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What do kayak guides in the San Juan Islands do on their day off? Go kayaking, of course! At the end of June, my fellow sea kayak guides and myself had a couple of days off from our busy guiding schedule in the beautiful Pacific Northwest of Washington. We wanted to make the most of it, so we organized an ambitious kayak trip from our base in Friday Harbor. Our group consisted of my knowledgeable and handsome fellow sea kayak guides – Peter, Abbot, Alex, Greg, in addition to myself, the lone female. We are a mix of whitewater rafters, biology majors, and ski instructors from all over the country that came together in the San Juan Islands for the summer sea kayaking season. The day of our launch, we threw dry suits, sleeping bags, safety gear, and radios in our guide bags and loaded Tempest and Discovery kayaks on our roof racks. The weather forecast, tides, and current tables were carefully studied, our mileage calculated, and our trip plan was filed with our instructors. On most days we lead tours for Sea Quest Kayak Tours along the west side of San Juan Island. Our typical day trip route explores scenic Haro Strait and features views of Canadian islands to our west and the snow-capped Olympic Mountains to our south. But the outstanding natural and human history found along San Juan Island’s shore is the real highlight of this route. Kayaking in Haro Strait puts our guests in the heart of orca whale territory. Haro Strait is where the orca whales most frequently hunt and travel in the San Juan Island as they spend the summer months foraging for salmon in Washington. In addition to the orca whales, the west side offers habitat to a variety of other wildlife. Harbor seals, harbor porpoises, and bald eagles are frequently spotted on our trips. During a low tide, we see barnacles, chitons, purple sea stars, and much more clinging to the dark basalt rock of this cliff-like shore. Our guided San Juan kayak tours paddle right past Lime Kiln State Park, the first park in the world created for whale watching. The park has preserved historic lime kilns that were a key part of the San Juan Island economy in the late 1800’s and features a functioning lighthouse and whale research station. Most guests enjoy posing here for a picture with Lime Kiln Lighthouse in the background. Past the lighthouse is Deadman Bay, a popular beach and former haunt of smugglers. As professional guides who frequently paddle this popular west side route, we desired to visit the most remote destination possible for our personal expedition. Our goal became Patos Island, the most isolated jewel in the archipelago, located in the extreme northwest corner of Washington state. So we launched our kayaks from the north end San Juan Island and headed for the watery border that separates the US from Canada. Our first stop was Sandy Point on Waldron Island, home to a community of independent people pursuing an alternative lifestyle. After a quick stretch of the legs, we hopped back into our kayaks and crossed to Skipjack Island. This uninhabited wildlife refuge obstructed the tidal current and created a small rip current to cross for a quick thrill. Next up was a long open water crossing to Patos Island. In the distance beyond, we could see the skyline of Vancouver, Canada and the snow-capped peaks of both Canadian Coastal Range and North Cascades of Washington. We selected some landmarks to use as in a navigation technique called “site and range” that enabled us to stay on course as we compensated for the strong currents sweeping through the archipelago. In the middle of this long and silent stretch of the inland sea, where the only sounds were the drips of our paddles, we heard the explosive breath of a whale. Right behind us, a minke whale surfaced twice, spouting mist from its twin blow-holes. After it passed, the five of us turned to each other to talk about this wonderful encounter. Oddly, in the middle of this still blue void, we heard our own voices echoing back to us. Our shouts seemed to bounce off the distant mountains, but in reality they were reflecting off a temperature inversion layer that had formed over the cold water in the still air. This same phenomenon is responsible for bending light into mirages that frequently grace our summer horizons. We continued paddling and landed in the early evening light on Patos Island. Patos is arguably the most enchanting island in the San Juans. It is remote, uninhabited, and only reached by those with enough curiosity and determination to make the journey. The picturesque lighthouse still works to keep freighters bound for Alaska in their proper lanes. The shoreline of Patos is a tan and orange sandstone, accented by the rich greenery of Douglas-firs and Pacific madrona trees. We choose a campsite with a perfect western view from our cove towards the brilliant summer sunset. After a long day of paddling 15 miles, dinner was the next priority. We combined green peppers, yams, cheese, and black beans into a dish of enchiladas and ate them around a glowing camp fire. The sun sank beneath the horizon and we set our sleeping bags under a tarp to escape the heavy dew. The embers of the fire winked off and soft breezes wafted across our idyllic island, lulling us to sleep after a very satisfying day of sea kayaking. Sea kayaking is often thought of as a sport, but it is arguably both an art and science. The art can be found in the perfection of a paddle stroke, the finesse of a roll, and a smoothly carved turn. But science is absolutely essential for calculating the tides and currents, predicting the winds and weather, and putting it all together to determine the safest and most efficient times to cross between the islands. More science comes into play … Read more

The ocean is a deep and dark place. Haro Strait, our primary kayak tour route in the San Juan Islands reaches depths of over 400 meters. We sea kayakers enjoy the sunlit realm at the interface of air of water. But below 200 meters, there is no light and it becomes pitch-black and intensely cold. Even something as strong and fearsome as a killer whale could get unnerved while swimming through these inky depths. The senses of hearing and touch become the only means of tracking friends, foes, and prey. Killer whales, perhaps better referred to by their old world moniker of orca, stick close together when they dive into this abyss. Orca whales stay within a few meters of each other during their deeper dives, often keeping their flippers in contact with each other. From our kayaks, we can see them do this at the surface during their sleep/rest periods when they are only partially conscious and must rely on body contact to avoid accidentally straying from the pod. It surprises many of our kayak tour guests to learn that orca whales are classified in the dolphin family and share all the physical and social characteristics of their smaller cousins. They live in extended family groups called pods (what we would call clans), which can include over 100 individuals in some regions of the world. Pods that are closely related to each other form communities that frequently hunt, play, and travel together in larger groups that we call super-pods. Nested social structures of this kind are rare in nature and speak of the high degree of intelligence that orca whales possess. We have 3 pods in our resident community In the San Juan Islands that number 82 whales currently. Historical evidence indicates that they once numbered close to 200 individuals before they were exploited by aquariums, persecuted by fisherman, and later subjected to dwindling prey and industrial toxins. Our local San Juan Islands population is considered genetically unique and has been listed under the Endangered Species Act as the twin problems of insufficient salmon (also endangered) and deadly toxins have not been alleviated. Social animals such as orca whales and sea kayakers spend a great deal of time maintaining their relationships. Our San Juan Island orca whales have a culture that features matriarch leaders, large bulls that ritually compete for breeding dominance (quite a sight as some of this involves penis jousting), and multi-generational support and rearing of young. They really aren’t that different from us kayak tour guides! In addition to the body rubbing, fin contact, and synchronized diving, there is a great deal of synchronized breathing. Matriarchs and their daughters and grand-daughters do this routinely, and the entire pod will synchronize breaths during sleep / rest. This is very similar to how we often naturally synchronize our paddles strokes on the kayak tours. The salmon-eating orca whales in the San Juan Islands chatter to each other constantly when they aren’t sleeping. Sometimes we can hear their vocalizations right through the hulls of our kayaks when they get close. On the other hand, orca whales that hunt intelligent mammals such as porpoises and seals usually remain very quiet just like wolf packs that want to avoid alerting prey. Each pod has unique calls that only they use, but the super-pods have a common language, much like the various tribes of the Coast Salish that used to live in the San Juan Islands. Orcas that live in different communities use completely different “languages” and it is not surprising that we see no interactions between orcas of different communities. In fact, within the waters of Washington state, we have three communities of killer whales that never socialize together salmon-eating “residents”, marine mammal-eating Bigg’s killer whales (now recognized as a unique species), and shark-eating “offshores”. Some of these communities have not interbred for over 100,000 years despite sharing the same waterways in the San Juan Islands. Echo-location works like both sonar and ultrasound. One of the most unique aspects of killer whale vocalizations, like those of the entire “toothed whale” suborder, is their ability to create super high frequency sounds in their melon, the organ that gives their foreheads that rounded appearance. These are broadcast outwards and the echoes reflect back off bottom contours, kayaks, fish, other whales, etc., and are received via an oil-filled jawbone and conducted to the inner ear. Their brains have a special area that processes these sounds into a 3D holographic image of their surroundings. This ability enables them to navigate in the dark ocean, find prey, and identify foes. Their echolocation clicks penetrate into living bodies and produce “images” of skeletal structures and air pockets from lungs and swim bladders. Not only can they identify each species they encounter, they can also use it like ultrasound to peer into their pod-mates bodies. This means there are no secrets in the orca whales’ society, as everyone will know about pregnancies, injuries, tumors, and more. Think how our own society of kayakers would change if we could glance at anyone and know these private and intimate details about them! Join a Kayak Quest for Orca Whales near Seattle, Washington

August is an excellent month for orca whale watching on our kayak tours in the San Juan Islands. This orca whale sightings report is from August 2011 and should give a good indication of what to expect this month on our killer whale watching kayak tours in the San Juan Islands, near Seattle, Washington. In most years, San Juan Island orca whale sightings reach their peak in July, continue strong into August, and gradually taper off into October. August is our warmest and driest month of the year in the San Juan Islands, making it ideal for camping and kayaking. It’s also the calmest month – perfect for folks who want to try their first kayak tour and get introduced to this environmentally friendly way of travel and explore the marine world.Orca whales were sighted on over half (54%) of our San Juan Islands kayak trips in August 2011. This is a slight increase from the previous year. Porpoises were seen on 58% of our kayak tours, a slight decrease that is continuing into 2012. Reduced numbers of baitfish such as Pacific herring may be affecting our local porpoises. By combining whales and porpoises, we saw cetaceans on 83% of our San Juan Islands kayak trips. Details from the August 2011 San Juan Islands orca whale watching report: We encountered killer whales on 78% of the camping trips – an improvement from 2010! 5-day San Juan kayak expeditions saw orca whales on 3 of 4 trips. 3-day San Juan kayaking trips had killer whale watching success on 6 of 8 tours. 2-day San Juan Islands kayak tours found the orcas on 5 of 6 trips. Our camping trips saw either Dall’s porpoise or harbor porpoise on 13 of 18 tours for a success rate of 72%. The only four camping trips that missed the orcas were able to enjoy porpoises as their consolation whale. Porpoises are the smallest members of the toothed whale family, so we had 100% success for finding at least one species of cetacean on every kayak camping trip! The 1-day San Juan kayaking trips succeeded in finding killer whales on 40% of the tours. Clearly, spending less time in the orca whales’ habitat results in fewer encounters so we always recommend participating in the longest tour possible to give you the best chances for success. The San Juan Islands of Washington are the best place in the United States for kayaking with killer whales and Sea Quest has the best record of success. Despite being the undisputed experts in our field, we don’t find orca whales on every kayak tour. Killer whales move quickly in pursuit of migrating salmon and are sometimes unpredictable. Bad whale watching luck can occur despite our best efforts. Rarely, rough seas can make spotting whales nearly impossible. Occasionally, we find ourselves on the opposite side of a point or small islet from a pod of orcas, and by the time we get our kayaks around the corner the whales have departing just ahead of us – leaving us with broken hearts. Orca whale watching is no different than other kinds of wildlife watching. If you go to the best location at the best time of year and spend as much time in the whales’ habitat as you can, you will eventually be rewarded! Join a Kayak Quest for Whales from Friday Harbor, Washington

I booked the sunset kayak tour several months ago using the online booking system. The reservation process was seamless and professional. There were a total of six in our party ranging from 30 years of age to 63 – very close family. There was very wide range in athletic ability in our group and body size. Some members of our group could not get in and out of the kayaks without assistance, and many of them were scared to death when we started out. Our guide Pete did an absolutely superb job! The orientation he provided before we set out on the water helped to get everyone as comfortable as possible. He was very polite, very professional, and really upbeat even with the challenges that some members of our group provided him. When we started out, we first saw several Columbia black-tailed deer on the shore as we paddled by. Then we found a pair of bald eagles that were calling to each other and flew out over our heads. There was a juvenile eagle nearby. That show was really awe-inspiring. A bit farther down, we found a harbor seal sun bathing on a rock. All the while, Pete pointed out biological, historical, and just interesting facts about the San Juans, and everything we were viewing from the wildlife to the bull kelp in the water. As we got closer to the turn-around point of our short trip, I spotted what I thought was a dorsal fin of a whale. It turned out to be an orca whale and about 25 of its friends! We watched over the next 20-30 minutes as the whales swam and played as they headed parallel to the shore that we had just paddled up. We saw several flukes tail-slapping the water, spy-hops (raising their head to look around), and one full breach. One of the orca whales spy-hopped no more than 12 feet from our group of kayaks as we huddled together close to the shore to make sure we weren’t in their way. Some of our group members teared up from the absolutely majestic display. I would recommend the sunset kayak trip to anyone. While you shouldn’t expect to always see whales or tons of wildlife, Sea Quest and Pete provided an absolutely professional and fun environment to experience nature in the San Juan Islands. It really was the highlight of our whole trip to the San Juans. Mica LuntPlano, Texas This is an unsolicited review from a participant of our July 15th sunset kayak tour on the west side of San Juan Island in the orca whale waters. Images courtesy of whale-watching captain Jim Maya. Join a Kayak Quest for Orca Whales in the San Juan Islands

The San Juan Islands would seem to be an ideal habitat for great white sharks, the species infamous for knocking kayak fisherman and surfers into the water off California and Oregon a couple of times each year. Our huge populations of seals and sea lions and cool waters must be very attractive to these apex predators. But to the puzzlement of many, great whites have never been recorded in the San Juan Islands or Salish Sea of Washington. Our theory is that our large population of orca whales keeps great white sharks at bay, hence the title of this blog article “Orca Whales Prevent Shark Attacks on Kayaks in the San Juan Islands”. All 3 types of orcas in Washington are highly motivated to persecute or kill any great white shark that strays into the San Juan Islands. The “offshore” killer whales specialize in eating sharks as a major part of their diet and show extreme teeth wear from chewing through abrasive shark hides. The “transient”/Bigg’s killer whales are known to kill great white sharks and there are some great videos online showing them doing this and eating the huge nutritious liver afterwards. And “resident” killer whales that eat primarily salmon, the orcas we see most often on our kayak tours in Washington, would certainly attack great white sharks with vigor to keep their family pods safe from predation. Who needs shark nets when you’ve got killer whales on patrol protecting the waters?! Here in the San Juan Islands of Washington, we dearly miss seeing basking sharks on our kayak tours. Basking sharks, the 3rd largest species reaching 30 feet in length, were formerly easy to observe as they slowly trawled along the surface for plankton with their giant fins sticking into the air. Orca whales left them alone because they represented no danger to their calves and either tasted badly or were too big to easily kill for food. Harmless basking sharks were common until the 1980’s along the entire west coast but have completely collapsed at the reckless hands of man. Sadly, last year’s aerial survey of British Columbia could not locate a single basking shark! We also used to see vast schools of spiny dogfish sharks in the San Juan Islands. These small 1 meter long sharks were so abundant that they sometimes covered several acres of water as they chased shoals of herring. They were so thick that our quick-handed kayak guides could literally pluck them out of the water bare-handed as they swarmed past the kayaks. Alas, our herring are now depleted by 95% due to spawning habitat destruction in the Salish Sea and the dogfish sharks have died off without a food source. Naturally, many of our San Juan Islands kayak tour guests ask us about the risk of shark attack. We always reply that your chance of winning the lotto and getting hit by lightning in the same day is much higher than getting attacked by a shark. Hollywood movies have unnecessarily created a fearful mindset towards these amazing predators. Only 60 shark attacks occur on average throughout the world in an average year – about a half dozen in the US. Only 4% of shark attacks in the US are fatal. Odds of dying in a motor vehicle or by insect sting are 1000’s of times higher. Humans are killing about 70 million sharks each year, mostly just to turn their fins into soup. These kill rates can’t go on much longer because sharks have a very low reproductive rate. It is estimated that 90% of the large sharks over 2 meters have already been killed. Dozens of shark species are now listed as endangered and entire ecosystems are being severely altered by their wholesale removal. East coast clam and scallop beds are being ravaged by exploding populations of rays that were formerly kept in check by sharks. Coral reef studies show that large sharks prey on mid-sized predators and thereby protect the small fish species that keep the reef healthy by removing smothering algae. And now giant squid populations are exploding in various regions – maybe a good thing for sperm whales, but ask Captain Nemo what he thinks about that! Orca whales are returning to their spring salmon hunting habitat on the west side of San Juan Island right now. Reserve your San Juan Islands kayak tour in the premiere orca whale watching waters today for an experience you will never forget!  Join a Kayak Quest for Killer Whales in the San Juan Islands