1993 San Juan Islands Kayak Trip

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We drove north to Anacortes. We took the Mukilteo ferry to Whidbey Island. Deception Pass, between Whidey and Fidalgo Islands, is one of our favorite view points in this area. Years ago, before we moved to Washington State in the “Big Mosey of ’92,” we camped in a rented RV in Deception Pass State Park. It was here that our imaginations were first captured by two paddlers in a sea kayak entering the protected cove where we had camped. The late afternoon setting sun backlight the silhouettes of the couple in the two person sea kayak and the syncronized stokes of their paddles dipping into the silver cast of the sea. It was liquid magic.

This was our quest, to personalize this memory. Not just to return to the place of inspiration, but to set upon the sea and live the memory. Yes, we were on our way to join an expedition of kayaks that would depart from San Juan Island the next morning.

Friday night we stayed at a B&B in Anacortes; the Hasty Pudding. The owners' last name was Hasty, and one of them (we're not certain which) may have gone to or at least visited Harvard. We supped on salmon at a local resturant and bedded early.

Sat 9/25

4:45 a.m. The alarm sounded, the pulses quickened as we woke to the adventure before us. We giggled; we were excited. The hosts had prepared a brown bag breakfast for us to take to the ferry.

We arrived at the Anacortes ferry terminal well in advance of the 6:05 departure for Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. It is a good thing that we did not rush onto the ferry at the dock when we arrived because it was going somewhere else.

I walked over to a soft drink machine and paid 75 cents to watch diet Pepsi flow through a grate where a cup was supposed to have been mechanically deposited. Next a fellow at a row of pay phones asked me to come tell his mother that he was at the Anacortes ferry terminal. I had a nice chat with his mom, who I think did not believe a word of it. I suspect that this guy failed some kind of expectation pressed upon him to be at home by a certain time/date and was fearful of having his allowance cut off. He appeared to be about 28 - 30 years old. He blamed his failure to get on the ferry on the boat’s crew. Humm.

Nancy and I boarded our ferry in good time and enjoyed daybreak during an hours cruise through the San Juan archipelago. We departed at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. The ferry arrived at Friday Harbor about an hour before a van from the tour company was supposed to pick us up, so we nursed some hot chocolate and Late 'da at a coffee house.

About 9:00 a.m., a van pulling a trailer stacked with sea kayaks turned the corner. During the wait for the van we met some fellow members of our expedition group. As we packed the van, a foursome arrived with their gear. Since I had met everyone else, I though I would have some fun and asked one of the guys if I had detected a Salt Lake City accent? "Certainly not. I live there, but don't talk like those people." And I was introduced to Dr. Greg. My brother Jim, a gas doc in SLC told me that a group of his friends happened to be booked on the same kayak tour. Small world, sometimes.

It was about a twenty minute ride in the van to a campgroud on the water where we unloaded the boats and gear. There were two guides and 13 others; 7 two person kayaks and a single person kayak. The guides were Alex and Phil. Alex was a hunk of a girl, the lead guide who was very knowlegable about marine biology and ecology.

On the beach Alex led us though a safety course of various aspects about the kayaks, how to get in and out of them, how to wear the life jackets and spray skirts, etc. We were amazed at how much gear these kayaks will hold. There are water tight compartments in the bow and aft. There is wet storage space in the middle between the cockpits.

The cockpits were spaced far enough apart that synchronized paddling was not required. This helped our boat a lot because I did the bulk of the power strokes to keep up with the pack. The second day, Nancy got into a better rhythm and we were able to sync our strokes more effectively.

What a kick! The weather was clear and hospitable. We brought a lot of cold weather gear and were prepared for the worst. We didn't get it; we were treated to a mild, sunny weekend.

These sea kayaks slip across the water. There is no draft, so they are susceptible to wind and current. And the force and directions of the currents were interesting to observe. There were rip tides and counter currents to deal with, and our guides helped us navigate our way from island to island. It was about a nine mile trip to the campground where we were going to spend the night.

We were provided with tents, and served dinner (meatless spaghetti with good veggies) and breakfast (trail cakes, not as good as mine). We provided our own lunches for two days, snacks and liquids.

We did not see any Orcas. This was a disappointment. We did see sea otters, porpi, a bald eagle and more scenic views than can be described. We saw boats of all kinds in this water paradise; sailboats, powerboats, paddle boats, ferry boats, yachts. It was a busy cross road at times. At other times, it seemed that we were alone.

We had a great time and are ready to do some more kayaking.

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