"My children and I had an incredible experience sea kayaking off San Juan Island with the assistance of a Sea Quest biologist named Mark Lewis. He facilitated one of the most significant days of my life in the last 15 years. My children, 12 and 15, were also deeply impacted by a fantastic orca whale encounter and the guide's willingness to share his knowledge." Jocelyn Castillo, Idaho

Mark Lewis is one of the original founders of Sea Quest Expeditions and Zoetic Research. He was a freelance biologist, kayak guide, birding guide, photographer, author and lecturer for several years before embarking on the creation of our present organization in 1989. Mark has nearly three decades of professional sea kayak guiding experience and is our senior guide instructor. See him performing an impromptu Eskimo roll below.

Mark is well known as the ornithological authority in the San Juan Islands of Washington state as he is the senior author of a birding guide book for the region. He has also done research on marine mammals such as harbor seals and minke whales while a research associate of The Whale Museum. Mark also taught various upper and lower level classes at Skagit Valley College, including "Seabird Ecology" and "Whale School". Click here if you interested in joining Mark on a birding tour in the San Juan Islands.

Mark's first kayak trip took place in Mexico at the tender age of 19 and he knew immediately that his life was changed from that moment forward. Since then, he has led sea kayaking expeditions in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Cape Hatteras, Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, the Inside Passage of Alaska, British Columbia's Gulf Islands and Johnstone Strait, Baja California, the tropical coast of Mexico's Jalisco state, Costa Rica, Hawai'i, and the Barrier Reef of Belize. He's also managed to travel to all seven continents including Antarctica.

Since 1981, Mark has resided on San Juan Island, Washington in the heart of orca waters. His recent projects have included re-establishing Purple Martins as a breeding species in the San Juans, and protecting oak woodlands and associated wildflower meadows with concerned local landowners and support from the Department of Agriculture.

When off-duty, Mark is usually accompanied by the Sea Quest four-footed mascot Kayla, a rare breed of canine called the Orca Hound, partly because of her incredibly acute nose for orca spoor and her orca-like pigment pattern. Although she was born with fins, these fell off as she grew, yet she is still a gifted swimmer and will dive underwater to retrieve her precious frisbee.
 

Join Mark on a Guided Birding Tour in the San Juan Islands