San Juan Island Adventures

Yesterday we left Roche Harbor and out of Mosquito Pass.  We traveled just a couple miles South into Haro Strait and found a majority of K-pod traveling South.  We saw K13 (Skagit) and her offspring K20 (Spock), K25 (Scoter), K27 (Deadhead) and K34 (Cali).  K13 also travels with her grand-offspring K38 (Comet) and K44 (Ripple).  We also saw K16 (Opus) and her sprouting male offspring K35 (Sonata).  K35 is at the age where he is starting to grow his big 6 foot dorsal fin....

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...

M/V Sea Hawk motored north to the Canadian Gulf Islands to meet up with J-Pod. When we reached our destination, J-Pod was grouped together and were resting. When first arriving on scene, I typically tell our guests the differences between males and females. Males have the tall dorsal fin that can get to six feet tall, whereas females have a curved back dorsal fin and that can reach three feet tall. With saying this, all our guests today were able to see the difference...

Today was a lovely day out on the water. We started off going south through Mosquito Pass, passing by rocks with sun basking seals enjoying their escape from the 48 degree water. We paddled out and around Kellet Bluff, passing by Rhinoceros Aucklets diving after small fish. It was a great day for catching the current all the way up the coast of Henry Island. We also were surprised by several Peregrin Falcons swooping down around us. We stopped for a lovely lunch at Half...

Today Captain Chris and I went on a whirlwind of a tour! With a report in hand of whales traveling south near the Anacortes ferry terminal we set out for a very determined tour. We left Roche Harbor heading south through both Spieden and San Juan Channels. We realized that we would not be able to see the orcas and make it back to Roche Harbor in the regular three hour window, so we consulted our group and they were very excited to go for a longer trip. Through Cattle Pass...

Today was a excellent, warm, and calm day on the water. We left Roche Harbor through Mosquito Pass and headed out into Haro Strait. On our way south we saw a trio of humpback whales and they gave us a close swim by and a number of surfacings. We spent the rest of the whale watch with what seemed to be most of J pod near Eagle point. We got to watch the whales navigate around the gill nets and fishing boats using their echolocation or sonar like abilities. They seemed like...

Yesterday we left Roche harbor for a 3:00 whale watch with the anticipation of a great day ahead of us.  We headed out towards Haro Strait and followed the reports of a large group of whales at around Turn Point.  We got a little North of Turn Point and saw a huge group traveling North through Boundary Pass.  The large group that we were seeing consisted of all of K pod and a portion of L pod as well.  Captain Chris and I estimated about 25-30 whales in the area.  They...

The Resident Orcas of the San Juan Islands made an appearance for our kayak tour today.  While observing the intertidal zone invertebrates just north of Half 'Moon Bay, the whales approached us from the south and put on a dazzling show with tail slaps, side-swimming, and even a few breaches.  We also encountered many playful harbor seals, who danced alongside us in the bull kelp forests and did spins in our boat wakes through the eelgrass beds.  The massive tidal exchange...

Today we left Roche Harbor at 11:00 with reports of transient orcas in Canadian waters.  We went through John's Pass on the way to the reports of the whales and got a beautiful scenic view of the San Juans.  We got to the area were the transient family was hunting and enjoyed watching them hunt and even make a few kills!  It is always enjoyable to see this animals at their most active hunting state.  We even got to see some surface behaviors including porpoising and even...

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...