Fall trip to Jones island

Steve, Jim & I couldn't resist the calling of the islands this weekend with the summer-like-weather on Sat., so we loaded our kayaks & set off for another weekened outing of paddling adventures in the San Juan islands... We launched Sat. morning into Guemes Channel and were spoiled with perfect glass-like conditions all day and dreamy fall temp's near 60F! Crossing the 3 shipping lanes in our usual leap-frog route, over Guemes to Bellingham Channel & then around the south end of Cypress island to Rosario Strait, *which was unusually busy this particular morning, with shipping lane traffic, causing us to stage at the SW end of Cypress island for about 20 min's as 4 BIG shipS passed by - including a tug & barge and then a closely following freighter while we were nearby...
Then on with the currents through Peavine Pass to take a peaceful lunch break on Blakely island...bellies full, back into boats we went to paddle across Eastsound, down Harney Channel along miles and miles of Orcas island shorelines across Westsound, through super narrow & shallow Poe Pass ending the day at just over twenty-something miles of paddling...

~ to finally set up camp at our favorite campsite ,

on the south end of Jones island We enjoyed a Spectacular star-studded night, bright half moon, warming campfire, visits from racoons, deer, eagles & seals....

Sunday we slept in, took our time packing up & set off, weaving through Yellow & Wasp islands, with more close-up nature sightings of hauled out seals, harlequin ducks & greebees....and then across San Juan Channel on over to pull out at the convenient kayak docks in Friday Harbor...
The Ultimate grande finale of our trip occured just before we entered Friday Harbor, when two HUGE steller sea lions appeared quite close to Steve & started having a feeding frenzy on big salmon....it was absolutely Amazing to observe....

Once back in dry clothes, we met up with our friend & fellow paddler David Halpern for lunch, sharing stories & laughs!

...then wheeled our boats onto the ferry and enjoyed a free ride back to Anacortes, just as the winds & rains were really picking up...

Fall circumnavigation of Fidalgo island

Every few months we like to test our endurance levels by going on a one-day Paddling Circumnavigation of Fidalgo island ...

We start in Anacortes, launch from mid-Guemes Channel, go with the currents down Rosario Strait, around Biz Point and through the powerful waters of Deception Pass... weave across Skagit Bay, up the Swinomish Slough, (always stop for bakery treats at the Calico Cupboard in La Conner:), continue along the slough & under the Twin Bridges, cross Fidalgo Bay and finish back in Guemes Channel....

In past laps, we've averaged this "ultra"-island circumnavigation distance in 34-37 miles, with paddling times between 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours, while pushing a tandem, kevlar sea kayak which weighs approx. 80 pounds...

Last weekend we rallied our friend Jesse to join us as we excitedly set out for another fun-filled day on the water.

Pockets and hatches stashed full of energy treats, cameras & extra clothes (just in case). We used the swift currents to aid us paddling as we passed by numerous islands, under a couple of cool bridges, past several sea caves, enjoyed the company of playful seals, bald eagles, & river otter...with the added bonus of magnificent fall colors painting the island shorelines all along the way!

All in all, according to the handy dandy GPS, we ended up spending a total of 7 hours and 8 minutes going the distance of 33.4 miles...reaching our Top Speed of 11 mph while going through Deception Pass (yee-haw is right!!)

~Where will next weekends winds & currents take us in the Salish Seas?!.....check back soon to find out!

Balance...

Something we hurried people are often seeking in our busy days...

And when Nature gave us this mighty fine example right in our backyard...

we couldn't help but laugh!!

~Happy Fun in the Fall !~

Endangered Southern Resident Orcas

Do your part to protect these amazing yet Endangered Species...the Southern Residents of the Salish Sea... these three families, or pods, of friendly Orca whales reside seasonally in our San Juan archipelago & BC island waters ...

They are sick. They need our help.

"Killer whales from the Salish Sea are some of the most contaminated marine mammals in the world and toxin loads are considered a factor in causing the decline of the southern resident population. Disease too is a major threat to the long term health of killer whale populations... http://www.seadocsociety.org/ "

What can you do?...

Fix car oil leaks. Recycle. Don't buy farmed fish. Reduce outdoor chemical usage on lawns and gardens= GO ORGANIC!!....Shop for Nature-friendly household cleaning products and alternatives... Educate yourself & your kids about these beautiful black & white beasts with help from the Orca Network and Center for Whale Research...Take a family trip on the ferry out to Friday Harbor and visit the Whale Museum... Abide by Whale wise guidelines when in proximity of the whales on the water....Donate some time and/or money to support a local non profit whose work benefits these magnificent marine mammals. Plus, plan to paddle in next years Orca Challenge Fundraising Kayak race ...and start making a difference, TODAY!!

Expedition Training...

With less than a year to go before we plan to attempt our lofty goal of paddling the Inside Passage from Alaska back home to Anacortes in one month, we went for one of our most adventurous overnighters in the San Juan islands yet!!52 miles roundtrip from Anacortes to Patos Island, a marathon 26 miles a day, in 11 hours total paddling time between Sat & Sun mornings- including taking all breaks in boat, while occassionally fighting strong currents, winds & 6 foot wave walls...Launched Sat morning from Guemes Channel into absolutely dead calm waters. No wind in the morning until about 20 miles in, when just after leaving the shorelines of Orcas island while crossing over to Sucia, we were hit by a rapidly-approaching-from-the-north dark wall of wind across the channel as the marine forecast predicting NW 10-20 finally caught up to us, with gusts escalating into blasts as strong as 20-30+mph...
Even at this muscle-burning stage of the days long paddle, we were both still thinking "It's all good" as we knew we were just a few miles from our final destination. Then as we began rounding the NW side of Sucia and caught sight of the Massive Solid White Wall of Waves just ahead, reality hit. So we zigged & zagged as best we could through a tiny island passageway as we attempted to avoid 'the wall', but still ended up having to paddle through 6 foot swells, w/ 4- 6 ft breaking waves -a surprise rude awakening thanks to a tide rip off a reef on Sucia combined w/ the strong, funneling headwinds creating insane wave walls to get past in the final stretch, the last 2 miles from Sucia to Patos... Once on Patos, we happily we set up camp, went for a nice walk, made dinner (all while still dizzy from the wave beatings), hiked back out to watch the sunset at the lighthouse, saw some incredible Canadian Coast Guard helicopter action and trekked back to our tent in the dark, to go to bed by 8:30pm-only to be kept awake most the night by wicked gales blowin' throughout the night, crashing waves pounding so loud the ground shook each time they broke on shore, 100 yards from the tent... Rose early Sunday to much calmer seas (thank goodness!), with the ebbing currents, we thoroughly enjoyed near perfect conditions to surf and downwind sail most of the way home on Sunday! Passed by lots of up close wildlife encounters which I didn't capture with the cameras- including a huge stella sea lion, baby seals & numerous pairs & pods of porpoises...

more photos @ http://picasaweb.google.com/expeditionpaddlers/Paddle2Patos#

Kayak-sailing down Belingham Channel- without paddling- at speeds over 5mph!