roche harbor

color:#333333">San Juan Island… the sunshine, the water, the wildlife- it truly is paradise!  If you are looking for an easy one-day adventure from Seattle, San Juan Island is the place to come! 

color:#333333">Situated just two hours north of Seattle, a trip to the San Juan Islands is just a gorgeous drive on I-5 away!  From Anacortes hop on the Washington State Ferry and take it over to Friday Harbor, located on San Juan Island. Voted one of the top 10 most beautiful...

[Lauren Fritz, M/V Seahawk, 09/01/2017, 2:00 pm Tour]

Today was another glorious day in Roche Harbor, and for Captain Joe and me, it was made even better by the chance to take our wonderful guests out to the Haro Strait to view some Transient killer whales! The water was as calm as glass, and there was hardly a breeze. It was a perfect day for whale watching. We were delighted to see a few different family pods all traveling together, some with big adult males, several...

[8/31/17 M/V Sea Hawk and Kittiwake 4pm Charter]

We welcomed a wedding party charter onboard the Sea Hawk and Kittiwake today in a buddy-boat style whale watch around the Salish Sea. Our two vessels departed Roche Harbor with high spirits and perfect weather, and a positive whale report to boot! We aimed south towards Cattle Pass in the hopes of intercepting a group of five transient killer whales reported to be heading our way not long ago.

When we reached the T60 family...

Have you ever heard of the Marbled Murrelet? No? Well sit back and enjoy this quick little read about one of the endangered species native to the Salish Sea and Pacific Northwest!

The Marbled Murrelet is an endangered species of seabird. It is related to the puffin, and it has a stocky, pudgy body about 10 inches long. It has a short pointy beak with a short pointy tail to match. It’s a diving bird, propelling itself with its wings by “flying” into the sea depths to catch...

[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...

[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...