San Juan Islands Sea Kayaking from Anacortes

You never know what is going to happen on our sea kayak tours. Just the other day our guide Jeff was kayaking along, minding his own business, when a young seal attempted to hop up onto the back of his kayak. It's hard to say who was more surprised by this. The seal quickly realized that the "log" he had chosen to sun himself on was already occupied by Jeff and so he disembarked with a snort and a loud splash. Jeff was impressed with how smoothly the animal slid up onto the back deck. He noticed the weight, but said that the kayak hardly even shifted.

The Orca whales have been in and out of the Salish Sea region quite a bit this week. Luckily for the whale-watching boats there have been Humpbacks to look at over near Victoria, but the kayak companies who put all of their eggs in one basket and focus on paddling with Orcas have been out of luck. It's nice not to feel that kind of pressure. We'd rather not build up any expectations that we can't deliver.

Our multi-day kayak camping trips have been wonderful this month, especially the trips out to Cypress Island. The hike up to the summit of Eagle Cliff seems to be what puts the whole experience "over the top". It has got to be one of the most dramatic vistas of the San Juan Islands anywhere. Although all of these trips have filled for the rest of the month, we still have a few spots available in September. Give us a call soon to reserve your place!

I love the cycles of the seasons out here. Sea kayaking daily connects us with these ancient rhythms and we watch the quiet drama unfold before us.

The Rhinocerous Auklets are numerous these days. We observe them foraging in the tide-rips off of the shoreline. Auklets are members of the Alcid family, which also include Puffins. These compact little birds are the northern hemisphere's answer to penguins, using their stiff wings to propel themselves through the water in pursuit of small fish. At dusk they can be seen flying low over the water, heading south to Protection Island where 18,000 pairs nest in burrows. "Rhinos" are named for the horny protrusion that forms on the upper side of their bills during the nesting season.

We've also noticed an abundance of Murres moving into Burrows Bay, and the Deception Pass area. In the early summer these birds nest precariously on rocky cliffs on the outer coast of Washington. At the end of the nesting season the mothers abandon their families and fly into the San Juan Islands to forage in our nutrient rich waters. When the chicks fledge (in a spectacular leap of faith into the sea) they are flightless and need to swim into the San Juans with their fathers. We see large rafts of these father/chick pairs a few weeks after the females arrive.

The weather has been great, and the paddling is fantastic! Come join us.