san juan island

[Lauren Fritz, M/V Seahawk, 08/24/17, 2:00 pm Tour]

Today was a beautiful day in Roche Harbor, Washington, but what day isn't gorgeous out here in the San Juans? This particular day was sunny, with a light breeze and calm waters. The perfect day to go out on a whale watch. Captain Joe and I were so excited to see what animals were waiting for us out of the harbor, so we gave our introductions and briefings to our wonderful guests, cast the lines, and motored out of Roche...

[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...

[8/15/2017 2pm Sea Hawk Naturalist Sarah C.]

Orcas will often stalk shorelines when they travel, in search of their next meal - usually a harbor seal hunting along that same shoreline. It's not every day, though, that we see orcas right up against a shoreline also occupied by dozens of campers!

We departed from Roche Harbor on our daily Sea Hawk departure in search of whales. Today, our reports indicated transient killer whales near Vancouver Island, almost due west of...

[8/14/17- M/V Sea Hawk- Kelsey, Naturalist- 2:00PM]

M/V Sea Hawk meandered out of Roche Harbor on San Juan Island in search of whales and other cool wildlife, and we had the best of days!

The smoke has finally cleared out from the San Juan Islands, giving us a beautiful view of the islands and the surrounding mountain ranges as we cruised through perfect waters. We passed numerous sea birds, including a bait-ball filled with Glaucous gulls, Rhinocerous auklets, Common...

[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...

[Lauren Fritz, M/V Seahawk, 08/02/17, 6pm Private Charter]

On M/V Seahawk's 6pm charter today, we took out a wonderful family for a big reunion. It was a wonderful evening out on the water - lots of good laughs, beautiful scenery, and the best part - the chance to travel 15 miles north and see Transient killer whales up in the Canadian Gulf Islands!

I've posted a few photos from the journey - the lighting was unreal with a thick haze coating the islands, turning the sun...

[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...

[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...