sea kayak

Yesterday I paddled out on a 3 hour sea kayak tour with guests from Idaho. The water level was so high that most haul out rocks were covered so I wasn't sure we'd see any harbor seals but as we paddled down the west side of Henry Island we were suddenly surrounded by harbor seals. 6 or 7 of them surfaced all around us, curious and calm but wary too. One large adult repeatedly surfaced eating a HUGE fish. With each appearance a little more of the fish disappeared...

Today I paddled out of Roche Harbor on a 3 hour tour and we spotted orca (killer) whales! Thanks to our whale watch boat I received the whale report before leaving the harbor, but was not sure if we would be able to see the whales as they were already headed north in the Haro Strait. We paddled out to the kelp forest off Henry Island and as we were eating some seaweed, looking for seals and listening for eagles we saw some killer whales! There were quite a few...

On our last day of a 2 day sea kayaking trip, we managed to sneak in a group photo! It was wonderful to have a 'girl's only' trip.
Great weather, great food and most importantly, great company!

Photo credit: Peggy Howard

Whales were spotted along the southern and western sides of the island today, and one of our guides Tim reported back that he'd seen 6 or 7 individual orca whales during his 3 hour kayak tour. It's always exciting to see the whales, whether from a kayak or from our whale watching boat, but it isn't always possible during our 3 hour tour, so we're especially pleased that he and his guests were able to see them as well!

Greetings all!

Our guide, Joe, just returned from his 10am 3-hour sea kayak tour and had an amazing tour. While they were near Henry Island's McCracken Point they saw an Eagle swoop down, land in the water and fifteen seconds later pulled itself out with a fish in it's talons. It was an amazing sight. Shortly there after our guests, Jim and Marylynne paddled near a huge lion's mane jellyfish.

Today our guide Megan had an awesome familly sea kayak tour! They saw red rock crab, purple and green shore crab, mossy chiton, and an abundance of ochre sea stars when they got out on Posey Island to stretch their legs. Later that afternoon she took out a group of adults on a Bicycle Adventures specific tour, where they paddled to a kelp bed and saw two bald eagles relaxing in a nearby tree on McCracken point.

Today I paddled out with two friends from Seattle who were excited to see all the wildlife the San Juans have to offer. We were getting some great looks at bald eagles, sea birds and harbor seals and were taking a short break in a forest of bull kelp when the report came in that whales were in the Haro Strait and headed south-- towards us! We watched as whale watch boats moved down the strait and then noticed that a few whales were much closer to shore--to us. At...

Megan, one of our Kayak guides, reported that the guests on our 3 hour sea kayak tour were so excited to see K-Pod while they were paddling on the west side of Henry Island. They had just gone past McCracken Point on Henry Island when they happened to spot orcas in K-Pod going north towards Stuart Island. It was an amazing sight to see!

Today I paddled out under gorgeous skies with a small family, and we were on the hunt for wildlife! We've been seeing a great number of harbor seal pups lately, especially out on the west side, where there are a number of safe haul out spots for them. It was great to view them at a distance, and listen to their vocalizations, but even better to see them close up. As we were paddling near a forest of bull kelp, a mother seal and her pup surfaced just a few feet from...

This afternoon Noelle and I paddled out with a private tour from the Institute of Journalism and Natural Resources (IJNR). It was an absolutely gorgeous day out on the west side, and the temperature was hot enough to convince a few hardy souls to go swimming! While in a bed of bull kelp we saw a young harbor seal pup hauled out on top of a few stipes. The pup was totally relaxed, often yawning and lying turned away from us. This summer's pups have been making quite...