san juan island

Today was simply a beautiful day out here at Roche Harbor, WA. The sun was shining, skies were blue, and even a brisk breeze didn't deter my guests, Harris and Ruby, who were used to much warmer weather down in Miami. We were lucky in that we saw half a dozen or more Bald Eagles soaring, perching, whistling and watching above us. Most of the harbor seals were busy snoozing on the rocks, but one quietly came much closer and examined us much to our delight. All in...

Today was the most beautiful day on the water-- and quite warm too! I paddled out with two couples from the Northwest and we took advantage of the incredible low tide and spent our morning investigating the tidal zones. There were clams, jellies, anemones and crabs galore, but the real highlight was seeing almost all of our local sea stars. We saw purple and orange ochre sea stars, a few orange and purple sunflower stars and a pale orange and gray leather star...

Today I paddled out of Roche Harbor for a 5 hour tour with quite an international crew. The first part of the day was quite challenging-- fighting a strong flood through Mosquito Pass before being able to emerge south of Henry Island and ride the flood back north. I was excited about the very low tide today, as often there's a good chance to see all sorts of critters, and today was no exception-- we saw dozens of sea stars, a few river otters, geese and their...

Well folks, spring is definitely here! The past few days have been absolutely gorgeous here on San Juan Island. Buds on trees are emerging, flowers are sprouting up, birds are busy building their nests and the wildlife is out in abundance. Something is definitely in the air...

Spring is a fantastic time of year to visit the islands, as we often have the sunshine of the summer without the crowds. This week in particular-- on both our whale watch trips and our sea...

Today we ventured out under gray skies and undertook a long paddle all the way down the west side of Henry Island. The pelagic cormorants which had begun nesting in the rookery there just a few days ago have disappeared-- without a trace of their presence remaining. Hopefully biologists and naturalists here on the island will share the answer with me, as I'd very much like to know where these birds have gone!

And to one of our chattiest guides, Joe Gardner, we wish...

Roche Harbor was gorgeous today with bright blue skies and that perfect warm spring breeze that marks the beginning of a new season. I paddled out into the sunshine with Yvette and Matt and we were pretty pleased with what we found.

The animals were out in full force today-- we got a close up look at a bald eagle hopping on the rocks nearby, a river otter repeatedly surfaced chewing something tasty and seals popped up all around our kayaks looking at us curiously.

Well what a day! Noelle and Captain Nancy headed out for a whale watch tour yesterday with sunny skies ahead. Transients were in the area, and Noelle was pleased to report back great views of some extremely active orcas. "Transient" means these killer whales (orcas) have a large home range and often pass through the Puget Sound. These whales have been spotted as far south as Monterey Bay, CA where they prey on gray whales resuming their long migration north. When...

Today I paddled out for a 5-hour tour with a lovely couple from Oklahoma. It's always a great feeling to be able to showcase the marine environment to folks who don't often see it. Plus, they loved seeing so many harbor seals up close! We hung out in the kelp beds with a few seals who kept surfacing nearby and checking us out. It's still early in the season, so they're just getting used to kayakers again!

The highlight of the day for me was paddling by the Pelagic...

Captain Cal and I headed out of Roche Harbor with a full boat today. No other captains reported any sightings of killer whales (orcas), so we decided to try our luck looking for all sorts of other wildlife (while keeping our fingers crossed for whales of course). And what a day we had!

To start with, it was absolutely gorgeous out-- clear skies and water like glass all the way across to Canada. We motored south to Kelp Reef and glimpsed some dozing Steller Sea...