My favorite kayaking trips!

It always amazes me how a cloudy day often clears up just in time for our 6pm Sunset Kayaking Tour. In fact, the 6pm trip is my favorite of all the kayaking trips for this very reason. So often, the sun creeps out, the wind and waters calm down, the boat traffic dissapears and the wildlife comes out. Last night I had a chance to hop in a boat with a single guest and get out from behind the desk and on the water. After a cloudy, somewhat chilly day, the weather rolled out and we were left with a wonderful, sunny paddle. The water was so calm it looked like silver. There were barely any boats out and just one sea plane taking off (which is a cool sight from a kayak). We saw several harbor seals quietly hunting for dinner- and even saw one splashing around chasing a fish! On the west side of Henry Island we watched freighters quietly rolling across a backdrop of islands and mountains. Just north of Half Moon Bay, we saw the highlight of our trip- a juvinaile Bald Eagle in a nest with two mature Bald Eagles watching from another tree. Another amazing trip!

Holy Whales, Batman!

Summer seems to be in full swing these days with sunburnt noses on the guides, sandal tans on the dock hands, and whales all around. The orcas have been spotted right outside Roche Harbor for the past two days. Nothing like having whales right out your back door!

Whale and Wildlife Sightings June 10th

Great Whale Watch Tour Sunday. J-Pod had been foraging along the west side of San Juan Island all day, and decided mid day to make their way into the larger straits. By 3:00pm, they were 6 miles southwest of Hein Bank, at the confluence of Haro Strait and the Straits of Juan De Fuca. The entire pod was very spread out, foraging as usual. We had a small group of guest, as well as employees on their day off.

We were fortunate to have some good views of J-16 and her family group. Some lob tailing, and breaching.

Great day on the water.

Critters abound at the low tide line!

This week we've been having spectacularly low tides, and as a result of that extra exposure of rock all sorts of animals have come calling. Joe, Tom and I paddled out of Roche Harbor for a 3 hour tour and we were soon rewarded with wildlife sightings! Not only did we see a few raccoons turning over rocks and hunting crabs, but a fox as well! We were able to quietly slip by along the shore as they went about their business of catching a meal.

The absolute highlight of the trip was what we saw as we rounded the north side of Henry Isle. All of the sudden a Bald Eagle swooped really low to the water right in front of us! We looked eagerly to see it's intended prey but instead of fish we saw some brown heads bobbing along the surface. Joe correctly identified them as river otters and we watched as the otters swam away unscathed while the eagle glared from the shore. It would have to try it's luck elsewhere...