If You Go -- Planning To Watch Whales

Here are some tips on whale-watching around the San Juans. From the ferries

If you're traveling by a Washington state ferry from Anacortes to the San Juans or if you're continuing onward to Sidney, B.C. (on Vancouver Island) you may catch a glimpse of orcas from the ferry.

Aboard some ferries this summer, naturalists from the Whale Museum will be giving talks about orcas. Presentations are on the Anacortes-Friday Harbor ferry sailings on some Saturdays, including this Saturday , Aug. 10 and Aug. 24, usually on the 11.20 a.m. run. Confirm the time with the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, (360) 378-4710. For ferry information, phone 464-6400 or (800) 84-FERRY.

Whale-watching tours

The surest way to see orcas is by going on a whale-watching tour boat, especially one that uses a spotter service to find the whales. Orcas have been sighted on more than 90 percent of Mosquito Fleet's whale-watching trips in the San Juans this season, said vice-president Mike Bennett, whose company offers daily tours from Everett and Anacortes.

About 40 commercial operators in Washington and B.C. are offering whale-watching trips this summer around Haro Strait and the adjacent San Juans and Gulf Islands, with daily departures into late September or early October from Everett, Bellingham, Anacortes, Port Townsend, Friday Harbor, Victoria, B.C. and other ports. The orcas are most frequently found in the strait on the west side of San Juan Island.

Expect to pay about $70-$75 for an all-day whale-watching tour from Seattle (approximately $45 for tours originating in Friday Harbor). Boats vary in size, carrying a handful of people to more than 100.

Here's a sampling of tour companies:

Clipper Navigation: Known for its high-speed, passenger-ferry service between Seattle and Victoria, the company also offers daily service between downtown Seattle and Friday Harbor on San Juan Island aboard the Clipper III or the San Juan Explorer. An optional three-hour whale-watching tour aboard the Glacier Spirit is available to Clipper passengers during the layover at Friday Harbor. Phone 448-5000 for more information.

Mosquito Fleet: Mosquito Fleet offers daily orca-watching cruises around the San Juans from Anacortes and Everett (with shuttle-van service between downtown Seattle and the Everett dock.)

The cruises include stops at either Friday Harbor or Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. Like Clipper's whale-watching tour, naturalists are on board the Mosquito Fleet boats to narrate the cruise and an orca-spotter service is used. Phone (800) 325-ORCA.

San Juan Excursions: Two boats leave daily from Friday Harbor on whale-watching cruises. These are smaller boats (49- and 29-passenger vessels), but they do have naturalists aboard and use a spotter service. Phone (360) 378-6636.

Western Prince Cruises: Daily orca-watching tours daily aboard a 35-passenger vessel out of Friday Harbor. A naturalist describes the orcas and other wildlife, and a spotter service is used. Phone (360) 378-5315.

The Seattle Aquarium: The aquarium runs whale-watching tours every Saturday into early September. It's an 8-hour cruise from Anacortes with naturalists and an aquarium marine-mammal specialist aboard. There's also a pre-trip lecture each Thursday at the aquarium, and limited space on a shuttle van to and from Anacortes. Information: 386-4353.

Victoria-San Juan Cruises: A sightseeing day cruise, not a dedicated whale-watching tour, from Bellingham to Victoria and back aboard the Victoria Star. However, orcas may sometimes be seen. Phone (800) 443-4552.

P.S. Express: A sightseeing/nature cruise from Port Townsend to and around the San Juans, with a stop in Friday Harbor. Orcas are often seen when the boat returns to Port Townsend via Haro Strait. Clipper Navigation uses this company's boat, the Glacier Spirit, for its whale-watching tours during the Friday Harbor layover; leftover seats can be booked on the day of departure directly through P.S. Express. Phone (360) 385-5288.

Ocean Explorations: Three-hour whale-watching tours in a speedy, 23-foot Zodiac inflatable rafts from Victoria's Inner Harbor to the islands around Haro Strait. (Passengers in the open boats are supplied with one-piece cruiser suits for warmth.) Phone (604) 383-ORCA.

Pride of Victoria: Daily 3 1/2-hour orca-watching cruises aboard a 46-passenger motor vessel. Departs from a dock at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel, about 15 minutes from downtown Victoria. Phone the hotel, at (800) 668-7758 , or the Pride of Victoria office, (604) 592-3474.

More companies

For more information on whale-watching tours and visiting the islands, contact the San Juan Islands Visitor Information Center, phone (360) 468-3663. The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor also can provide information, phone (360) 378-4710).

For more information on whale-watching in British Columbia, call the province's Discover B.C. tourism office, (800) 663-6000. Ask for the "Outdoor and Adventure Guide."

Other ways to see orcas

-- Orcas can be often be seen from land at Lime Kiln State Park on the west side of San Juan Island, overlooking Haro Strait. The park was created as a whale-watching and whale-research site.

-- Kenmore Air is offering "Fly 'n' Cruise," a one-day seaplane and cruise package from Seattle's Lake Union to Victoria and back, including a one-hour cruise from Roche Harbor on San Juan Island aboard the Victoria Star through Haro Strait - where orcas may be seen - to Victoria. Information: 486-1257 or (800) 543-9595. Museums and more

-- The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, just a few blocks from the dock, offers educational displays on orcas and other whales and offers an adopt-an-orca program and kayak tours in the San Juans. The museum is at 62 First Street N. (phone 360-378-4710). Other companies also offer kayaking from San Juan Island and Orcas.

-- Captive orcas can be seen in various aquariums, including the Vancouver Aquarium in Vancouver, B.C., (phone 604-268-9900) and the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Ore, phone (541) 867-3474).

-- One of the most informative books on orcas is "Gone Whaling: A Search for Orcas In Northwest Waters," a lyrical, reflective work on one man's quest for orcas. (By Douglas Hand, Sasquatch Books, $12.95).

What to take on a boat

-- Even if it's sunny and hot in Seattle, take a sweater and a light jacket; it can get chilly on the water.

-- Take sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat.

-- Take binoculars, your camera - and lots of film.