san juan island

Naturalist Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | July 11th, 2020 | 12:00pm

It was my personal first trip on M/V Sea Hawk of the season and it definitely did not disappoint! We left Roche Harbor with gray skies, but our happy faces were no reflection of the weather, as everyone was already in good spirits as we traveled southwest through Mosquito Pass. We left the dock with potential whale rumors, which is always humbling on our retired fishing boat. Despite knowing there were potential...

Jordan | September 3, 2018

The World's Second Most Wide Spread Mammal

Orca whales are one of the most magnificent animals in the world that have left people in awe for centuries! Not only have we heard the stories and the legends, but also countless confusing labels describing these animals. But what does it all mean?!

As we go through this life, we all hear terms thrown around describing these mysterious black and white creatures of the sea: orca whales, killer whales...

[Sunday, 6/17/18 - M/V Seahawk - 12:00 - Naturalist Erick]

This Sunday we had a lovely time taking a great group of folks out aboard M/V Seahawk to search for some marine wildlife in the Salish Sea. Captain Brian and myself left Roche Harbor and wound our way through Mosquito Pass until we exited into Haro Strait. We started south along the western shore of San Juan Island. We cruised by the big cliffs on the northern part of the shoreline and once we reached Lime Kiln...

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...

I don’t know about you, but I love creative and adventurous dates or getaways! With Valentine’s Day right around the corner now is the time to start planning your romantic getaway to San Juan Island.  Within the last couple of years Friday Harbor and San Juan Island have become better known in the travel-sphere for our beautiful summer season, but the winter months here on the island have slid under the radar as a prime time to visit the islands.

In the winter the islands...

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...

[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...