roche harbor

[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...

[Lauren Fritz, M/V Seahawk, 08/01/17, 2:00 pm Tour]

We had some interesting weather in the Salish Sea today - a nice haze coated our islands, creating an etheral aura and providing a beautiful backdrop for our whale watches today. After our guests had boarded the M/V Seahawk in Roche Harbor, Captain Joe shared his plan for the day. We would be heading north and going into "search mode" because no whales had yet been reported in our area - we wanted to be the first to find...

[Naturalist Erick D., M/V Seahawk, 7/31/17, 2:00PM]

Yesterday, Captain Joe and I took out a full group of guests from Roche Harbor aboard the M/V Seahawk. Again we were on the lookout for any adorable or exciting wildlife out there in the waters of the Salish Sea. We journeyed through the inner islands going in between the tight passages of the Wasp Islands and then between Orcas, Shaw and Lopez Islands. Eventually we made it into Rosario Strait on the eastern side of...

[7/30/17 2pm SH]

Summer brings excitement here in the San Juans. All sorts of wildlife can be seen both along shorelines and in the sea, enjoying the sunshine just as much as we do. Today we got a little peek into the true abundance of wildlife here in the San Juans. We took the Sea Hawk out for one of the warmest days yet, with beaming sunshine and breezes just cool enough to warrant a light sweater. Our little tour took us all throughout the islands just north of Roche...

[Sarah M. – 07/21/2017 – M/V Seahawk – 02:00pm]

Today the M/V Seahawk had a breathtaking afternoon whale watch from Roche Harbor. We had some much-needed rain and it yielded a true Pacific Northwest feel as we cruised the Salish Sea with some liquid sunshine falling the sky.

As we left the harbor we had two reports of orcas in the area, one far to the south, another to the far north. We made the decision to head to the northern group, and Captain Joe steered the M/V...

[Naturalist Erick. D., M/V Seahawk, 7/18/17 2:00PM]

            For the whole summer we have been seeing almost all Transient (Bigg’s) Orcas. Those are the mammal-eating ones, and despite their old common name we see them in the Salish Sea just as much as the Southern Residents we just tend to see them more in the winter and spring when the residents are absent and there is an increase in the marine mammal population including Steller Sea Lions, California Sea Lions...

[Naturalist Erick D., M/V Seahawk, 7/16/17, 2:00PM]

Captain Joe and I left from Roche Harbor yesterday with a smaller group to go search for some super wildlife and whales. We took an interisland route. This means for most of the voyage we stayed in the smaller passes and in the midst of most of the islands instead of traveling in the larger bodies of water that surround them. If you look at a map of the San Juan Islands, they are surrounded by four larger bodies of...

Despite intense yearning and best efforts, guests and crew aboard the M/V Sea Hawk were reminded that one can flip only so many whale tails before you’re certain to get a deadhead.  After a lucky run of tours over the past week, which included multiple whale species, the laws of statistics came bear, resulting in not one sighting of a cetacean today.

No matter, our guests could still be heard chattering and laughing from the Canadian shoreline as we plied the...

J16 Slick surfacing

  This afternoon, Captain Gabe and I set off from Roche Harbor with arguably the best dressed guests we've ever had on board. They had just had a wedding! Normally, I would have advised the ladies to change clothes before getting on the boat--just because the wind can be chilly. But this group came fully prepared, with carefully picked out and coordinated sweaters to go with the dresses, and blankets for all. Luckily though, we were having perfect...

Spyhopping Southern Resident Killer Whale off of Henry Island, WA

Sunday mornings, especially on holiday weekends, are my favorite times to be at Roche Harbor. The excitement in the air is palpable, usually the sun is shining in a bright blue sky, and we have the chance to welcome and host a group of very enthusiastic people.

This Labor Day weekend was no different. On our 11am departure we had a group of our Southern Resident Killer Whales reported off the Westside of...