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!

NOAA's first public meeting held in Anacortes

At least 150 people showed up to the 1st round of 3 public meetings held Sept. 24th in Anacortes to listen and make comments on NOAA's proposed federal regulations, aimed at further protecting the Endangered Southern Resident Orca whales. A long line extended out the door from the larger than expected turnout.

The soft voices of the two NOAA women presenters were made even softer by their lack of microphone and bad acoustics in the large warehouse. The crowd soon turned hostile & antagonistically against these NOAA moderators, as it became pretty immediately obvious that the majority of folks in this disgruntled audience of mostly sport fishermen, whale-watch boat & kayak tour company owners did not support either the planned schedule in the agenda for the Q & A part of the evening nor especially did they take kindly to the proposed increased 200 yard distance regulations & establishment of a 'No Go Zone' along the west side of San Juan island...(*Not surprising since the whale watch industry alone is estimated to bring in over $7 million year annually to Skagit County.)
 While commercial kayak tour groups such as the above photo shows also currently launch daily en mass during summer months directly into the Southern Resident Orca whales favorite place in the San Juan island archipelago, the west side of San Juan island. Under NOAA's new proposed guidelines a 1/2 mile "No Go Zone" would prohibit these business owners from profiting while continuing to disturb an Endangered Species in their critical habitat...Needless to say these tour business owners are not embracing this protective idea.
Under NOAA's new proposed regulations, vessels such as these commercial whale-watch tour boats could be fined for intentionally positioning in the path of the oncoming Endangered Orca whales if passed. (*The two whale-watch boats I've worked on in the past two years, one Anacortes and one Bellingham-based, did this regularly.)

While this other locally based whale-watch tour boat often spend hours a day closely following the whales and whose captain is leading a strong fight against NOAA. Many at the meeting seemed to be overlooking that under the new proposed NOAA regulations there's still the whole rest of the ocean to view the Orcas. For example, close up viewings from a kayak as seen in the above photo, would still be possible here at Iceberg Point on Lopez island, just a few miles from the end of the proposed 'No-Go-Zone' at Cattle Pass on San Juan island.

We observed one locally based whale-watch boat closely follow the pods for hours while the above private power boater  blatantly and repeatedly blocked the path of Southern Resident Orcas as they travelled slowly down Rosario Strait one summer morning...

You betcha 'guaranteed whale sightings' that the same commercial boat owner was at the meeting, expressing his opposition to the proposed increased distance regulations- presumably driven by the fear of decreased profit $$ to be made by further protecting the Endangered Species.

A short video clip of the Sept. 24th, NOAA public meeting.

We met several friends at the meeting, all of us you could say were 'on the whales side' and in support of NOAA's new proposed regulations. One word adjectives came out of each of us throughout the evening as we disappointingly described the unruly crowd at the Anacortes public meeting:

Fear. Anger. Selfishness. Rude.

Not exactly the compassionate characteristics of people who have the best interest of the future of our Endangered Southern Resident Orca whales in mind. But then again, these are the same folks who have depleted the Orcas favorite food, the Chinook salmon to an Endangered Species listing also, through decades of overfishing. Reduced food supply, environmental & noise pollution are the biggest threats to the Southern Resident Orcas.

**Many of these Anacortes-based commercial whale-watch & fishing boats also still continue to pollute the Salish Sea waters through the unnecessary practice of dumping their onboard sewage into the very same waters which the Orcas feed, breed and travel...when they could be pumping out FOR FREE at the marinas upon return.

(Want to see for yourself? All you have to do is spend some time watching the sewage pump-out dock inside Cap Sante Marina here in Anacortes and you'll quickly notice that not many commercial boats based are stopping to pump out at it.)

*Unfortunately, the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce has also chosen not to support NOAA but rather to oppose this agency's protective proposal. And so it goes here with small town politics, presumably because whale-watch captains are also Chamber board members, and the big money this corrupt industry brings to our small town seems more important that protecting our marine mammals and environment.

28th annual Bainbridge Island Marathon Race

Jim & Nadja racing through Agate Passage ~ photo by Michael Lampi

Marathon Race Start ~ photo by Michael Lampi

Capt. Steve Bennett -pre coffee- setting up for the race at sunrise ~

Sound Rowers President & longtime Bainbridge Island Race Director

Mt Rainier glowing to the south at sunrise...

Race day sunrise over Cascade Mts ~ from Bainbridge Is.

This years conditions for the lengthiest, open water paddling and rowing race in the Pacific Northwest were fantastic, as the results on the Sound Rowers website will show... http://www.soundrowers.org/

5 outa 17 of us in the 26 mile marathon long course around Bainbridge island set records in our class- as well as 2 outa 7 racers in the 'short' half marathon course. While the 1st overall in the long course was won by a rocketship fueld by Jeb Besser & Grant Dull in a 2X-OW, with a time of 3:09:02.

The records in classes were set by Theresa & Jeff Knakal,Theresa Batty & Susan Kinne, Peter Hirtle, Traci Cole, Jim & I, Alan Clark and Sherri Cassuto.

Despite my recent battlings with bulging disks and Jim's bruised ribs, this long of a push on this hot of a day was worth it for the scenery & wildlife encounters (multiple up close porpoises:), Mt Rainier looming, Seattle skyline, the Olympic Mts & Mt Baker...

A big 'shout out' to Steve Bennett, Sound Rower's Prez & Bainbridge Marathon Race Director for many years....his bread, homemade clam chowder & humor makes the race.

Afterwards, Jim & I raced back to our island to drop off the boat, pick up his bike & race to the base of Mt Baker to rise this morning just before dawn for him to test his endurance as he raced up & down & up & down Mt Baker in a road bike field of only about 9 in the 'D.u.m.b.' 100 mile race category of the Mt Baker Hill Climb ride 542- he finished 2nd at 7 hrs and a few seconds, (although they only 'officially' time the first 75 ?!)...

~Quite the'Ultra' weekend!...Ultra driving, ultra campin', ultra racing = Ultra FUN!!