Our Experience

When we started in the tour boat business in the San Juan Islands in 1962, we were the only whale watch boat out there other than the Washington State Ferry System.

At that time, we ran a foot ferry from Bellingham to the Islands and did group charters as well. We were written up many times in the Seattle papers, Sunset magazine, Holiday magazine and many others, about what a beautiful trip we provided. Consequently, many of our passengers were there only for the beautiful scenery and wild life of the San Juan Islands. When we saw a group of whales, seals, porpoises, sea lions and bald eagles, we would of course stop and look at them for awhile, but the main reason for the trip was transportation to and from the islands themselves.

As time passed, there was more and more interest in the Orca whales of the area, primarily because we were beginning to see them in aquariums. In 1982, we started making a few trips designed around watching the Orca whales so people could see them in the wild. Soon there was another boat from Friday Harbor out there watching also, and that was great because we helped each other locate them. At that time there wasn't a lot of information on the Orca whales. Old myths and sea stories left many with the impression they could be potentially dangerous, so we gave them plenty of space. IT WAS GREAT!

Today there are dozens of boats out there, buzzing around the whales with cameras flashing and people yelling "look at the whales!" Personally, I don't think the whales mind as long as they are given some space and are able to keep track of where the boats are. I believe it is important that we move slow around them and it only makes sense that the bigger boats are easier for them to locate. Small boats with outboards or high speed diesels that buzz around are annoying both because of the high pitch sounds that interfere with the Orca's calls and because they are hard for the Orcas to locate. The larger the boat, the better your viewing, and the more comfort and stability you have for picture taking.

We know there are companies out there running 2 or 3 trips a day. What is the rush? We hope you are here for a vacation, to relax, enjoy the beautiful scenery and spend as much time as possible with the Orcas, eagles, seals, etc...

Visit our whale watching tours page for more information about our tour.