Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Kayaking with Whales 2008
Our guide Jeff Porter and his guests are having one of those world-class moments right now. They are out on the west side of Fidalgo Island, on our Burrows Island kayak trip, and are paddling with J-Pod, our favorite local family of Orca whales!
It's a little soggy out there today, but sometimes those hardy souls that brave the elements are rewarded with a unique experience.
Harbor porpoise have been pretty commonly seen recently as well, both on our Deception Pass trips, and out at Burrows Island. I was leading a trip last weekend and had the most incredible porpoise encounter yet. Two females and a young calf surface just a few feet away, and uncharacteristically laid on the surface for several breaths. It was a phenomenal opportunity to get a really great look at these diminutive cetaceans. I'm not sure why they stayed at the surface so long, but I'm glad they did!
This weekend we are conducting the first of two 3-day guide training classes that we hire Body Boat Blade International to teach. These guys are such incredible instructors, we are very lucky that they are headquartered out on Orcas Island. In addition to these 3 day formal classes, we engage our guides in weeks of instruction to ensure that our guests are well taken care of. We're happy to hear that, finally, a few other companies are beginning to see the value of investing in professional guide instruction.
So the weather forecast is looking great for the next week. It's about time! Maybe our time in the Sun has finally come.
It's a little soggy out there today, but sometimes those hardy souls that brave the elements are rewarded with a unique experience.
Harbor porpoise have been pretty commonly seen recently as well, both on our Deception Pass trips, and out at Burrows Island. I was leading a trip last weekend and had the most incredible porpoise encounter yet. Two females and a young calf surface just a few feet away, and uncharacteristically laid on the surface for several breaths. It was a phenomenal opportunity to get a really great look at these diminutive cetaceans. I'm not sure why they stayed at the surface so long, but I'm glad they did!
This weekend we are conducting the first of two 3-day guide training classes that we hire Body Boat Blade International to teach. These guys are such incredible instructors, we are very lucky that they are headquartered out on Orcas Island. In addition to these 3 day formal classes, we engage our guides in weeks of instruction to ensure that our guests are well taken care of. We're happy to hear that, finally, a few other companies are beginning to see the value of investing in professional guide instruction.
So the weather forecast is looking great for the next week. It's about time! Maybe our time in the Sun has finally come.
# posted by Anacortes Kayaks @ 1:24 PM 
