were lucky with a few harbor porpoise sightings, many many harbor seals, a number of bald eagles displaying interesting behavior and a wonderful up close look at a peregrine falcon sitting just a few feet away!

We also drove very close to Spieden Island where we were able to see large...