Well, it's official!  A new calf has been confirmed in the Southern Resident Killer Whales, bringing their numbers to 78 animals.  It is believed that J16 gave birth to the new calf just a few days ago as the calf was first spotted near San Juan Island today.  42 year old J16, or Slick, is a seasoned mother, having already raised 5 other calves.  We hope that with her knowledge the newest member of J Pod survives the first crucial year of life.  The sex of the baby orca...

Well Folks, the shortest day of the year has arrived are we are ready for the sun to stay up past 4:15! These cold northwest nights have us dreaming of kayaking on blue bird days and enjoying campfire cooking.  With 2015 just around the corner, it is an excellent time to start looking ahead to summer vacation plans.  Overnight Kayak Tours are an excellent way to spend a weekend - or even a week! We run full service tours that provide all the gear and food so all you need...

With November right around the corner, we cannot believe how fast this season went!  Not only was it a wonderful summer full of sun, but we had record high orca whale sightings!  This past season we had ample time to enjoy J,K, and L pod in their summer hunting grounds in the Salish Sea.  Many of these days were spent on the west side of San Juan Island, a favorite spot for the salmon eating Southern Resident Killer Whales.  On days that the SRKWs (Southern Resident...

Captain Mike, Owner/Naturalist Brian, guests, and I left Friday Harbor headed north in the hopes of finding whales.  Even though we started the morning with no reports, we remained hopeful as we motored along Orcas Island.  And then puff it's a humpback and her calf!  Guests aboard the M/V Sea Lion were lucky enough to be the ones to spot the pair of humpback whales!  Over the past few years, we have been encountering more and more humpbacks, and we hope this marks the...

It might have started out as a potentially very rainy day, but again, it turned into a wonderful day out on the water. The clouds were dynamic as the sun peaked through, giving everything a golden tinge to it- this includes the incredible North Pacific Humpback that was right outside of Roche Harbor! Not even 3 minutes out of the harbor, and M/V Sea Hawk was already on seen with the magnificent 45 foot long behemoth! The scientific term for the Humpback is Megaptera...

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...

Today Captain Nancy and I had yet another magical trip on the M/V Seahawk. We left the dock at noon with reports of all three resident killer whale pods to the south. The Southern Resident population consists of 79 individuals spread across three pods (J, K & L) and when all of the pods are together we call that a SUPERPOD! On the way to the southern end of San Juan Island we located a humpback whale. We were the first boat in the whale watching fleet with the whale and...

It's not everyday in the San Juans  that guests get a chance to see the massive humpbacks cruising through the area on their way to the breeding and mating grounds down in Hawaii. However, today was one of those days! The skies were clear and the water could not be any calmer when the M/V Sea Hawk departed from the bustling Roche Harbor docks. It wasn't long before guests spotted the gigantic blow coming from the two humpbacks surfacing in the distance. This blow can...

Wondrous weather here in the San Juans, however it was a bit touch and go on whale reports at the beginning of the day. However, that was quickly going to change as the day progressed. With all the new baby hoopla it would have been quite a disappointment not to see members of L Pod around the area-luckily the whales aren't ones to disappoint! About halfway down San Juan Island we heard reports of L Pod moving up island from Whidbey Island! Once we arrived at False bay we...

TRANNNNNNSIIIIENTSS! Hide your seals, Hide your porpoises, the transients are here. The T-65A's were spotted along the Eastside of Waldron, moving up island, and they were on the hunt! When M/V Sea Hawk came on scene the orcas were porpoising and flinging themselves out of the water to keep potential prey from getting a breathe. They settled for a bit as they headed north, but then quickly picked up the pace as they corralled potential prey into a bay. It looked as if...