[Friday, 5/18/18 - M/V Seahawk - 10:00 - Naturalist Erick]

This morning Captain Pete and I took a wonderful charter group that was here on island for a beautiful wedding. We headed out with a full boat and started our search. We exited Mosquito Pass into Haro Strait and started heading north. We headed around the northside of Henry Island into Spieden Channel. We made our first stop at Sentinel Rocks to look at a colony of Harbor Seals lying on the rocks there. They...

[Sarah – 05/19/2018 – M/V Seahawk – 3:00pm Private Charter]

Ahh spring days on the M/V Seahawk! The sun was shining, the water was calm, and we had wildlife to discover. Captain Pete and I were excited for an afternoon spent on the water! With no firm reports of whales around the San Juan Islands we decided to aim north towards Canadian waters to try our luck up north of the border.

We cruised through Boundary Pass and up into Plumper Sound, marveling at the incredible...

Joining our tours is one of my favorite things to-do! I am lucky to say I love my job both on and off the clock.  Having spent the last two years traveling around the world, it’s a joy to advise and assist travelers to San Juan Island in my home state of Washington.

Here’s why I’m proud to be a staff member:

San Juan Island… the sunshine, the water, the wildlife- it truly is paradise!  If you are looking for an easy one-day adventure from Seattle, San Juan Island is the place to come! 

Situated just two hours north of Seattle, a trip to the San Juan Islands is just a gorgeous drive on I-5 away!  From Anacortes hop on the Washington State Ferry and take it over to Friday Harbor, located on San Juan Island. Voted one of the top 10 most beautiful ferry rides in the world, taking the ferry is half the...

April 27^th, 2017 marked the first official Marine Mammal Rescue Day in California! This year we wanted to commemorate the hard work of the San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network (SJCMMSN) operated by the Whale Museum and the SeaDoc Society under the guidance of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, a division of NOAA).

The Marine Mammal Stranding Network operates year-round throughout San Juan County to respond to calls of stranded animals, both live and...

I don’t know about you, but I love creative and adventurous dates or getaways! With Valentine’s Day right around the corner now is the time to start planning your romantic getaway to San Juan Island.  Within the last couple of years Friday Harbor and San Juan Island have become better known in the travel-sphere for our beautiful summer season, but the winter months here on the island have slid under the radar as a prime time to visit the islands.

In the winter the islands...

Many of you may already be familiar with Mona, San Juan Island’s resident dromedary camel, but the word on the street is that she’s now got some stiff competition for the title of Cutest Exotic Animal on Island!

Last weekend saw the arrival of SJI’s newest community member, Mystery the zebra, as well as Mystery’s fellow rescue animals under the care of The Surf and Turf Animal Sanctuary. The cattle-ranch-turned-animal-sanctuary is relocating from Colorado to their new...

Last weekend was an exciting one for onlookers as three rescued San Juan County harbor seals were able to make their way back to their Salty Salish Sea home!  On Friday, September 29^th, three harbor seals were released after being in marine mammal rehabilitation for months.  All three of these harbor seals were stranded as pups, and it was an incredible experience to see them each released back into the wild, having been fully rehabilitated and deemed healthy and ready to...

It’s that time of year again! Fall is beginning to creep up on us, and here in the Salish Sea, we are looking forward to seeing some old friends of ours- migrating birds! We have over 200 species of birds here in the San Juan Islands, and some bird species are here during the summer months specifically for feeding and breeding, such as the Rhinoceros auklets, Rufous hummingbirds, Brown-headed cowbirds, Violet-green swallows, White-crowned sparrows, and others. Some...

[Sarah M - 08/17/2017 - M/V Seahawk - 02:00pm]

M/V Seahawk has had an excellent season of whale watching here in the San Juan Islands. We have had the chance to explore some waters that we do not usually get to check out due to the abundance of the very tricky transient killer whales in our waters. On August 17th we got to meet up with the T030s as they travelled inter-island. This was the first time I had ever encountered this family! Please enjoy some shots from the day!