Many people come to visit the San Juan Islands in the summer time, our peak season runs from June through August. The summer in the Islands is absolutely beautiful, but many visitors overlook the spring and fall as a great time to visit! Why should you visit in our shoulder seasons? Glad you asked!

1) Wildlife is off the Charts

During the spring and fall we see a transition in our wildlife species as animals start to migrate to and from the islands. In the spring and...

This Tuesday, May 3^rd we set out again on another warm, sunny day. Today it was Captain Brian and I heading north with a great crew of folks form all over world here for various conferences in Seattle. Since it was a little bit hotter today everything was spending as much time in the water as possible. The Harbor Seals would poke their heads up to stare at us, and the Steller’s Sea Lions were rafting up together, doing spins, an loudly snorting their exhales up and out of...

Did you know that Humpback Whales have one of the longest migrations of any animal? Each year they spend their summers in polar regions and their winters in warmer climes closer to the equator. Imagine swimming from Alaska to Hawai’i then back again every year, almost every year of your life. Oh and you also don’t get to eat during your winter vacation in the tropics, there’s not really that much food and you’re worried about finding the perfect mate anyway. That what...

Yesterday we had yet another amazing day of encounters with some of the magnificent cetaceans that call the Salish Sea home. Captain Mike and I headed out on a bit of a grey afternoon in search of adventure and whales, of course. We had a lovely group of guests on board, and even a few birthdays!

We steered the mighty M/V Sea Lion north towards the Canadian Gulf Islands where we found J Pod, part of our Southern Resident Killer Whale population, traveling south through...

[caption id="attachment_1339" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Mike J26 and sibling near Gooch Island"]

The San Juan Islands are the most well known for being the home of the Southern Resident Killer Whales. The famous J, K, and L pods make up the Southern Residents, and are so famous that some of them ended up in some film sequences for movies such as Free Willy, pretty cool, huh? In spite of their ecotype name though, these ‘residents’ only like...

1. We can tell Humpback Whales apart by looking at their Tail Flukes and they are Catalogued!

The humpback whale we have been seeing in the last couple of weeks, “Heather” or BCY0160, is a local favorite around the San Juan Islands. She, like all other humpbacks, is readily identified by the markings on the underneath of her broad tail flukes. These makings are all unique to the individual whales, just as our fingerprints are unique to us. The designation BCY0160 is in reference to her position...

We all know the basics of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, but here are some extra steps you can take to protect the Pacific Northwest’s incredible Salish Sea.  These tips do not just apply to our little corner here in Washington, but also globally.  It is never too late to start making these easy and simple changes to help conserve our natural world.

1. Purchase a Reusable Water Bottle

Not only is this an easy and simple step to help conserve the planet we call home, but it also...

This Monday was another spectacularly sunny day out on the Salish Sea. This inland sea connects the Pacific Ocean to the Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia via the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and in the middle of all these are the San Juan Islands. This near shore environment that is between many rivers and the open ocean creates a unique marine environment. The cold, nutrient-rich salt water of the North Pacific mix with cool fresh waters produced by the famous rains of...

Our kayaking season has begun here in the San Juan Islands. We started operating daily kayak trips from our exclusive dock in Roche Harbor April 1st and it has been a blast. The weather has been fabulous with temperatures ranging from the mid 50's to the 70 degrees, sunny skies, and lots of wildlife. The bald eagles have been out in full force and we have been seeing many adult pairs and several scraggly-looking adolescents that have yet to develop their white head and...