Day 9: Kayaking with Orcas in Haro Strait!!!

Another (attempted) early start! At 6:50am (only 20 minutes late) we departed the campsite, made a quick-ish coffee stop in Friday Harbor, and continued to our second San Juan Island kayaking destination: Haro Strait. This strait runs along the west side of San Juan Island and is known as the best location for orca whale sightings. The main public put-in site is at Smallpox Bay in San Juan County Park, which is apparently where a number of Indians plunged into the icy cold water to rid themselves of smallpox and instead died of pneumonia. 

At the put-in we obtained a $7/boat permit, which requires watching an 11-minute video about boating regulations related to whales. We learned that you must stay 200 yards away from whales, and 400 yards away from the path in front of them (since they might redirect to the left or right). Fines can be as high as $32,000! A sign in the check-in office stated that whales had not been seen for 4 days, but we kept our hopes high and launched into scenic Smallpox Bay. 

We paddled north, sticking close to the steep, rocky coast. Once again, the water was crystal clear, except where the kelp forests hung thick. 

Ale and Bridget with a seal!

We arrived at Mitchell Bay around 9:30 am, and paddled point-to-point across Mitchell Bay, Mosquito Pass, and into Open Bay. At 10:20 we arrived at Open Bay and decided to have “free time” and meet back up at 11:30 to return with the outgoing tide. Alex and Maria headed to a secret beach on the north side of the bay while the rest of us wandered towards the back of the bay and eventually decided to paddle out around the point of Henry Island. We joined Alex and Maria at the secret beach at 11am for a quick lunch. From the beach we could see out into Haro Strait, where boats seemed to be gathering and moving together up the Strait. Moments later we got our first distant glimpse of a dorsal fin. In what must have been our speediest launch yet (5 minutes from half-eaten-sandwich to launched kayak), we made our way out to the Strait. At least 10 various motorboats were moving constantly north, and we kept our eyes peeled. WOOOSHHHH! We heard our first blow spout. Seconds later we saw a dorsal fin glide gracefully out of the water. Over the next hour we saw 4 different pods of orca whales swim by (at a distance, of course)! As many as 8 whales came up for air at the same time. I tried to take photos, of course, and here’s the best I could do. Many of the whales went right up to the point where we had poked our boats around just 30 minutes earlier. 

KAYAKING WITH ORCAS

Bridget wishing she could ride the orca

On the way back we sighted some seals on the rocks:

And everywhere we paddled we found monster kelp:

More kayakers had arrived on scene by the time we approached the launch site. The sun was blazing, and the heat drove me to practice some rolls in Smallpox Bay. Instant ice cream headache ensued, and I dissuaded Sara from practicing another assisted rescue. Instead, Sara and I landed, retrieved the cars, loaded boats, and dried gear while the rest of the crew paddled around some more and sunned on the beach. Fast forward to packed-up cars and strapped-on boats (the last time loading the ridiculous tandems!), Sara, Bridget, Ale, and I went for a hike at Lime Kiln Point State Park, just a few miles up the road. The “hike” began with 2 everything bagels with cream cheese. The trail took us along the coastal cliffs, where many non-kayakers view orcas from afar. A small lighthouse was open to the public and shared lots of orca-related info, including sighting counts and visitor trends (did you know that orcas had the most visitors in 1997? We decided this was when Free Willy was released, or maybe one of the sequels…). Bridget and Ale “tattoo”ed themselves in many places with the orca visitor stamps. 

Ale and Bridget with orca tattoos

We retrieved our sunning compatriots before returning to Tim’s place to drop of the Monster Ships. We returned Renaldo and Big Purple to their proper locations on Tess, the blue Subaru. The whole group made a stop in Friday Harbor for some cash, milkshakes (I’m still dealing with the sugar headache), clean underwear (no success), and mini bottle of soy sauce (success). Feeling sticky and hot, Sara, Bridget, Ale, and I went for a swim in a pristine-looking lake (labeled as “Sportsman Lake”) near the campground. A nearby biker turned the corner to the beach at an unfortunate moment with 75% of the group was mid-bathing-suit-change. Bridget dives into water: “EWWWW seaweed!!!! Ok I peed in the one spot without seaweed.” *Exits water* Nena dives into water: “So much warmer than ocean water!! Bridget, you’re so gross.” Ale dives into the water “Ewwww smells like pond water!!” Sara dives into the water: “EWWW tastes like pond water!” Our “swim” was really just a quick dunk.

Now we are huddled in our tents resting up for a big bonfire night on the beach. Sara is drinking wine and journaling in the tent (she just spilled wine all over her orca journal) whilst I sit here typing on my MacBook pro.

10:23pm update: Everyone seems to be snoring in their tents, and once again we’ve lazily replaced our extravagant dinner plans with cashews and fruit. Sigh… goodnight!

Date: Sunday, July 27th, 2014

Distance: 10.5 miles

Duration: 6 hours?