San Juan Islands Sea Kayaking from Anacortes

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Andaria had another super fun 5 Hour trip around Burrows island yesterday. Her and her guests had too many seal encounters to count and she told us that the Harbor porpoise were out in force all day.
After the trip her guests called in to reiterate how much fun they had (we love it when we get direct feedback like this). One couple said that their favorite part was exploring near the shoreline during the low tide. There were beautiful Purple Sea Stars (Pisaster ochraceus), a couple of gorgeous Striped Sun Stars (Solaster stimpsoni), and even some Sea Pens (Order-Pennatulacea).

Sea pens are colonial cnidarians (like jellyfish) that are generally grouped together with other soft corals. They sift plankton from the water as it drifts by. These animals are rarely seen on our tours because they live a bit deeper in the water column and the water has to be unusually clear to see that deep. It's always a treat to have a glimpse at these beautiful animals!

After the tour I met up with Andaria and two other guides (Ben and Wyatt) and we paddled around Burrows and Allan islands to enjoy the fantastic evening light. It was a flat calm day and once again we were surrounded by foraging porpoise. Hearing their sharp exhalations around our kayaks created a relaxing atmosphere as we watched the sun setting over the San Juan Islands

Labels: kayak, San Juan Islands, san juan islands kayak tours, sea kayaking

It's a beautiful April morning out there. After a week of windy weather this comes as welcome relief.
Andaria is out on her morning kayak tour around Burrows Island and the report just came in that there are Orca whales just off shore on the west side of the island! This is the first time this season that we've been out there when the whales go by, hopefully they get a great look at them. Apparently the porpoise sighting have been incredible as well, with lots of small groups being seen in Burrows Pass and out by the lighthouse.
Orca whales are not the only large marine mammal that we have been fortunate to see these last few days. A large Gray whale has been repeatedly seen in and around Deception Pass. Just this morning one of our spotters saw it swimming east into the Narrows. It is likely moving back and forth between shallow areas off of the west side of Fidalgo Island (Anacortes) and Similk Bay on the south end.

Easter weekend was pretty blustery this year as a large weather system passed over the region. Still, the last few weeks have been sunny and warm and we are enjoying the gorgeous display of wildflowers that are blooming on the grassy slopes along Burrows Island.

Our kayaking season started early this year due to the great weather, and lots of folks are joining us on our 3 Hour and 5 Hour trips around Burrows Island. Veteran guide Andaria Crespi has led most of these trips and she has been sharing great stories of seal encounters and porpoise sightings, one group even witnessed a pair of Bald eagles mating in a tree! You never know what will happen out there! Once again the resident pair of Peregrine falcons is nesting on the cliffs in Allan Pass (the narrow waterway between Burrows Island and Allan Island). For the last seven years our kayak tours have enjoyed watching these beautiful animals raise there chicks out there.
Last week we spotted a Gray whale feeding in the shallow water off of Washington Park. Some years we get lucky and one or two will remain in the area for weeks. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Labels: kayak, San Juan Islands, sea kayaking

Well, ok, that's a corny title for this post but she has been the luckiest guide on staff when it comes to whale sightings over the last few weeks. These last couple of days it has been the elusive Minke whale that she has seen.
Two days ago she was in Deception Pass with us enjoying a "busman's holiday" and playing around in the flood current when a large Minke whale broke the surface in the calm waters east of the bridge. Now that's not the sort of thing that you see every day, so we broke out of the eddy and headed over to take a look. Minkes are a small baleen whale that feeds by swimming rapidly into a school of fish with their mouths open wide, and that is exactly what this fella was doing, small fish scattered at the surface as he lunged forward. We watched him for a while before he moved on to another school of fish.
Yesterday it happened to Andaria again. She was leading a 3 hour Burrows Island trip when a Minke surfaced quite close to the group. Minke whales are notoriously difficult to spot from a whale watch boat, so you can imagine how surprising it was for Andaria to see them two days in a row, from a kayak!
Whales aside, it has been an amazing summer for wildlife of all sorts. We've been very fortunate this summer for all of the great weather and fantastic wildlife viewing. Now it is September, our guides' favorite month. The weather is usually great, and the crowds of summer have gone, life in the San Juans doesn't get much better than this.

A few days ago Andaria was out on a 3-day trip to Sucia Island with some very strong paddlers as guests. The weather conditions were perfect and the currents were mild, so the group decided to head all the way out to Patos Island (right on the border with Canada) to spend the night. Patos Island is one of those magical places that are hard to describe without reducing the place. When you are camping out there it feels like you are out on the edge of the world, looking out over the Canadian Gulf Islands to the west, and the San Juan Islands to the south.

While crossing between Sucia and Patos she caught sight of a few whale watch boats drifting near her destination, and she knew that a whale of some sort must be in the area. When they saw a large dark object rocketing out of the water they knew that it was Orca whales. Only one animal out here makes its presence known like that. A few breaches and tail-slaps later the kayakers were drifting in a raft about 200 yards from the 4-5 animals and had great views of them traveling east towards Sucia Island. It wasn't until later, when she called us, that she learned that this was no ordinary sighting of the Southern Resident Killer Whales (fish-eaters), but rather a rare opportunity to see a pod of Transient Orcas (mammal eaters). Upon hearing that information she was glad that she and her guests were sitting a safe distance away. There's something about being in the presence of mammal eaters that gives pause to us mammals, eh?
The next morning they were out for a pre-breakfast paddle when suddenly there were Orcas swimming around the corner of the island. Again the same group of Transient Orcas were prowling the seal rich waters around Patos Island. The kayakers sat quietly as the group swam by and disappeared around the next bend in the shoreline. What a way to start the day!

Leslie Mix just reported that she and her guests had a large Gray whale swim by their group out on the 1.5 hour Deception Pass tour! This Spring there was a large whale hanging out near Whidbey Island, and occasionally Deception Pass, but usually we do not see this type of animal around the San Juan Islands during the summer months. The whale on Leslie's trip surfaced pretty close to the kayaks and stayed in their vicinity for a good while before moving on. What a treat!

In other news, Julia was coming back from leading a 3-Day Cypress Island trip when a harbor porpoise repeatedly breached (full body out of the water) in front of her and her guests. This is highly unusual behavior for these diminutive cetaceans who seldom come very far out of the water. We speculate that it was either exhibiting a rather aggressive foraging technique, or possibly chasing off a rival animal. Either way it was an exciting way to finish off a great experience up at Cypress Island.

It's been a little tough trying to keep up with the Reports these last weeks. The summer season is in full swing and lots of people are excited to get out on the water.
Freddie just came back from a great 3-Day trip out to Sucia Island. He said that the seals were thick as thieves up there, and were constantly following him and his guests. He even got this great photo of one particularly curious animal who nearly climbed aboard his kayak. As always, his guests were blown away by the incredible scenery up there, the seals were simply icing on the cake!
The reports that I'm getting back from our guides out at the Burrows Island trips sound similarf to Freddie's report. Apparently there are a few gregarious seal pups right there in the marina who are giving people quite a show. Our guide Brent just told me that a young seal climbed up onto the dock during his orientation talk at the beginning of the tour. Many more have been gettting quite near to the kayaks while out near Burrows Island.