The current was weakening towards slack – the moment between tides when the sea becomes motionless and kelp bulbs expose themselves to the calm pewter surface of Puget Sound. As I contemplated the stillness from the cockpit of my kayak, I re-considered my choice of not notifying anyone of my plan for kayaking in the
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
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
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
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
Being the first company on San Juan Island to provide kayak tours using professional standards, we’ve seen a lot of copy-cat companies pop up over the years. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so we should take some comfort in all of this mimicry. But we can’t help but feel bad
July was another superlative month for killer whale watching kayak tours in the San Juan Islands, near Seattle, Washington. Orca whale encounters typically reach their peak in July and the weather is usually fantastic, too. This July did not disappoint – less than ½ of rain fell and high temperatures ranged in the 60-70s. Our
Our orca whale watching kayak tours in the San Juan Islands of Washington began well this summer and here is our success report for June. Cetaceans (either whales or their small cousins the porpoises) were sighted on 80% of all our kayak tours combined. We encountered killer whales on 80% of the camping trips! Orca
Introducing our YouTube Channel for orca whale watching and kayaking San Juan Islands. Enjoy watching amazing professional videos of orcas and sea kayaking in the San Juan Islands of Washington state. Our first San Juan Islands kayaking video is a fantastic professionally produced short feature made for the National Geographic Channel featuring killer whales and
September is a gorgeous month for kayaking in the San Juan Islands as it ranks as the third driest and warmest month of the year. September averages just a bit more than an inch of rain for the entire month so kayak camping expeditions are usually very comfortable. As the general tourism activities wind down
August was another solid month for orca whale watching on our San Juan Islands kayak tours. Starting in June, we had an unbroken streak of daily killer whale activity in Washington’s Salish Sea that ran for 83 straight days until August 20th when they mysteriously disappeared. Fortunately, the orcas quickly returned after being absent for
Vast numbers of leaping silvery salmon have been a frequent sight this summer in the San Juan Islands, a scintillating abundance that we haven’t enjoyed for the past couple of decades. This year’s salmon productivity has led to lots of well-fed wildlife and a record-setting orca whale watching kayak season in the San Juans near
July was a great month for our killer whale watching kayak tours in the Salish Sea of Washington state. And our whale watching luck in the San Juan Islands has carried right through into August. As of August 17th the local orca whale pods have been sighted in the Salish Sea for 80 straight days
June finished in fantastic fashion with orca whale watching sightings in the San Juan Islands on almost every day of the month. Our San Juan Islands kayaking tours encountered killer whales on nearly all of the camping trips! All of our 5-day San Juan kayak expeditions saw both orca whales and porpoises. All of the
Many big events in the small world of San Juan Island whale watching took place this week. And our San Juan Islands kayak tours were there to witness the best of it! First, a run-down of some biological and scientific notes on orca whales from this week: We have now confirmed that all three of
One of our local pods of resident-type (fish-eating) orca whales has returned to the San Juan Islands and we look forward to kayaking with them soon – maybe today! L-pod, the largest of the killer whale families that reside in the San Juan Islands from spring through fall, appeared on the west side of San
A mother humpback whale and her calf swam past our afternoon day trip in the San Juan Islands of Washington just as they launched their kayaks into the water. This is one of several sightings of humpbacks whales in the San Juan Islands and other Salish Sea locations this spring. We hope this will lead
A humpback whale appeared on today’s afternoon day trip in the San Juan Islands of Washington. This exciting discovery is the area’s first humpback whale of the spring. We hope it remains in the area and is joined by more of its huge acrobatic fellows. Today, humpback whales are uncommon visitors in Washington waterways from
The resident killer whales have returned to the San Juan Islands of Washington this month just in time for the launch of our kayak tour season! At least two of the three resident orca whale pods have been sighted this month. Additionally, there has been a great deal of transient killer whale activity. Today’s afternoon
This week our one day kayaking trips in the San Juan Islands had great success with finding a variety of pinnipeds, the “fin-footed” mammals such as seals and sea lions. Four species in total were found on our sea kayaking tours this week, which is about the maximum that can be found in the inland
Some excited boaters today confirmed an attack by killer whales on an adult gray by videotaping the encounter. The attack took place southeast of the San Juan Islands while whale watching near Whidbey and Camano Islands. This is the same area that a pod of “transient” killer whales attacked gray whales with a calf that
At long last we have published our new San Juan Islands kayaking tour route and orca whale watching maps. Each San Juan Islands kayak trip, ranging from half-day to 5-days, has a separate map that shows both the kayaking route and the most important killer watching zone in the entire Salish Sea. You can download
Last week three gray whales were seen traveling together near Seattle, Washington. Their peaceful migration northwards was interrupted by a pod of “transient killer whales”, the type of orca that mainly eats other marine mammals. Groups of transient orcas are known to kill gray whales, especially calves. Encounters between transient killer whales and gray whales
The good news is the most recent orca whale born in our primary kayaking in the San Juan Islands looks robust healthy. The bad news is this baby orca is the first-born of a very inexperienced mother, only 12 years old, who will need help from her aunt and grandmother. More alarming is that in
Our friend Captain Jim Maya of Maya’s Westside Charters photographed a gray orca whale calf last week while operating a whale watching tour from San Juan Island. The baby killer whale was discovered south of Victoria in a family of transient-type orcas identified as the T-11 pod. Ken Balcomb at the Center for Whale Research
There are plenty of stories of dolphins saving humans. Authentic tales of dolphins assisting swimmers in distress are numerous. On the opposite side of popular mythology is the killer whale, the largest of all dolphins. Orcas are often erroneously depicted as dangerous to humans. But transient type killer whales do hunt other mammals, if not
This past weekend, on our one day San Juan Islands kayak tour, we found an unusual jelly fish that we have never before encountered in this area on our kayaking trips. As you can see from the photo, it was stunningly beautiful with an amber bell, purple stinging tentacles, and pink oral tentacles. It was
Lonely Planet just created a list of the “World’s Top 10 Cycling Routes” and named the San Juan Islands to it. This is part of their series of “Best in Travel” lists, now available in book form. In addition to the San Juan Islands of Washington State, the list includes vacation locations in New Zealand,
