orca whale

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...

Laura C. | M/V Sea Hawk | 8/11/2019 | 2:00pm

We had a “killer” day out on the water!  M/V Sea Hawk headed out of Roche harbor with full steam ahead!  The radio was in constant use by boaters voyaging through the Salish Sea, announcing a Bigg’s killer whale sighting just past Stewart Island!  As we made our way north, we heard that there was a lone Bigg’s killer whale also traveling northbound.

Our vessel approached Moresby Island and we were greeted with a tall male...

[08/21/17- M/V Sea Hawk- Kelsey, Naturalist- 2:00PM]

 Happy Eclipse Day! The day felt like a holiday with people taking time from their daily activities to take a step outside and view nature doin’ its thing. We took it a step further and spent not just the morning viewing the eclipse, we also spent our afternoon watchin’ some whales!

We headed out of Roche Harbor from San Juan Island and headed just slightly northwest, and just a few minutes into the trip, we were with...

[08/18/17- M/V Sea Hawk- Kelsey, Naturalist- 2:00PM]

It was almost too easy, today! M/V Sea Hawk cruised out of Roche Harbor in search of whales and other awesome wildlife, and it only took a matter of minutes to reach the west side of Speiden Island where some transient (or mammal-eating) orcas were mingling. We had hoped to see whales, but we soon saw much more than just that! We saw whales come up RIGHT to our boat!

We had our engine off and were watching them milling...

[8/14/17- M/V Sea Hawk- Kelsey, Naturalist- 2:00PM]

M/V Sea Hawk meandered out of Roche Harbor on San Juan Island in search of whales and other cool wildlife, and we had the best of days!

The smoke has finally cleared out from the San Juan Islands, giving us a beautiful view of the islands and the surrounding mountain ranges as we cruised through perfect waters. We passed numerous sea birds, including a bait-ball filled with Glaucous gulls, Rhinocerous auklets, Common...

[8/9/17- M/V Sea Hawk- Kelsey, Naturalist- 2:00PM]

In recent days, we have not been seeing orcas, because they were just out finding food elsewhere! But today, our luck changed and we saw some transient (mammal-hunting) orcas, just southwest of San Juan Island!

M/V Sea Hawk had quite the trip in store as we moseyed out of Roche Harbor towards Victoria, BC. We finally reached some orcas, and they were soon identified as the T18 family group. This cozy little family of four...

Summer is finally here, in every aspect! It’s 85 degrees today, sunny, and flat calm on the water. Weddings are booked every weekend in Roche Harbor now, gracing us with beautiful dresses and snappy suits on our way to the docks. Yachts are flocking to our beautiful island, and their owners sit out on the deck or walk their dogs around the docks. Patio drinks, iced coffee, and art fairs abound! Most importantly, though, the residents are back!

Resident killer whales...

Guests were excited as we departed Roche Harbor and headed straight for Friday Harbor, and straight for the killer whale reports. Once arriving on scene, guests got great looks at the T-49s otherwise known as the transient killer whales. We were lucky enough to see two spy hops and some social behavior!

While sitting right outside of Friday Harbor, guests began wondering about the history of the San Juan Islands (SJI). The islands are over 100 million years old, and can...

There is a lot of mystery surrounding new baby orca J50, but one thing is now clear.  It's a girl!  The telling photograph was snapped and everyone could not be happier with the results.  A healthy population needs females in order to continue matrilines and produce more offspring.  Currently the Southern Resident Killer Whale population has more breeding age males than females, which does not bode well for future offspring.  We can only hope that little J50...

We spent three days paddling with a great group of eleven people and what an exciting three days it was! Our trip began in Friday Harbor where we shoved off in pursuit of Jones Island. The paddle provided us with some stunning views of Mt. Baker, a delicious lunch at Point Caution and much sunshine. There were bald eagles, harbor seals and jellyfish about for our viewing pleasure. After setting up camp we played an intense game of ultimate frisbee, packed our hungry...