We had a spectacular day paddling on the 5 hour tour around Henry Island!  From harbor seals to juvenile bald eagles, we saw the full scope of aquatic life the San Juan Islands have to offer.  We visited blood stars and mossy chitons on the reefs of Half Moon Bay and enjoyed a ride on the ebbing tide around Kellett Bluff.  We finished the day witnessing a full bob of harbor seals sunbathing on the rocks in Mosquito Pass.  Another splendid experience on the Salish Sea!

Kay...

Today Captain Gabe, Brian and myself took out the Seahawk with a boat full of excited passengers and a clear blue sky looking for wildlife. We had no reports of whales when we left the dock so we began to head north to see what we could find when left to our own devices. Up near Spieden Island we encountered maybe 40 or 50 harbor seals both hauled out on an exposed reef as well as swimming around in the water. One inportant way to differentiate seals from sinilar animals...

With a report of J and K-pod at Trial Island heading northeast, and 15 excited passengers aboard the Sea Hawk, we departed from Roche Harbor at 11am. Expecting a bit longer journey until we could cross paths with the whales, we were delighted to have spotted them just south of Lime Kiln a few miles out from SJI. There, we were greeted by Granny (J2) and Onyx (L87), her adopted son, as well as a handful of others. We floated there in today's calm waters of Haro Straight...

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 we set out from Roche Harbor on the good ol' Hawk with knowledge of some orcas on the west side. They were headed south and weren't positive that we would catch up, but we remained hopeful. Orcas can travel at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour, a feat which the Sea Hawk is not capable of. As we approached Salmon Bank, we were delighted to see the awaited black dorsal fins break the surface in the distance, those of L-pod. We moved in to viewing distance to get a...

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...

Today the Sea Hawk left the dock with great news! Captain Jim had reports of both a Humpback whale and some transient killer whales in the San Juan Island region. Our passengers were excited to see some wildlife so we headed Southeast into Haro Strait where we got some fantastic looks at "Big Mama," a whale that has been spending time in the Salish Sea over the past few weeks. When Humpbacks initiate a deep dive (known as a "sounding") they typically raise their tail, or...

Today we left Roche Harbor with no whale reports in the area.  We traveled up through John's Pass in route to Boundary Pass in hopes of coming across some whales.  During our search we came across a few bald eagle pairs in flight as well as some harbor seals and harbor porpoise.  We received a report of two humpback whales, and mother and calf pair, a few miles north of Waldron Island.  We changed course and headed in that direction.  We got to see some great looks at the...

The M/V Seahawk set out on a beautiful May morning in Roche Harbor. Heading north we suddenly got a report of transient (marine mammal eating) orcas to the south near Victoria, BC! We are a member company of the Pacific Whale Watch Association, and as members we are all obligated to share sighting information with one another giving us an unprecedented advantage over companies outside of the coalition. We ended up coming upon my absolute favorite Transient male T19B also...

Today we left Roche harbor with a recent report of transients down towards salmon bank.  We headed out Mosquito Pass and headed South on the West side of San Juan Island.  Thankfully the transients were moving in our direction so we met them around False Bay.  We watched a large group of transients with a large male and 3 young juveniles including what looked to be like a very young calf.  The whales were heading North up the West side of San Juan Island at a very slow pace, which was good for...