Kayak, Bike, Nature and Travel

Got a call from my buddy Madden to get some folks together and get the grill ready. I made some calls and cleaned the grill and waited for the evening to come.  As the day passed we were getting ready to heat the coals and toss on the Halibut.  It was a great night.  We had great wine, food and company.  Island cookouts are great.  After having some food we all headed out the bar.  So the fun kept going strong into the night.   It was really a fun night and was good to see everyone getting together. Madden putting on the slabs of Halibut. A grill full of fresh Halibut!  TASTY! TOAST!  Oh yea just way to cool!  People moving to the inside.  Small house but there are more folks behind me.   Well I hope to get some kayak images up soon.  I have been doing kayak repairs and getting gear ready for the season.  The weather has been great and kayaking time is here.  So come on out and join us on a tour. Anyway, Good Night Everyone!

Another beautiful day on San Juan Island.  Unfortunately we did not have any tours. So I rounded up Lyle and Shawn to get on the water and do some training.  We started with a few clouds in the sky but later on the sun came out.  It was a really nice day to be on the water.  Shawn and Lyle did a great job and it was just a lot of fun being out there today.  Not much really went on, I spent most of the day on on the water.  But when we got done, in kayaker fashion, we went out for a beer. Here are a few images. A wonderful day to be on the water. Floating in the flood tide. You can see Shawn out front. Lime Kiln State Park Shawn Lyle working on a bit of sculling for support. Well that was pretty much my day.  It was not bad at all.  Plus overall I feel it was pretty productive.

Made it out to the beach with a couple of friends today.  They were heading out to try a bit of skim boarding.  But the water was a bit choppy and the tide was too high.  Bumped into them while I was getting some lunch from the grocery store.  They convinced me to head out to the beach with them. The weather is nice, but it seems a bit cooler than yesterday.  None the less it was still perfect to hit the beach and get some sun.  I grabbed Guinness and we all took off.   I got a few pictures while I was out, so here you go. South Beach. My dog Guinness taking in the sun. We have a bit of a mess with us. One more of Guinness. Just Me.

The weather has been amazing the past few day and this morning could not be better.  The smells of spring in the air.  Nice and cool in the morning and warm by noon.  Calm water and no wind. Prefect! Yesterday was a nice long day of being on the water.  I had a nice young lady come over for an interview and we got to do some paddling.  When I was done with that, Shawn and I got on the water for some more training.  It was a great day.  But I was really tired at the end of the day.   There is some exciting new stuff going on with Discovery Sea Kayaks.  I am really excited the change is going to be awesome.  I will give out more information when the time comes to share. But I am cannot wait! Last night was an amazing sunset.  The water was mirror smooth and pink clouds over Vancouver Island.  The Olympics Mountains faded into the dark purple of the sky. It was an amazing sun set.  But I did not have my camera with me for any part of my amazing day.  So I do not have any images to share. ...

This weekend has been beautiful.  Yesterday I was on the water with a couple that came up from Portland Or.  They were really nice folks and we had a great day on the water.  I forgot to grab my camera when I left the house so I do not have any pics of the trip.  But the water was FLAT calm. The winds were light and the tides were small so the water was perfect.  There were no other kayaks on the water and few power boats past by.  We had great view of Bald Eagles and even got the see the Peregrine Falcon pair.  As we neared the Lime Kiln Lighthouse a lone Elephant Seal popped up. An adult male!  He was a big guy and was only around 50 yards away.  He looked at us for a moment and then simply ignored us.  It was a really nice view, wish I had my camera. Today I went out to help my buddy get a boat load of people over to Yellow Island.  He has a new high speed inflatable that he uses to do Wildlife Tours.  After beaching and dropping the people off we went for a little ride.  Taking off...

I have not had a chance to get an update posted.  But I am taking the time to get everything up to speed.  I have been on the water everyday for the past four day. Not that I have been on tours all on all of the trips but with training and tours.   Shawn, a new guide for Discovery Sea Kayaks, just moved out to the island. We have been working on kayak rescues and personal skills.  Things are going great and I foresee him being a great new member to the team. Today I took a couple out to the West Side for kayak tour and we had a great time.  The water conditions were great.  The skies were cloudy as they are calling for rain to move in tonight.  We had great views of Bald Eagles and encounters with Dalls Porpoise.  There were a few Oyster Catchers walking the shore, but overall it was a nice time on the water. Yesterday I took a new employee out for a day of kayaking.  Once again another nice day on the water and with good company.  Swift currents and a light breeze did not stop us fro...

I woke up to the sound of rain tapping on the roof.  The winds were light and forecast to increase to Gale Force winds over the course of the day.  After an evening of hanging out with friends and the ambiance of the rain.  I stayed in bed a little longer than I normally would.  When I finally roused myself out of bed my roommate was heading to town for brunch.  I decided I would meet up with him and a group of guys to have some food.  Many laughs later and brunch was over. Lyle and I decided we would try and get on the water for a bit of windy weather kayaking.  But after arriving back at the house, we both were feeling a bit tired and run down.  We had spent the weekend evenings out with friends, so I assume it all was just catching up to us.  So we decided not to go kayaking.  The rest of my day was spent in a half slumber.   The winds increase through the day and I could only imagine how much fun it would be to be in my kayak.  I just did not have the energy to make it happen.  The...

Last nights BBQ was wonderful.  Great food and great fun.  Today is cloud covered with lite rain with winds moving in overnight.  You can check the maritime weather at the following link. http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/marine/forecast_e.html?mapID=03&siteID=06100 With the rain in the forecast we typically do a bit less business with kayak tours.  Being April it is still a bit early for season to kick off, but it would be nice to get out on the water.  Tomorrow the winds are suppose to kick up and I know we will not have tours going out.  So I plan on going and doing a bit of kayaking on my own.  I will do my best to get some pictures to share. Cloudy skies over Friday Harbor.   Please click on this image to view.  I took this picture from my buddies deck where we had the BBQ last night. The view is of San Juan Channel and Presidents Channel. I hope everyone is having a nice weekend and that it is not raining where ever you are.

April is here and things seem a bit slow on the island still.  We have been having wonderful weather but it looks like this weekend things may take a turn to the rainy side.  I hope that things pick up soon as I am ready to get on the water with guest and share the islands via kayak.  I cannot wait. One of my new guides is moving out here on Sunday so training will start Monday!  That will be fun and I will start to post some fun images for the water. Summer may not be here yet but that is not going to stop us from breaking out the BBQ and have some outdoor fun.  Tonight we are set to have a little BBQ action at my buddies house.  It should be great.  His house has a great water view and I hear there might be a few margaritas around.   But not much else going on.  I have been spending most of my days in the kayak shop tyring to get some bookings for kayak trips.   I hope everyone is having a good day and I hope to get some fun images posted soon.  Anyway, till next time.

Made it in to the shop today and while I was working some nice folks came in wanting to get out on the water for the day.  I was setting there inside looking outside at the sunshine, hmmmm, yea I can take you guys out.  It was a great day.  The water was so calm and that the temperature was warm.  It brought back memories of summer on San Juan and I cannot wait for season to really get kicked off. The day went by without stress or worries.  Everyone was really enjoying the sunshine and taking in the scene.  The Olympic Mountains were full of snow and presented an amazing setting for the day. Here are a few images from the day. Looking north on the Haro Strait.  The nice couple I had for the day is just ahead of me. Another image of my clients working hard in such rough paddle conditions. Here you can see how calm the water was for the day. NICE DAY! ANYWAY, I hope everyone is having a good day.  Season is almost here and being back on the water with guest is going to be fun.  How could...

Yes today I spotted a new Orca in downtown Friday Harbor.  If you are ever over near the Cannery Landing, you should stop and check it out.  It is pretty funny.  I could not resist having my picture taken with it.  I think everyone should stop and get their picture with the Orca and we should come up with a name for it.   It is pretty big.  From a distance it looked really small.  But once I walked down there it was much larger.  Pretty Funny! ANYWAY, have a nice night everyone

I just wanted to put a small post to inform all my local readers that Discovery Sea Kayaks has the shop ,located a 1 Spring St next to the Ferry Landing above the Place Restaurant, open for booking tours, lesson and retail sales. We carry a full line of outdoor sports wear from The North Face, Marmot, Outdoor Research and many other quality sports and paddle wear companies.  There is a lot of nice gear out for 2009 and we have hand picked what we feel are the most useful components for the Pacific Northwest Environment.  We have plenty of rugged rain gear, warm base and outer layers and some nice looking casual sports wear. We also have some of the remaining 2008 products on sale for 50% to 70% OFF!!  It is worth the look around to get a good deal on some really nice products. If anything drop in and say HI.  We are here and enjoy the company of others as they pass through the store. Hope to see everyone soon! Jason

Well I may be in Denver but I am still checking my email and this came in today.  The 1st Annual Orca Challenge.  It is a fund raiser event.  Please see the following link for more info.. http://expeditionpaddlers.blogspot.com/2009/03/6-weeks-to-go-until-first-annual-orca.html