j pod

Today Captain Gabe and I had a wonderful day aboard the M/V Seahawk cruising down the west side of San Juan Island. The water was gorgeous and smooth, and it was one of our first warm days out on the water. I was happily wrapped in a fleece while cruising, but while sitting watching the whales the sun was just perfection! We spent plenty of time with some of the J16 matriline, including one of my favorite whales J26 Mike. J26 Mike is a full grown male killer whale, so he...

Today Captain Pete and I took an excellent group out on the Sea Hawk to look for wildlife. We had heard that there was some Killer Whale action East of Orcas Island in Rosario Strait, so we began our long luxurious cruise in between Orcas and Shaw/Lopez. Along the way we saw plenty of Harbor Seals and bald eagles until in the distance we began to see lots of puffs of air and black dorsal fins sneaking out of the water.

We came up on about half of J Pod as they were...

Today Captain Jim and Naturalist Mike boarded the M/V/ Sea Hawk with a boat full of happy people: some celebrating a wedding, some on a honeymoon and some celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary! We love going out with happy people, and they were about to become much happier as we broke the news to them that we had reports of J Pod, part of the Southern Resident Killer Whale population, heading our way!

We left the dock heading North out of Roche Harbor and didn't spend...

I saw the first splash from a quarter mile away; a great backwards leap that sent water twenty feet in the air. Hoping for some repetition I crossed my fingers as we motored closer to the scene, deep in the middle of the Strait of Georgia. We'd finally made it to J Pod.

Many people don't realize why whales breach. Be they Killer Whales or Humpbacks, breach we may not know the meaning of every individual action, but we do know these are social displays meant to send a...

A good day on the water is full of tough but ultimately great choices to make. Which whales to see? Southern Residents, Transients, maybe a Humpback Whale? Leaving port with Captain Mike at the helm, our weekend guests were excited for nature on the water.

Working our way North through President's Channel, we had the looming forested slopes of Turtleback to our Starboard and the slanting cliffs of Waldron to our left. It was another gorgeous day on the water, which...

Leaving Friday Harbor with reports of whales is always a great feeling and Captain Mike took us off the docks with good vibes for J Pod. We made a few stops along to the way, taking in Spieden's open slopes, Steller Sea Lions, and Harbor Seal lounging on the rocks, but we had a destination in mind. Before too long we caught up with Orca on Open Bay on the West side of San Juan Island.

Being early in the year, the Southern Resident Killer whales, which are largely...

The day was sunny, the guests were excited, and we had whales to see! Captain Mike and myself whisked our guests off for a day on the water that felt more June than April. With reports of J Pod on the Westside, we zipped North to catch up with them.

Knowing we had time to see these Residents Killer Whales, we worked our way there, stopping for a few Harbor Seals, Bald Eagles, and Steller Sea Lions around Spieden Island. As the largest privately owned island in the San...

Started off as a potentially very wet whale watch, but that was quickly about to change. Soon after leaving the docks of Roche Harbor, the M/V Sea Hawk could see clear skies in front of her. This wasn't the only good news for passengers on board, but there were also reports of Southern Resident Killer whales on the westside of San Juan Island. As we motored past Lime Kiln Whale Watching Park we started to see puffs of air in the far distance. Upon closer inspection it was...

M/V Sea Hawk motored north to the Canadian Gulf Islands to meet up with J-Pod. When we reached our destination, J-Pod was grouped together and were resting. When first arriving on scene, I typically tell our guests the differences between males and females. Males have the tall dorsal fin that can get to six feet tall, whereas females have a curved back dorsal fin and that can reach three feet tall. With saying this, all our guests today were able to see the difference...

Today Captain Chris and I went on a whirlwind of a tour! With a report in hand of whales traveling south near the Anacortes ferry terminal we set out for a very determined tour. We left Roche Harbor heading south through both Spieden and San Juan Channels. We realized that we would not be able to see the orcas and make it back to Roche Harbor in the regular three hour window, so we consulted our group and they were very excited to go for a longer trip. Through Cattle Pass...