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Kayak Trip
Reports from the Field:
Weekly
reports on wildlife sightings, weather and
other unique happenings on our kayak vacations.
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"Mark is an
excellent kayak guide - very knowledgeable and good at passing that knowledge on to others. I
enjoyed his humor and admired his integrity. He made everyone feel at ease and able to
enjoy the experience. I'm recommending you to all my friends."
Amy Wickham, Boulder, CO |
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| These are weekly reports from Sea Quest guests and
guides for past kayak
trips. We hope to update this page twice monthly but the summer is so
busy we are falling behind! Currently, our summer season is in full
swing and reports will be from the Pacific Northwest area. |
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Log Entry for June 2-4 - San Juan Islands 3-day Camping Trip |
| The three-day kayak trip started out from the north end of San Juan Island with
very calm air and glassy water. The first day's most important sighting was of a minke
whale gulping its way through the baitfish schools near Battleship Island. After setting
up camp on Stuart Island and having dinner, the group hiked 2.5 miles to the Turn Point
Lighthouse for a spectacular sunset view from the 200-foot cliff top. Numerous Dall's
porpoise raced and rolled across the glowing waters as they rushed to fill their
stomachs
before night fell. The second day of the kayak trip was equally calm in the morning. Both
river otters and mink were observed scampering on the beach during breakfast. Overhead an
osprey carried branches to a nearby nest in preparation for egg laying. Afterwards, we
struck out in the unloaded kayaks to circumnavigate the entire island, a journey of 12
miles. Along the way we passed many guillemots, oystercatchers, murrelets and other
interesting marine birds. Birdlife was particularly rich beneath the same cliffs that we
observed the sunset from the night before. Here the pigeon guillemots and pelagic
cormorants had set up breeding colonies, and a bald eagle kept watch over the strait from
its perch in a Douglas-fir. The eagle's view of the porpoises must have been better than
ours, even with the aid of our binoculars! Afternoon breezes kicked up as we headed back
into the long and narrow bay that sheltered our camp.
Our last day was very challenging due to strong breezes gusting up to 20 knots in
Speiden Channel. After leaving the shelter of our bay, we encountered steady 2-foot waves
with occasional 3-footers splashing on the paddlers in the bow cockpits. We had an hour of
hard work pushing into the wind and waves until we finally made it across the channel into
the shelter of the next bay. As the conditions were even worse in Haro Strait we decided
to end the trip for safety reasons at historical Roche Harbor. |
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Log Entry for June 5 - San Juan Island Day Trip |
| The day trip began a bit breezy at 10 knots and a 1-foot chop. As a
moderate current was flowing north in mid-channel of Haro Strait, we found it much easier
to hug the rocky shore where counter-currents and back eddies assisted our southwards
travel. We barely left our starting point of Smallpox Bay and found both harbor seals and
river otters foraging for their seafood meals in the kelp forests that line the shore.
Further south we stopped at Bellevue Point for a floating rest break and to view the
active bald eagle nest. While watching for a glimpse of the tiny chick we were rewarded
with the sight of a peregrine falcon chasing after some guillemots. When passing Lime Kiln
Lighthouse we observed a pod of Dall's porpoise offshore in the currents of the deep
water. We pulled into Deadman Bay for a brief lunch break then continued to our southmost
location on our loop at Edwards Point. Once there we rested amidst the largest kelp forest
in the area and enjoyed the view of the nearby mountains across the strait. As the breeze
calmed down and the sea flattened we anticipated heading out into the deeper waters
offshore to take advantage of the north-flowing current that we had been previously
avoiding. Just before breaking out of the kelp forest we heard the loud exhalations of
orcas and watched as a pod of more than ten whales rounded the point and passed right by
us! We followed them at a respectful distance but they soon outpaced us and were out of
sight before we returned to our final beach. |
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Log Entry for June 9-11 - San Juan Islands 3-day Camping Trip |
Some brief natural history observations for this three-day
kayaking expedition:
June 9, 2:30pm - Orca pod seen traveling south between Stuart and Henry Islands while
kayaking to Stuart Island.
June 10, 7:00am - Starting the morning off with some exciting whale-watching from the
cliff above Turn Point Lighthouse as more orcas head north into Canadian waters. Mink and
river otters in camp.
June 11, 12:30pm - More orcas! J-pod and other whales seen from the kayaks by Lime Kiln
Lighthouse as they headed north past San Juan Island.
Other sightings during the trip: harbor seals, great blue herons, bald eagles, peregrine
falcons, western screech-owl, turkey vultures, rhinoceros auklets, and much more! |
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Log Entry for June 10 - San Juan Island Day Trip |
| Day trip launched in Haro Strait on glassy waters. First noteworthy
sighting was of a bald eagle eating a large fish on Low Island. Another eagle swooped down
in a seemingly threatening display and the first bird responded by flying up to meet it
with talons outstretched. Turned out that the birds were mates and they locked talons in a
courtship embrace and spiraled down directly over the kayaks. By the time they split apart
they were a mere 10 feet over our heads and we could feel the breeze from their massive
wings! Springtime is definitely in the air as we later saw two river otters mutually
grooming each other's silky fur after they stuffed themselves on a fish. Further south by
Edwards Point a pod of orcas surged past us and capped off the day's incredible natural
history sightings. |
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Log Entry for June 12 - San Juan Island Day Trip |
| Another day trip in Haro Strait on the west side of San Juan Island. This
kayak trip was truly amazing - we spent the entire day with two pods of orcas having an
important social reunion. First we went south with the tidal current as the whales
repeatedly breached, spy-hopped, lob-tailed, and generally had a good old time. The two
families were obviously very excited to see each other after some period of isolation.
Later in the afternoon we pointed our bows north as the current switched directions. Lucky
for us the whales did the same and paralleled our route all the way back to the take-out
beach! It doesn't get much better than this... |
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Log Entry for June 13 - San Juan Island Day Trip |
| Day trip in Haro Strait, west side San Juan Island. Attempted paddling
south but wind and moderate wave action force us to turn around at Bellevue Point and
travel north. Conditions were difficult for much natural history discussion as most energy
was spent on maintaining safe conduct and travel formation on the water. Bald eagles, black
oystercatchers, pigion guillemots, pelagic cormorants, glaucous-winged gulls, and harbor
seals observed. Stopped to take a floating rest break near a rocky, kelp-shrouded reef and
were swarmed by a dozen orcas chasing fish near shore, probably a sub-group of L-pod. Kept
kayaks stationary in kelp forest and some orcas approached as close as 20 feet in pursuit
of fish. |
Kayaking Vacation Trip
Reports
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