Thursday, June 21, 2007
Whales and Sea Kayaking
We got 'em again!
Orca whales under Eagle Bluff, my favorite spot to see them. Today it was Mira's kayak trip out at Cypress Island that got lucky as J-Pod came down out of Georgia Strait on the tail end of an ebb tide. Apparently they were putting on a "Discovery Channel" kind of display, loads of breaches and aerial acrobatics. The kind of stuff that burns into your retina and sticks with you for years.
A few days ago it was our Deception Pass kayak tours that were the lucky ones. Jeff and his guests got a great look at both J-Pod and part of L-Pod as they foraged along near Northwest Island.
While it's always a rush to see these whales at eye level from a sea kayak, it is not the kind of event that any kayaking company out here should be actively selling. They just travel too darned far, and too darned fast. It's just good timing, and a lot of luck.
Here at Anacortes Kayak Tours we feel that to sell trips based on kayaking with whales sets the wrong tone for the whole trip. It's an overstatement that forces the guides, and the guests, to focus only on the possibility of seeing a whale. There are so many beautiful things out here that will get missed in the process. We remember when we were guides out on San Juan Island where some outfitters would simply paddle down the coast a mile or so and then just sit there, going nowhere, in hopes that the whales would swim by. So great was their need to "produce" whales that they seemed reluctant to do anything else. If the whales didn't show up, which happens more often than not, their guests would feel that the whole kayak tour was a failure. When we started Anacortes Kayak Tours we pledged that we would never create such an unreasonable expectation.... even if it cost us some business. These days it is hard to say if it cost us anything at all. On the contrary, most people comment that they appreciate our candor and honesty.
Regardless of what the flashy brochures and websites may claim, sea kayaking with whales is all about luck.
And today luck was on our side.
Orca whales under Eagle Bluff, my favorite spot to see them. Today it was Mira's kayak trip out at Cypress Island that got lucky as J-Pod came down out of Georgia Strait on the tail end of an ebb tide. Apparently they were putting on a "Discovery Channel" kind of display, loads of breaches and aerial acrobatics. The kind of stuff that burns into your retina and sticks with you for years.
A few days ago it was our Deception Pass kayak tours that were the lucky ones. Jeff and his guests got a great look at both J-Pod and part of L-Pod as they foraged along near Northwest Island.
While it's always a rush to see these whales at eye level from a sea kayak, it is not the kind of event that any kayaking company out here should be actively selling. They just travel too darned far, and too darned fast. It's just good timing, and a lot of luck.
Here at Anacortes Kayak Tours we feel that to sell trips based on kayaking with whales sets the wrong tone for the whole trip. It's an overstatement that forces the guides, and the guests, to focus only on the possibility of seeing a whale. There are so many beautiful things out here that will get missed in the process. We remember when we were guides out on San Juan Island where some outfitters would simply paddle down the coast a mile or so and then just sit there, going nowhere, in hopes that the whales would swim by. So great was their need to "produce" whales that they seemed reluctant to do anything else. If the whales didn't show up, which happens more often than not, their guests would feel that the whole kayak tour was a failure. When we started Anacortes Kayak Tours we pledged that we would never create such an unreasonable expectation.... even if it cost us some business. These days it is hard to say if it cost us anything at all. On the contrary, most people comment that they appreciate our candor and honesty.
Regardless of what the flashy brochures and websites may claim, sea kayaking with whales is all about luck.
And today luck was on our side.
# posted by Anacortes Kayaks @ 8:37 PM 
