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...

Good weather for a kayak trip!

This week's fog and clouds lifted in time for a beautiful day on the water as I paddled out for a private 5 hour tour. We decided to circumnavigate Henry Island and lucked out with good currents and great wildlife sightings.

Early on we looked at a number of surf birds and Bald Eagles and were in turn checked out by some curious but wary Harbor Seals as we quietly slipped past. As we rounded Kellett Bluffs we paddled slowly by a noisy and active Pelagic Cormorant rookery and were rewarded by seeing a Peregrine Falcon swooped down towards the birds--but without success. During our lunch break at Half Moon Bay we sat and rested while listening to a pair or Bald Eagles talk to each other and watching as a river otter swam lazily in front of our boats.

All in all a great, smooth day on the water!

Excellent Kayak Trip Today

We had a fantastic trip today. The Thackray family from Bainbridge Island were up for spring break cycling the San Juans. Brett, Maureen, Sophie (15), Anna(12), and Erin(7) were all in good spirits despite the cold. The weather was clear, cool, and partly sunny. Very light winds, and great conditions for a paddle.

We launched from San Juan Outfitters dock in Roche Harbor, and immediately encountered a number of seasonal birds: Surf Scoters, Harlequin Ducks, Common Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, and Buffleheads. As we continued North and west towards Henry Island, we saw a few seals pop up. The tides were right, and we drifted out into Haro Strait west of Battleship Island, where the fun began. We spotted some Harbor Porpoise in the distance, and they continued to close the distance as we drifted with the current. Out of nowhere, the group of 7 Harbor Porpoise popped up right in front of us. They were relaxed, and continued for 5-7 breaths as we watched. It was a fantastic encounter. More wildlife sightings followed, but the highlight was definitely the close encounter with that large group of adult Harbor Porpoise. Heading out tomorrow and this weekend. Brian Goodremont

Whales Sighted Today

Tuesday, April 1st 2008. Captain's Log. We had a great trip today!! First trip of the season with whales. It was a cold (45-50) sunny day, and we were fortunate to have a whale sighting off the west side of San Juan Island. The early report was transients. They were later identified as J-Pod (residents). The Sea Hawk is in Roche Harbor for the summer, and we had only a short trip to West Side of San Juan Island where we encountered the first group of whales. It turned out to be the J-16 family group, with J-26 traveling about 300 yards further offshore. The whales were spread almost to Discovery Island, as they moved north up Haro Strait. We were fortunate enough to get glimpses of all pod members. I spoke with Dave Ellifrit, and he and Ken Balcomb from the Center for Whale Research were on scene. When I left around 3:00pm, they had not yet found J-2. Let's hope she was just part of the offshore group that were not spotted. Also, J-43 was not easily spotted. J-40 appeared to be the oldest calf with the J-14's and J-11's. Great day. Flat, cool, and sunny. Brian Goodremont

Welcome to San Juan Outfitters Blog

This is the first entry for our new blog. Our goal is to provide an outlet for discussing everything from our wildlife sightings on tours, to our carbon neutral goals.