Cactus Islands

Olivia | July 14th, 2019 | M/V Sea Hawk | 2:00pm

Heading out of Roche Harbor today, we stumbled across one of our Harbor Seals right as I was giving the wildlife talk about how to spot them, how perfect is that? The sun was shining, and it stayed awfully warm, especially since we didn’t have to travel far before we saw our first whale siting! Despite never getting too cold, I passed out blankets to all 7 passengers so we could stay nice and cozy the entire trip. We...

With a 1:30 departure out of Roche Harbor, M/V Sea Hawk and guests did not have to go far in order to encounter Orcas! Captain Jim took us outside the harbor and right away we were able to see the rest of the fleet with a group of Ks and Ls. Once on scene, we were able to see all the orcas in one big group! They were being playful with spyhops and breaches! This area is known to be a socializing area for these orcas and during the summer is when they are together most! It...

This afternoon, M/V Sea Hawk headed north to meet K-Pod. We met up with the group right at Turn Point on Stuart Island. The group that we were watching was traveling close to shore and guests asked how that was possible. Haro Strait is the deepest body of water in the San Juans. At the deepest point, it gets to over 1,300 feet, so there are dramatic drop offs right close to the shore.

Once getting around Turn Point, K-pod had a decision to make, they could turn and head...