San Juan Islands Sea Kayaking from Anacortes

With the summer season gaining momentum, we're still pushing hard on our skills training. A few weeks ago we completed the first of two 3-day classes and next week we'll be out again for another 3-day session with the awesome coaches of Body Boat Blade International.

In between these formal classes we continue to hone our kayaking skills in the turbulent waters inside the Deception Pass Narrows, and we are constantly working on rescue skills in the dynamic conditions found there. We never take our guests into these kind of conditions, but it makes me more comfortable to know that our guides can handle themselves when things get rough.

Someone in our industry recently asked me why we spend so much time and money on this kind of advanced training for our kayak guides. Hmmm..... Would they ask the same of a white-water river rafting company? How about a guide service that takes folks up on mountain climbing expeditions? In my mind a professional guide, who is responsible for taking care of the well being of their clients, should be the most competent member of the group. I want guides who will keep my guests out of harm's way, be able to interpret the natural history of the San Juan Islands, and maybe tell a good story or two. A well qualified guide can do it all, and cook a great meal at the day's end.

If you are shopping around and talking to other kayak companies, ask them if they train and guide trips using immersion wear (especially dry suits). If not, then their guides simply cannot spend enough time messing around in the sea to give them the skills that I think are necessary to lead trips out here in the cool waters of the San Juan Islands. Call me a kayak snob if you like, but I sleep well at night knowing that our guides are good at what they do.

-Erik