SUMMER VOYAGES 2021
Due to Covid concerns Summer 2021 will look a little different than year's past. Pleas visit the SUMMER 2021 page to see our current program offerings.
Below are our typical summer programs that we will return to in 2022.
Please contact Captain Kevin if you have any questions.
Have you ever thought of becoming a Marine Scientist, dreamed of being at sea, or of spending beautiful summer evenings watching whales with great friends, if so we’ve got your summer plans!
Participation in our program makes you eligible for Marine Science credits from Everett Community College and your completed research is a great way to meet the requirements for your Culminating Senior Project
WILD WHALES
Mid-Summer
CONNECT & PROTECT
Late-Summer
To apply for a program and scholarship fill out the form at the link below and return to
APPLY FOR A PROGRAM Apply Online Download Application
APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP Apply Online Download Application
THE ORCA PROJECT - THE SAN JUAN ISLANDS
Spend two weeks cruising the San Juan Islands in search of orcas!
Age: 15-18 Tuition: $1,650 Application Period: Jan 4th - April 30th
Orca Project : Early-Summer
Credits: 2
Onboard: Orion
Destination: The San Juan Islands
Departs From: Seattle
Returns To: Seattle
Research: Southern Resident and Transient Killer Whales
Shipmates: Other teenagers from Washington and all over the country
Sailing: Advanced Keelboat Sailing
Activities: Hiking, Swimming, Stand-up paddle boarding
Will Write Home About: Your epic sunset sails with the Orcas
Research Project Ideas: Do Orcas change their behavior as ship traffic increases? Can Orca vocalizations predict their behavior? What are the plankton concentration levels in areas where Orcas are present?
The San Juan Islands are the summer home for two eco-types of orca whales. Transient killer whales face many challenges and the Southern Resident Killer Whales were listed as endangered in 2005. Since then a number of regulations have gone into effect to protect the whales. We will take a close look at the whales themselves, their environment and current efforts to protect them to form our own opinions about their place and ours in the Salish Sea. Living aboard Orion, you’ll learn to sail and navigate, as well as execute all shipboard operations, from standing watch to cooking for your shipmates.
As we use Orion to follow the whales around the San Juan Islands, we will learn what makes these Orcas so unique. You will become a whale biologist as you do your own independent research or art project. Along the way we will meet with different researchers and “stakeholders” who provide insights into this ecologically and culturally dynamic environment. Throughout the cruise there will be a discussion of the different environmental policies that affect the lives of the whales and at the end of the cruise you will be tasked with making your own policy recommendations based on the findings of your research.
This two-week trip starts and ends in Seattle, Washington. During the cruise we will explore some of our favorite anchorages in the San Juan Islands and along the Straits of Georgia. We will also make a few ports of call; due to weather, whales and tide it is hard to predict where these will be but Friday Harbor, Anacortes and Port Townsend are some of our favorites.
Wild Whales: Mid-Summer
Credits: 3
Onboard: Orion
Destination: Salish Sea and Johnstone Straits
Departs From: Seattle
Returns To: Seattle
Research: Cetaceans
Shipmates: Other teenagers from Washington and all over the country
Sailing: Basic & Advanced Keelboat Sailing
Activities: Snorkeling, Hiking, Swimming, Stand-up paddle boarding
Will Write Home About: Piloting Orion past a waterfall
Research Project Ideas: Do Harbor Porpoise prefer a certain water depth when foraging? Do Humpback Whales vocalize in the Salish Sea?
WILD WHALES - SALISH SEA & JOHNSTONE STRAITS
Sailing and snorkeling adventure in the wilderness of the inside passage
Ages: 15-18 Tuition: $2,150 Application Period: Jan 4th - April 30th
Orcas, Humpbacks and Minke Whales along with Dall’s Porpoise, Harbor Porpoise and Pacific White Sided Dolphins all call the Salish Sea home. Wild Whales is a three-week voyage into the wilderness of British Columbia to study what it means to be a whale in the wild. We will take an up-close look at these cetaceans and their environment. Along the way, we will be joined by researchers who are working in the wild to learn more about cetacean ecology.
Cetaceans living in the Salish Sea face many challenges and are subject of a number of regulations from Canada and the US. All onboard will join in the conversation about the whales’ place in our environment as we learn what is or is not being done to protect them.
Experience life aboard a sailing ship from standing water and cooking for your shipmates to trimming the main sheet and starry nights at anchor. As we voyage north you will become a sailor as you learn the skills vital for sailing Orion. This part of the Salish Sea is home to some of the most scenic anchorages and sailing destinations in the world. We will spend our days seeking out whales and wildlife,sailing, hiking, snorkeling and taking full advantage of our time underway. You will become a whale biologist as you do your own independent research or art project.
CONNECT AND PROTECT - SAN JUANS & SWIFTSURE BANK
Voyage to Swiftsure Bank in search of humpback whales!
Open to alumni of all our past summer programs Tuition: $1,650
Application period: January 14th-June 1st
To apply: Email Captain Kevin
Connect & Protect: Late-Summer
Onboard: Orion
Destination: San Juan Island and Swiftsure Bank
Departs From: Friday Harbor
Returns To: Friday Harbor
Shipmates: People interested in whale conservation and
voyaging. Alumni from past Deep Green Wilderness voyages.
Recent high school grads, College students and
early career professionals.
Sailing: Coastal passage making and Island hopping
Plan to: Share your experience, path and how you stay
connected with the ocean.
Excited to learn: More about the Deep Green Wilderness effort to save North Pacific right whales
Hope to see: Humpback feeding groups and Northern fulmars
This two-week voyage will focus on whale conservation and re-connecting to the Salish Sea. En route to the famed Swiftsure bank we will learn about what is and is not being done to protect whales in the Salish Sea and Eastern Pacific. More importantly the focus will be on what you can do to engage with conservation efforts. Students can plan to present about their current work and/or school, whatever their course has been and talk about how the ocean has influenced this path. We will meet researchers and career conservationists who’s experience will inform our discussion and provide context to the things we are experiencing.
Swiftsure Bank is a highly productive piece of ocean that guards the west entrance to the Salish Sea. It is an important feeding area for humpback whales, killer whales, seabirds and is the location of the last North Pacific right whale sighted in Washington State. This voyage will head west from the San Juan Islands for the 80 nautical mile passage out the Straits of Juan De Fuca to Neah Bay and Swiftsure bank.
Underway
Although we take your education seriously on board we respect the fact that it is your summer vacation, hey it is our summer too. We try and keep a laid back feel on board and never miss an opportunity to have fun. What could be better than sailing a classic yacht through the Salish Sea researching whales with all your new friends?