Today M/V Sea Hawk traveled a long way to see Transient Orcas. Captain Pete took myself and guests over to James Island, by Anacortes. We traveled through San Juan Channel and around the south end of Lopez in order to get there. Along the way guests were able to see Northern Sea Lions and Harbor Seals. When we first arrived the small group of transients were hunting harbor seals and traveling quickly! This group was easy to identify because of one male, Mr. Floppy Fin...

M/V Sea Hawk and guests headed south toward Eagle Point on San Juan Island. Along the way we encountered Dall's Porpoise surfacing and creating rooster tails! This was a big treat for everyone, and for myself because I have not been able to see Dall's Porpoise do this action before. When watching the Dall's, guests were able to see the muscular build of the Dall's, see a the black and white coloring of them, and see a slow surfacing and a rooster tail spray surfacing...

Not the J22s this time, but rather our dock goddesses with some delicious cookies! Stop by our Roche Harbor location to enjoy some wonderful homemade baked goods and to donate to a good cause.  The SJO Relay for Life team in support of the American Cancer Society will be here today and tomorrow selling some yummy treats!

Dock Ladies Amy and Sarah with the Table of Delicious Baked Goods!

M/V Seahawk headed north on Tuesday morning in hopes of catching up with some transient orcas in Canadain waters. We ended up with great luck and the group of T65As headed south and met us half way! We caught up with them in Boundary Pass and they led us back to Roche Harbor. They spent some time hunting and milling around the Catcus Islands, and the backside of Spieden Island. We got to spend close to and hour and a half watch T65A and her 5 offspring, including the new...

Captain Nancy, myself and guests travelled all the way to Active Pass in order to see Orcas! In order to get to Active Pass, M/V Sea Hawk motored through Haro Strait and Swanson Channel. Active Pass is located in the Canadian Gulf Islands and is the passage way between Mayne Island and Galiano Island. This passage way is relatively narrow and can have very turbulent water, which our guests did get to experience! The Orcas that were in Active Pass were Transients and it...

Yesterday we left Roche Harbor and out of Mosquito Pass.  We traveled just a couple miles South into Haro Strait and found a majority of K-pod traveling South.  We saw K13 (Skagit) and her offspring K20 (Spock), K25 (Scoter), K27 (Deadhead) and K34 (Cali).  K13 also travels with her grand-offspring K38 (Comet) and K44 (Ripple).  We also saw K16 (Opus) and her sprouting male offspring K35 (Sonata).  K35 is at the age where he is starting to grow his big 6 foot dorsal fin....

With sunny skies and a soft breeze we had the perfect recipe for our 3-hour tours today, complete with many sightings of the iconic wildlife of the Salish Sea and San Juan Islands. Harbor seals swam gleefully around our boats, Bald Eagles stood stoic in the tallest of trees and Harbor Porpoises surfaced on the horizon of the Haro Strait as we paddled down the West side of Henry Island. Overall, a lovely and delightful day on the water.

Kayak guide Courtney, 3-hour tour...

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 was a lovely day out on the water. We started off going south through Mosquito Pass, passing by rocks with sun basking seals enjoying their escape from the 48 degree water. We paddled out and around Kellet Bluff, passing by Rhinoceros Aucklets diving after small fish. It was a great day for catching the current all the way up the coast of Henry Island. We also were surprised by several Peregrin Falcons swooping down around us. We stopped for a lovely lunch at Half...

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...