san juan island

This evening I paddled out of Roche Harbor for a sunset tour, and boy was it spectacular. I think sunset tours are my favorite because we saw all the local critters-- bald eagles and eaglets, harbor seals, harbor porpoises-- but also had the waters to ourselves as most recreational boaters had already turned in.

This trip we were especially lucky to have seen a few harbor porpoises out feeding and also a mother harbor seal giving her young pup a ride on her back...

This morning I paddled out with two couples for a 3 hour sea kayak tour from Roche Harbor. While we paddled down the west side of Henry Island we saw a large number of whale watch boats out in the Haro Strait. As we drew closer we could make out small black dorsal fins surfacing out there, and could even see some of the larger splashes from these southern resident killer whales tail slapping and breaching. As my guests didn't have to rush back to the docks, we...

Samantha, Noelle, Nick, Joe, Megan and I just returned from a two-day intense training session with Body Boat Blade, a sea kayaking instruction business on Orcas Island. BBB is one of the best kayaking schools in the world, so it was a fantastic opportunity to learn from the leaders in this field. It was a great chance for us guides to get one-on-one instruction from experts and bring our skills to the next level. We practiced essential paddling moves from high...

Yesterday Captain Brian and naturalist Kevin traveled quite a ways to see killer whales. The past few days we've had the whales in our backyards, but for this trip the boat had to catch up with them on their northbound journey. Although it was a long ride, everyone on the boat was pleased to have had the chance to see these magnificent creatures in the wild.

Yesterday started off gray and rainy, so I was pleased that my guests were not deterred by the cool weather. We made sure to dress appropriately with warm layers and raincoats, and headed out. It's absolutely essential that everyone who intends to go out on the water always brings clothing to stay warm and dry-- even in summer that means a fleece or other non-cotton layers, and a windbreaker or raincoat. It's always better to be prepared than caught unawares!

I...

I'm SO pleased to be able to write about my own killer whale sightings today! This past week we've been seeing killer whales on multiple 3 hour, 5 hour and multi-day tours and whale watch trips, but today was the first time I've been the one to spot them!

I paddled out with a lovely family from California, and the seven of us made our way down the west side of Henry Island. As we could see over a dozen boats clustered together out in the Haro Strait, we started to...

Joe was pleased to report back that he spotted whales (for the third time this week!) during his 3 hour sea kayak tour departing from Roche Harbor. Although he and his guests had to contend with a strong running tide and a brisk wind, everyone was delighted to glimpse those large critters.

This past week has been full of fantastic wildlife sightings-- from new seal pups to killer whales just feet away. Between our whale watch tours and our hourly, daily and multi...

Captain Nancy and Kevin certainly had the whale watch of their lives today, and some of our staff were along for the ride.

They headed north to catch up with a large group of resident killer whales from K and L pods. Just as they arrived on scene, the whales began to breach, (thrusting their whole bodies out of the water and coming down with a big splash) and just kept on breaching! Guide Noelle said she stopped counting after 20 or so times, and that was in just...

Today I paddled out on a 5 hour sea kayak tour with guests from all over the U.S.. We set off under graying skies, and encountered strong currents and big waves right off the bat. As we rounded Kellett Bluffs, we found ourselves paddling through rough water with the wind at our backs and waves breaking all around us. It was exciting to be paddling through such big water, and everyone had a wide smile on their face!

The skies cleared up and it ended up being a...