san juan island

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...

Jordan | July 31, 2018 | M/V Sea Hawk | 2:00 trip

It was quite the windy day out on the water today! Starting in the north end of San Juan Island out of Roche Harbor, Captain Pete and I headed south down the west side of the island to look for whales! It was pretty rough traveling in the Sea Hawk against white capping waves, but my guests enjoyed the roller coaster ride!

As we approached the south point of San Juan just outside of the Salmon Bank, we found our whales! In...

Jordan | July 25, 2018 | M/V Sea Hawk | 2:00 trip

Today was a great “hump day” Wednesday out on the water! As Captain Sarah and I headed out of Roche Harbor, we immediately began to see wildlife! There were massive salmon right in the harbor jumping and splashing about. Then, we saw a harbor seal with her pup swimming right next to the boat, peering up at our excited guests!

Soon after our first nature sightings, it didn’t take long until we found our whales! We found the...

Summer is in full swing on San Juan Island and kayak tours have been amazing all season! On Sunday, I had the supreme pleasure of taking out a wonderful group for one of our 5 hour tours. These tours start at 11 am and finish sometime around 4 in the afternoon. We usually circumnavigate Henry Island off the Northwest side of San Juan Island and have lunch somewhere along the way. I really appreciate leading 5 hours because they offer new paddlers and visitors to the...

[Monday, 6/18/18 - M/V Seahawk - 12:00 - Naturalist Erick]

This Monday We headed out into the bright shiny waters of San Juan Channel. Captain Pete and I took a group of passengers south through San Juan Channel. On our way we passed Harbor Porpoises that were swimming, Bald Eagles that were soaring, and Pigeon Guillemots that were diving. We headed south past Friday Harbor and Turn Island to go see a Humpback Whale that was travelling and feeding down here. Humpback...

[Sarah – 05/19/2018 – M/V Seahawk – 3:00pm Private Charter]

Ahh spring days on the M/V Seahawk! The sun was shining, the water was calm, and we had wildlife to discover. Captain Pete and I were excited for an afternoon spent on the water! With no firm reports of whales around the San Juan Islands we decided to aim north towards Canadian waters to try our luck up north of the border.

We cruised through Boundary Pass and up into Plumper Sound, marveling at the incredible...

April 27^th, 2017 marked the first official Marine Mammal Rescue Day in California! This year we wanted to commemorate the hard work of the San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network (SJCMMSN) operated by the Whale Museum and the SeaDoc Society under the guidance of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, a division of NOAA).

The Marine Mammal Stranding Network operates year-round throughout San Juan County to respond to calls of stranded animals, both live and...

Many of you may already be familiar with Mona, San Juan Island’s resident dromedary camel, but the word on the street is that she’s now got some stiff competition for the title of Cutest Exotic Animal on Island!

Last weekend saw the arrival of SJI’s newest community member, Mystery the zebra, as well as Mystery’s fellow rescue animals under the care of The Surf and Turf Animal Sanctuary. The cattle-ranch-turned-animal-sanctuary is relocating from Colorado to their new...

[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...