Sea Hawk

[8/15/2017 2pm Sea Hawk Naturalist Sarah C.]

Orcas will often stalk shorelines when they travel, in search of their next meal - usually a harbor seal hunting along that same shoreline. It's not every day, though, that we see orcas right up against a shoreline also occupied by dozens of campers!

We departed from Roche Harbor on our daily Sea Hawk departure in search of whales. Today, our reports indicated transient killer whales near Vancouver Island, almost due west of...

[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...

[Lauren Fritz, M/V Seahawk, 08/12/17, 6:00 pm Charter]

What do humans do for fun when they're hanging out with their families? Run around outside and throw a football around? Play Settlers of Catan and watch Disney movies? Bake cookies and make gourmet hot chocolate? Well, whatever you do for fun, you can bet orcas have their own ways of playing too! Guests onboard M/V Seahawks private charter today were treated to some amazing playful behaviors from a pod of Transient...

[Lauren Fritz, M/V Seahawk, 08/12/17, 2 pm Tour]

Don't you just love when you can spot killer whales near your home turf? Every day is different and unpredictable out here in the San Juans, but today we had the chance to observe a family pod of Transient orcas in San Juan Channel - moments after we were watching a humpback! It was a whale watching jackpot day. 

Captain Joe and I greeted our guests on the dock at Roche Harbor, excited to see what was in store for the day...

[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...

[Lauren Fritz, M/V Seahawk, 08/06/17, 2 pm Tour]

Today was another hazy day out on the Salish Sea - it's eerie in a way, but also creates a unique backdrop for our whale watches. We just hope those fires up in BC will be under control soon! We're fast approaching the middle of August, which means that it's the busy season here on the island - lots of fun tours and trips to be had! Today was no different - we had such an adventure heading up to check out a pair of humpback...

[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...

[8/4/17- M/V Sea Hawk- Kelsey, Naturalist- 2:00PM]

Roche Harbor is a summer’s day dream. There are children playing, dogs frolicking, brunches being leisurely enjoyed on restaurant patios overlooking the water, aaaaand there’s the option to go whale watching! So today, we did just that!

M/V Sea Hawk meandered out of Roche Harbor from San Juan Island in search of whales and other cool wildlife. And lucky us, we came across a humpback whale in the bay between Pender Island...

[8/2/17 2pm SeaHawk]

Transient killer whales continue to surprise us here in the San Juans. Some days they take us to the farthest reaches of our charts, and some days they swim right through the harbor, as nonchalant as can be. Today a family of four orcas passed right through Roche Harbor, even pausing to take down a seal on the way!

We pulled off the dock today with reports of a group of killer whales that had been spotted south of Victoria earlier that day. As Captain...

[Lauren Fritz, M/V Seahawk, 08/02/17, 6pm Private Charter]

On M/V Seahawk's 6pm charter today, we took out a wonderful family for a big reunion. It was a wonderful evening out on the water - lots of good laughs, beautiful scenery, and the best part - the chance to travel 15 miles north and see Transient killer whales up in the Canadian Gulf Islands!

I've posted a few photos from the journey - the lighting was unreal with a thick haze coating the islands, turning the sun...