San Juan Islands Sea Kayaking from Anacortes

All right! After a long stretch of weather that prevented us from taking anyone out, we had a brief respite from the wind. On Monday our guides James and Dave came into town and, with little resistance, dragged me out the door. We set out from Skyline Marina to head around Burrows Island. The purpose wasn't so much to go sea kayaking around the island as it was to find a place to get out and climb to the incredible views on top of the island. We found a little pocket beach, pulled the kayaks out of reach from the tides, and started up the slope. We must have found the steepest ascent possible, we were forced at times to clamber up using both our hands and feet. After a lung-busting climb we managed to make the summit. We were rewarded to a spectacular view over Rosario Strait and into the inner San Juans. From the top we could even see Vancouver Island over the top of San Juan Island! The Olympic mountains were covered in clouds, we caught glimpses of some of the summits but they were quickly covered in more clouds. We had a great look down into the Deception Pass area, we could see it over the top of Allan Island. Below us we could watch the seals swimming under the surface. There were lots of big trees up there. I guess that the loggers of the early 1900s thought that the wind-deformed trees at the summit were of little value. I was glad to see them today. The way down was just as steep (go figure), but we made it back to our kayaks without much trouble. On the way back we saw large rafts of diving ducks, and other migratory birds that spend the winters in Burrows Bay. I really love this time of the year.

The weather has been less than accomodating over the last couple of weeks. Our apologies to those folks who wanted to get out on the water. Safety First is the name of the game though. I managed to sneak out a couple of times though. I met Allan Willis from Discovery Kayaks in Deception Pas for a little advanced paddling fun. The currents were moving pretty strongly. We were there for a big ebb cylcle. After messing around in the current, we made our way back to Bowman Bay for some rolling practice. It's chilly playing under water in late December!

We were just awarded the concession for running kayak tours out of Bowman Bay! We are now the official kayak outfit for the Washington State Parks in Deception Pass. Although we won't be taking guests into the currents of the Pass itself, the shorelines in that area are considered to be some of the most unique, and beautiful anywhere in the San Juan Islands. Most of the trips will be very convenient one and a half hour excursions. We will also be offering some 3 hour trips as well. Occasionally we will launch a multi-day trip from there as we head out into the San Juans.

Check out our Multi-Day Page for more information.

Watch for a nice stretch of weather then give us a call!