After Orca populations in the San Juan region dropped a bit in 2008, they rebounded in 2009 with the births of five Orca calves, and 2010 is off to a great start with the birth of another calf on January 3rd. There are now 88 resident Orca whales in the San Juan Islands. To read the complete story, visit the
The orca whale sightings have remained strong through the month of August, with frequent sightings of the 3 local pods (J, K & L pods), as well as transient orcas and minke whales. We are entering the final 2 weeks of our operating season, with our San Juan Whale Watching Tours ending on September 7th. However, our cruises to Victoria, on which we also see orca whales frequently, will continue through September 27th.
We seem to have hit the peak season for Orca Whale watching over the past two weeks, with frequent sightings of all 3 local pods (J, K and L pods). Yesterday (July we even saw what we call a "Superpod" - a gathering of all three local pods of Orca whales! With excellent weather forecast through the weekend, this is a great time to visit the San Juan Islands or Victoria, BC.
Over the last two weeks we have moved from operating only weekends, to our current 7-days/week service. The whale watching has been very good over the last two weeks, with Orca and Minke whales seen most often, along will occasional Gray and Humpback whale sightings. The weather continues to be great as well, with calm waters and lots of sun!
The whale watching has been excellent over the last two weeks, with frequent Orca and Minke whale sightings. Just as impressive is the weather we have had, calm conditions in the islands and lots and lots of sun! Temperatures are supposed to sneak into the low 80’s this week, and will hopefully extend into our scheduled trips this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Now is a great time to visit the islands, or go whale watching, before the summer vacation crowds hit Bellingham and the San Juan Islands.
Our San Juan Island Commuter service to the San Juan Islands, as well as our whale watching tours, began this season on Friday and it’s been a great start to the season! The weather has been perfect, with lots of sun and temperatures in the mid-to-upper 60’s. Best of all though, the Orca whales have been seen on all of our whale watching trips so far! They started off just off shore of San Juan Island, but have been seen further north more recently, close to Pt. Roberts. We currently have seats available for our tours next weekend, May 22-25, but space is limited, so call or book online soon.
Today is the first day of operation for our San Juan Island Commuter service to the San Juan Islands (Eliza, Sinclair, Blakely, Orcas, Lopez and San Juan Island/Friday Harbor), as well as our whale watching tours from Friday Harbor. The weather is going to be great this weekend, with lots of sun and temperatures in the high 60’s to low 70’s. We have plenty of space available for our trips this Saturday and Sunday. If you would like to go out to the islands next weekend, we are filling up fast for the Memorial Day weekend holiday.
I just came across a great Orca whale blog site called Whale Of A ‘Purpose’ written by a local whale enthusiast that is packed with great photos and lots of tips on identifying whales. With the sun out today, looking at this blog makes me wish we were still running tours….spring is just around the corner though!
The resident Orca pods have become a little more difficult to find this past week, however, we’ve been luck to find transient Orcas just outside of Victoria. The weather has been beautiful too, making this possibly the best time of the season to see the San Juan Islands and Victoria. The forecast is good through the upcoming weekend, with lots of sun and temperatures into the lower 70’s.
Yesterday was the last day of the season for our Friday Harbor / Whale Watching tours aboard the Island Commuter 2. The season ended on a big high note, with several Superpod sightings through the week, as well as a few transient Orca sightings.
We are still running our trips to Victoria daily through September 28th. On this tour we pick routes in both directions with the best chance of seeing Orca whales along the way - this season we have seen them about 75% of the time. We offer a low season discount of $25 off the regular adult round-trip cruise fare between September 8 - September 28, so now is a great time to book a trip to Victoria before the season ends!
we even saw what we call a "Superpod" - a gathering of all three local pods of Orca whales! With excellent weather forecast through the weekend, this is a great time to visit the San Juan Islands or Victoria, BC.
