j pod

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...

Laura | M/V Sea Hawk | 7/10/2020 | 12:00pm

The weather was sunny and gorgeous today as we left Roche Harbor on M/V Sea Hawk!  Captain Sarah steered our boat through Mosquito Pass and we headed quickly down the west side of San Juan Island as there were reports of J Pod in the area!  Passengers were thrilled to hear that they may have the opportunity to see this particular family of orcas, since there are only 22 members left in all!  J Pod members are Southern Resident...

Jordan | M/V Sea Hawk | 08/17/19 | 11:00am

What a beautiful day out on the water!

Captain Sarah and I headed out of Roche Harbor on our vessel, the Sea Hawk! We heard reports of the Southern Resident killer whales down south by False Bay and heading north through the Haro Strait!

Excitedly, we booked it down the strait, boated past Lime Kiln lighthouse and headed towards the whales! It was a gorgeous day; the sun was shining, and I had the sweetest group of people...

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...

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...

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...

Today, Captain Gabe and I took a super enthusiastic group out on the M/V Seahawk! We headed south along the west side of San Juan Island to look for the Southern Resident Killer Whales. These are the salmon eating ones that live in the north pacific and usually spend much of the summer inside the Salish Sea since salmon have to make their way through to find the rivers that they were born in. This year is a historically low salmon year so we have not seen the residents...

Calf surfaces just behind mother. This is often called eschelon swimming, when the baby is just being pulled in adults slip stream.

The M/V Seahawk had quite the adventure. Captain Gabe and I left the dock with no reports of orca whales, but literally two minutes off the dock… WHALES REPORTED ON THE RADIO! Our guests were all in a tizzy, as these reported individuals were some of our Resident, salmon-eating killer whales. This time of year is best to come see our...

Fall is approaching, but there is still a lot of summer here. Yesterday (Friday) Captain Gabe and I headed south along the west side of San Juan Island to search for the Southern Resident Killer Whales. They often are seen on this west side because their main food source, Chinook Salmon, travel along this coast as they make their way north to large river systems so they can spawn there and complete their life cycles. As we exited Mosquito Pass we saw some splashes and it...

Today we took the Seahawk up north to boundary pass, aiming for Patos Island to follow some potential orca reports. J pod was reported moving southwards from Point Roberts this morning, returning from their trip to Canada yesterday where they spend the majority of their day miles up the Strait of Georgia. Killer whales regularly travel 100 miles a day, and based on their movement since last night they may make today a hundred mile day!

When we approached Patos Island a...