Hide and Seek

Luckily, we did not have to look too far today, although the orcas were being a bit cagey. Capt. Craig took us out of Friday Harbor at an exaggeratedly slow speed, because the Coast Guard had sent out a radio warning about a submerged house boat that was adrift in San Juan Channel. How something can be submerged and adrift I do not know, but we were on the lookout for it. That was just the distraction that we needed though. We were nearly to Turn Island and we had not gotten up to speed yet when the announcement was made that there were orcas on the west side of San Juan Island at Lime Kiln Point State Park. Wow, what a save; Jaclyn and I took it as an opportunity to run around the boat yelling for joy. Up until that point we were destined for the south end of the island to look for a whale of questionable lineage that was going down on 20 minute dives.

A quick u-turn got us headed in the right direction though, and away we went. As we looped over the top of San Juan Island and motored through the glass-like waters of Haro Strait past Henry Island, I noticed a disturbance in the water well off of our port side. I minute of looking with the binoculars and I spotted a lone orca quickly swimming in the opposite direction to us and unnoticed by any of the other whale watch boats. Capt. Craig once again initiated a slick u-turn and we played catch-up and watched as what turned out to be two orcas with a group of four more behind cruised between us and Henry Island.

With no other boats in our immediate vicinity, we had found the leaders in this orcas experience and we were perfectly situated to watch them all swim by, group after group. J1 "Ruffles", J2 "Granny", K42 "Kelp", K14 "Lea", K11 "Georgia", K26 "Lobo", J27 "Blackberry" and many more. There was baby breaching, adult breaching, tail and pectoral fin slapping and two huge cartwheels just as we left the area. The orcas were absolutely beautiful and our guests had a wonderful time on the water.

So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris, to all of you who love the black-and-whites, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!

~Tristen, Naturalist

Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Here Comes The Sun Again

After what appeared to be the start of fall and winter, we are now back to the September weather that we are all so fond of. September really is the best month to see the islands and today was a perfect example of that.

I welcomed a lovely group of guests onto the M/V Kittiwake this afternoon and we headed off on our tour. The orcas were at the south end and west side of San Juan Island today, so it was difficult to decide where to go. Capt. Bill did a fabulous job though, and after taking us up San Juan Channel, past Spieden Island and through John's Pass, we arrived at Turn Point on Stuart Island just in time to see the orcas shoot off of it and out into Boundary Pass. They were in a rambunctious mood today too.

The orcas were traveling in two large main groups that were closely packed together with 30-40 animals in the area. They swam at a fast clip, but spent a bit of time tail slapping and lobbing as well as breaching. Especially, near a research boat that was taking breath samples, so it was motoring right alongside the whales. There was definitely a lot of high energy and it must have translated to the other species, since four Dall's porpoises shot past our boat leaving rooster tails behind them. They headed north and after several hundred yards dipped down and disappeared.

The orcas though, continued on across Boundary Pass and up Swanson Channel past North Pender Island. We watched as long as we could, but we finally had to say goodbye to the orcas and Canada and get headed back home. Along the way we stopped to see harbor seals at Ripple Rocks and a lone bald eagle on one of the Cactus Islands. The day was warm and sunny and perfect and I am so glad that I have taken the opportunity to live this life.

So, from all of us here at San Juan Safaris, to all of you travel bugs out there, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Tales of Whales

Some days are just not like the others and sometimes the orcas do things that we just can not predict. Yesterday, members of K and L pods swam up San Juan Channel between San Juan and Lopez Islands. That was only the second time this season that they have done that, and we were there to see it. They made it all the way to Friday Harbor before they turned around and headed back south. It was a lovely, mostly clear day and with the orcas traveling in two large, close groups it was easy to both see and hear them.

One of our young guests has had an adoption of "Moonlight" for a couple of years and he was anxious to see her. With so many animals around it was hard to tell at times which individuals were there, but he and I were both pretty sure that we saw her family. There was also "Flash", "Saanich", "Raggedy", "Cappuccino", "Ino" and many, many more.

It was a unique and interesting opportunity to see these animals right in and amongst our islands. No one can say why they choose to come through here, or why they usually do not. There is salmon in the area, as evidenced by the seals and sea lions that we see feeding on them. Even yesterday, in a little cove on Sentinel Island, there was a young harbor seal with a huge fish and lots of seagulls around begging for scraps. So food is available, but whether it is not plentiful enough, or if there is too much boat traffic it is hard to say what directs the orcas' paths to the outer channels and straits. Luckily for us and our guests on the M/V Kittiwake though, the orcas chose a different path this time and we were there to witness it.

So, from Capt. Craig, me and all of the crew at San Juan Safaris, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Black-and-Whites of a Different Color

Not all black and white creatures are created the same, as well we know. No one would mistake a zebra for an orca. But someone might mistake a Dall's porpoise for an orca. Especially if the orca is expected and the Dall's porpoise is not.

That was not exactly what happened tonight, but it was a surprise none the less. Capt. Denny and I knew we would probably not see orcas, unless we were to happen upon some transients. The last thing we anticipated though, was to see Dall's porpoises in San Juan Channel near Cattle Pass. What a shock to see black-and-whites that were not orcas. Especially since the Dall's have been mysteriously missing this season. There have been very few sightings, least of all in Cattle Pass.

Well, we quick turned around and cruised in circles until the porpoises hooked on to the boat. They rode the bow and splashed through the wake. Famous for the rooster tails that they spray from their dorsal fins when swimming at high speed, they left trails as they careened around the MV Kittiwake. When we shut down our motor and just drifted with the current, the porpoises continued to circle and dive under the boat. They slowly calmed down, until we could follow their bold black and white markings under the water and see where they were going to come up for a breath each time. They surfaced time and again next to the boat and at the stern and we could hear them blow each time. The experience was beautiful and moving and was definitely one of the highlights of the season.

Of course, the other wildlife not wanting to be outdone, a bald eagle dropped into the water near our boat and grabbed a large fish, which he then devoured on the rocks in front of us. The evening just hummed with wild lives and we were allowed to share in it. So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris to all of you memory makers out there, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Canada Here We Come!

The whales were proving that they are the dominant marine species today. While we were rocking and rolling through the waves and being whipped by the wind, the orcas were effortlessly swimming along through the Canadian Gulf Islands. After we took the MV Sea Lion out of the dock today we headed for Turn Point on Stuart Island. The last orca report that we had had said that they were already past Lime Kiln and were headed North. At Haro Strait we gave way to a huge ocean-going liner from China and then motored across the strait into Canadian waters where we met up with other whale and wildlife watching boats.

The sun was quite warm and helped to take the chill off when the salt spray from the waves would catch us unawares. As striking as the orcas are though, it was rare that we noticed anything other than their antics. Spyhops were abundant when we first saw the whales off of the coast of South Pender Island. While swimming across the opening of Plumper Sound the tail slaps and cartwheels started. It definitely seems as if J pod has an abundance of energy these days, as we have seen them several times this week and they have been very active each visit.

While Jeanette talked with guests on the front of the boat and I entertained at the back, Capt. Craig maneuvered us through the day and at Saturna Island turned us around and drove us back towards San Juan Island. We made a quick run past the Cactus Islands so that our guests could see bald eagles and harbor seals, and then over to Spieden Island to see some exotic deer and sheep. Finally, all of our sleepy kids (and adults) were ready to see Friday Harbor again and our day was wrapped up a relaxing cruise down San Juan Channel to home.

Our day was lovely, as were our guests. So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris to all of you island trippers, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

A Super Safari!

What a day! There were Orca families zooming everywhere with breaches, tail slaps and spyhops galore. We saw auklets and harbor seals and even a bald eaglet in the nest with his parents standing guard in nearby trees. The sun was out and the waters were calm and our guests on the MV Kittiwake could not have been more fun.

Capt. Craig and I took a lively group of visitors through Friday Harbor and down the east side of San Juan Island. Just past Turn Island we stopped to see some harbor seals hauled out on the rocks in the sun and a bald eagle sitting on the very top of a tree causing it to bend over with the bird's weight. We then rode the ebbing tide down San Juan Channel past Griffin Bay and out Cattle Pass. A quick left turn at the southwest corner of Lopez Island and there were the whales.

J1 "Ruffles" along with the rest of his family group went racing past us in a very tight formation and across the opening to Cattle Pass. Once on the other side they slowed down, probably because they were no longer fighting the currents. We could see numerous other family groups in the distance all headed west along the south ends of Lopez and San Juan Islands. They were swimming so fast that we say porpoising and white wave caps each time that the Orcas returned to the water. One individual did a fabulous bellyroll and there was so much tail waving and tail slapping going on I lost track of who was doing what.

After leaving what appeared to be a mix of Js, Ks and maybe Ls we then cruised Long Island and found the mated pair of bald eagles there and then motored over to the coastline of Lopez Island to check out a nest and chick that our sister boat, the MV Sea Lion, had alerted us to. Sure enough the adults could be seen sitting in nearby snags and the eaglet was proudly standing up in the nest surveying his domain. It was very cool.

Today really showcased what an awesome job this is and how fabulous it is to be here in the San Juan Islands. Neither I nor our guests could have asked for anything better. So, from all of us here at San Juan Safaris to all of you adventurers out there, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist



Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©