E VER 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.
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.
