San Juan Islands Sea Kayaking from Anacortes

Wayne continues to report some unbelievable seal encounters out there at Burrows Island. There's something about him that seems to attract the interest of those fascinating marine mammals. There is one seal that frequents the marina who seems to relish the interactions with the kayaks. Rarely does a kayak tour go out that doesn't have an intimate moment with this guy. Still, it seems to be Wayne who has the magic touch with pinnipeds. Folks are starting to call him the "Seal Whisperer".
The Outer Islands kayaking trips are reporting lots of eagle sightings up at Cypress Island. The otter population seems to be growing as well. Families of these playful little buggers have been seen frolicking along the shorelines. Several trips have seen the awesome speed of the Peregrine falcons that live on Eagle Bluff. Apparently they are waging a campaign against the Kingfisher population. It's a pretty awesome sight to see a falcon diving at full speed and then the racket of breaking branches and loud chattering as the Kingfisher tears off into the forest, running for it's life.
Right now Wayne has a group up on Sucia Island. We're running another one of our special Extended Outer Islands trips today. With this gorgeous weather (rain in the morning, sunny afternoon) the excursion should be amazing. Oh yeah, the whales are coming down Rosario Strait right now. Looks like another terrfic day to be sea kayaking in the San Juan Islands!

It's just too darned warm on land right now! Temps have soared into the mid-80s as a heat wave descends over the San Juan Islands. There's nothing to do but get into a kayak and cool down in the cool marine air.
This last week has been so much fun. Seals are everywhere! We've had some great encounters with young pups who have been following alongside our boats, much to the chagrin of their more cautious mothers. Just yesterday Wayne and his guests had one of the most intimate seal encounters to date. One of the local adult seals who we frequently interact with inside the marina actually swamm directly alongside, and underneath, the boats for quite sometime. As they sat quietly in the water the seal would repeatedly approach the kayaks and roll over, exposing it's bellt to everyone. It seemed to relish the interaction. So did everyone on the tour.
Tara was out at Cypress Island on an Outer Island trip and saw two Coyotes on Cypress Island! Now this may not seem very significant at first glance, but there have been no previous reports of Coyotes on any San Juan Islands other than Burrows and Allan Islands. It seems that these resourceful canines are expanding their range even further into the area.
Right now we've got a multi-day trip staying out on Strawberry Island. Those lucky souls are experiencing a night on one of the San Juan Islands' most amazing campsites. The sunset must have been incredible tonight! We'll report back on how that trip went later.
Eagle Bluff is now officially open for the year. Now our multi-day guests will also get to experience a view of the San Juans that is absolutely unsurpassed, standing on a 700 foot cliff facing out towards Canada.
This report's image is of a colony of Green Aggregate Anemones, taken by one of our lead guides- Jeff Hoeben. For the next week the tide will be very low during part of the days, lots of interesting things like this will be available for us to see.

We've really ran the gamut this week in terms of weather. Our hot cloudless days were temporarily set aside for a few days of the ol' liquid sunshine. Not that it mattered to us, or to the lucky souls who braved the rain and came out to enjoy one of the San Juan Islands best kept secrets, sea kayaking can be more rewarding in the rain. It can be hard to believe, but that doesn't make it less true. The colors of the San Juans really come alive under a light summer drizzle. Air temperatures are still quite warm, and all it takes is a light rain jacket to keep the moisture at bay. I might not believe it myself if it weren't for the amazing feedback that we get from all of the folks who join us out there. Once again the old adage proves itself..."We don't have bad weather out here, only unfortunate clothing choices!"

The Orca whales have been really cooperative over this last week. It seems that nearly every day they have been coming down Rosario Strait, right past our destinations out at Cypress and Burrows Islands, and even down at Deception Pass. As I post this report all three families of Southern Resident Orcas are up at Lummi Rocks and are heading south, right towards our Outer Islands guests and a multi-day group that will be camping on Cypress Island all weekend. With a little bit of luck, and some good timing, there will be some pretty happy people at the end of the day.

The Sun is back, the water looks great, and it's time to go kayaking!

Well the big Fourth of July weekend came with a bang. The great weather made for some terrific sea kayaking. Naturally it sprinkled a bit on the 4th, but that is to be expected. I can't remember when the last Independence Day was completely dry, it always seems to rain. A hearty Thank You goes out to all the folks who made this weekend one of our busiest ever!

Our kayakers saw some pretty interesting wildlife interactions over the last couple of days. One trip got to witness a Peregrine falcon harassing a Bald eagle. Although the eagle was much larger it was having a heck of a time defending itself from the amazing aerial acrobatics of the nimble falcon. Eventually the eagle had to run for cover. I imagine that it will be some time before it braves a flight through the falcon's territory again.

Seal pups are appearing everywhere now as well. The air is filled with the cries of these little guys. They only have a few weeks to nurse and get fattened up by mom's milk and so they can be pretty demanding. This is a really fun time to be out in a kayak. The young seals tend to be less cautious than the adults and we often get close encounters.

As this report goes to post the Orca whales are traveling down from Lummi Island. Our afternoon kayak trips are likely to have a nice encounter, we're keeping our fingers crossed!

On the homefront, our little guy is growing quickly. He likes to be part of the action and loves to help us around the kayaks. We couldn't resist putting up a picture of him helping clean up after a multi-day trip the other day.

Keep a lookout for the next National Geographic Adventure magazine, we just found out that we'll be mentioned in it. It seems that a picture that a guest (David Clark) took on one of our Outer Islands trips has received a runner-up honor in a photo contest. Thanks David!