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 for the folks that end up on kayak tours using sub-standard equipment, poorly trained guides, and no emphasis on the educational opportunities that the marine environment so richly provides. Or worse yet, being sold on a “killer whale watching” kayak tour that visits places like Anacortes where whales are seen only a few times each month. It’s difficult for someone seeking a quality kayaking vacation to sort the wheat from the chaff.
Some of these newer kayak tour companies are run by the motorized whale watching industry. While roaring around in their polluting power boats, they saw our kayaking groups silently gliding through the waters and opportunistically jumped into offering kayak trips, too. Kayak tour companies of this ilk are run by people who prefer motors over paddles and offer the kayaking equivalent of “pony rides”. Lacking the knowledge of sound kayaking safety practices and rescue skills, some of these companies have approached us at Sea Quest to train their guides. Other kayak tour companies in the San Juan Islands have morphed into marketing operations for wineries, brewers, yoga schools, etc. Remarkably, there’s even one old codger who leads “booze cruise” kayak tours and still hasn’t figured out that wearing life jackets is an essential requirement of safe kayaking!
Here at Sea Quest we are keeping pure and simple. We began as biologists and environmental scientists who were all avid kayakers from the very beginning. Some of us even started kayaking as a way to get access to aquatic environments for research studies. We are all dedicated to spreading the joy of kayaking to as many guests possible and consider it our mission to provide the best educational experience possible within the framework of a kayaking tour.
Join us on a “Kayak Quest for Whales” and see if you don’t agree that we are passionate about kayaking, whales, and natural history and strive to provide the utmost quality in every thing we do. Others have certainly noticed – you can read their remarks in the testimonials published on our website. Sea Quest accolades include selection by National Geographic in their “10 Best Trips in the World for 2011” and USA Today’s “World’s Top 10 Adventure Bargains”. And take a minute to watch us kayaking with killer whales in some fantastic videos made for National Geographic TV and ABC News.
Reserve your San Juan Islands kayak tour today for an experience you will never forget!
