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Whales, Birds, and Beers: On the Water with San Juan Cruises
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WRITTEN BY JESSAMYN TUTTLE
EVER NOTICED A boat full of happy people cruising around Bellingham Bay at sunset? Chances are it was a San Juan Cruises outing.
Founded in 1987 by Drew Schmidt, the company started out as Gray Line Cruises, doing tours out of Semiahmoo. In 1989 they moved to the Bellingham Ferry Terminal in Fairhaven, continuing their tours to San Juan Island but also serving as a passenger ferry to Victoria. When passport laws changed in 2009, making international travel much more difficult, they had to drop their Canadian trips.
“They did a big pivot,” says General Manager Bob Boroughs. Now, with four boats in their fleet, San Juan Cruises specializes in whale watching, plus a variety of short cruises around the islands including a bird watching tour and weekly wine and beer cruises. They also offer charter tours for a wide range of groups.
Whale watching is their most popular cruise, scheduled every day through the summer. “It’s our most comprehensive experience,” says Boroughs. “It’s the biggest draw for natives and tourists.”
With a naturalist on board as well as an informed captain, it’s also the most educational. “We typically see three different types of whales,” says Boroughs. Humpbacks, gray whales, and orcas can all make an appearance, plus the occasional smaller minke whale. The captains avoid bothering the Southern Resident orca population, instead visiting the transient orcas that pass through our local waters.
San Juan Cruises whale watching trips have a 95% success rate for sightings, says Boroughs. On the rare occasion that a tour produces no whale sightings, passengers receive a halfoff coupon for a future trip, no expiration date.
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For the bird watching cruises, which also have a naturalist on board, the biggest draw is the tufted puffin population on Smith Island. The high season for these birds is July, but there are huge numbers of seabirds to be found throughout the summer.
The Brewers Cruise is also a very popular outing. A short Wednesday evening cruise featuring several local breweries, it’s ideal for pre-wedding parties or a great way to entertain out of town guests before going out to dinner. A similar cruise for wine lovers is held on Thursdays, each one with a different wine theme, and snacks to match.
All San Juan Cruises tours are built around a meal or snacks, with the exception of their Friday Harbor cruise which allows three hours for lunch excursions in the town. A day trip to Sucia Island includes a picnic, and the recently added cruises out of La Conner to Deception Pass include a fresh cracked crab meal. All food is prepared by San Juan Cruises staff, on site in the boat galleys.
Because of the size of their boats, San Juan Cruises provide a great on-the-water experience, especially for people who have never been on a smaller boat before. It’s more intimate than a ferry but large enough to not be scary. “It’s an accessible boat experience,” says Boroughs. And if you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing Bellingham from the water, it’s not something to miss out on. 355 Harris Ave., Ste. 104, Bellingham, 800.443.4552, whales.com