The Saturated Sea Kayaker

See's the San Juans

The quick and dirty version.  I drove a lot.  I paddled a lot.  I gabbed a lot.  I soaked up a lot of sun (and a fair bit of red wine).  I ate a lot of chocolate.  I had fun.

More?  Ok...

The 4th of July week saw over 30 members of BASK take over a group campsite at Spencer Spit on Lopez Island in the San Juans.  This trip was initiated months in advance thanks to the efforts of Casey Walker and went off like, well, most trips.  My hat's off to Casey for attempting to herd a bunch of cats.  Crazy fun!

Fortunately for me I was asked to participate in a workshop for the FAA and it just so happened to be located up in Seattle the week before this trip.  Oh darn!  I loaded up the trusty Subaru with kayaks, gear and groceries and hit the road the last week of June.  Along the way North I explored parts of the Rogue River, Umpqua River, Clackamas River and finally the Snoqualamie.  Fun!

Once the workshop ended I made a beeline for Anacortes where I jumped onto the ferry for Lopez Island.  Lo and behold Glen and Cindy were there before me and beat me to the front of the line.  Very cool!

As the ferry pulled up to the landing on Lopez Island the rain began to fall.  My inner monologue was rather gloomy.  "Oh great!  Rain.  Guess this is a portent for the week ahead..."  I soon found myself unloading gear and setting up tent and awning in the rain.  Sigh...

Leap ahead to the next day.  Glen, Jesse, Diana, Jenning and I hit the water for a tour of Lopez Sound.  Despite the rainy condition the day before we had perfect weather for our paddle.  No wind, no rain, and a reasonable amount of sun.  What better way to start the week.

Glen and I soon found ourselves "breaking away" from the pack deciding that we needed more speed!  We motored on down to the entrance to Mud Bay for a peek and then zoomed across the sound to Lopez Pass.  We were concerned about the potential fast currents through the pass but we were in luck.  With a minimal of effort we were able to punch our way through to the outside.  From there it was an easy paddle back up to the Spit with a sum total of 15 miles under our belts.  A perfect day if you ask me!

The Expedition!

Our second day on the island began with a small crew packing gear and taking the ferry over to Orcas Island.  Glen, Doug, Don, Donna and I were setting out to tour the small group of islands to the north of Orcas.  The main attraction?  Sucia!

After a hearty breakfast we stopped by Body, Boat and Blade, the local kayak shop.  Much to my surprise I recognized the folks there including a rather interesting young lady film maker.  Wow!  (I had just recently procured the video "This is the Sea" and the film maker Justine Curgenven was there in the shop)  I spent some time chatting with her and checking out the various gadgets she uses for her film making.  Way too cool!  Meanwhile her compatriots were chatting with Glen and Don about their upcoming circumnavigation of the Queen Charlotte Islands.

In time we found our way out of the shop and off to the beach for our journey.  We immediately made for Sucia due to concerns about finding a camp site.  No worries, though there were lots of sailboats and power boats out there were plenty of open sites.  We scored the best on a bluff overlooking the pass.

We then set out to circumnavigate Patos Island in the late afternoon.  As we paddled the weather just got better and better.  The wind dropped down to a whisper and the seas flattened out and became inky black.  While paddling along the island I noticed something very important.  No car noises.  No BART trains or Amtrack whistles.  No diesel fumes nor smog.  All I could smell were pine trees and the salty sea.  Now this is paradise!

Back to Sucia for the evening where we burned a bit of driftwood, nibbled a fair bit of chocolate and sipped some fine wine.  What better way to end the day...

The morning dawned clear and beautiful.  We soon found ourselves paddling down the Northern side of Sucia.  Something that makes paddling this area so interesting is the geography of the islands.  Sandstone!  Much of the exposed rock is smooth and worn in unusual shapes from the weather.  It was interesting to compare the various patterns and look for figures in the rock as we paddled.  We did hit a little current in places but overall it was easy paddling.

Soon we found ourselves crossing over to Matia Island.  Again we were entranced by the cool rock formations, calm water and various critters.  I kept my eyes open for jelly fish, seals and kept hoping to see a tall, black dorsal fin somewhere.  (Never found that last one.  Damn!)

We finally found ourselves parked on the beach at Clark Island.  There were several signs posted right in front of the fire rings on the beach.  No Camping.  What?  After hiking around a bit we found that the actual campsites were on the far side of the island.  Soon we were back in the boats paddling around to the other side.  Along the way we ran into a very large bald eagle.  He was sitting on a rock by the water just watching the world go by. 

Just for giggles Glen and I decided to circumnavigate The Sisters.  As we rounded the outer most rock we noticed that there was a fair bit of current here.  Whups!  Took some effort to go around the island and made it difficult to stay out away from the wildlife.  Personally I thought it was fun but rather than push I chose to paddle on back to the beach.  Guess my river antics are catching up with me.  That and Justine's videos have got me thinking about tidal races and such.

That night we shared our food stashes and had a wonderful meal on the beach.  Again the weather was perfect and we all enjoyed the lack of wind, the flat water and views of snow-capped mountains in the distance.  I placed my tent right at the edge of the beach and soon found myself snoozing off to the sound of water lapping at the rocks.  How cool is that?

Fall forward?  Again?

The following day we had to make up our minds about what to do.  Originally our plan was to paddle back to our put-in spot and then drive on back to the ferry and back to Spencer.  But some folks wanted to continue on and paddle back to Spencer.  Well?  Since Glen had instigated the paddle he was one of the returnees and since Donna owned the other vehicle she would be in that category as well.

Ha!  Instead we paddled on down and around Orcas Island with the idea that we could take out at Doe Bay and then hitch a ride back to the cars.  Yeah, right.  Ultimately Glen, Doug and I paddled back to Spencer Spit while Don and Donna paddled back around Orcas and up into East Sound.  They in turn wandered across the island and picked up the cars.  Whew, what a plan!

All in all we had a great time on the water and just perfect conditions for our journey.  Glen's idea was awesome and the outcome fabulous.  I highly recommend a Sucia sojourn if you happen to be in the area.

Circumnavigation is the Word of the Day

Once back at Spencer Spit we had the entire BASK clan together again.  For the 4th of July some folks wanted to attend the parade.  Others wanted to chow down at the Salmon Fest.  Yet others were intent on watching the fire works.  Me, I wanted to keep paddling!  So I joined some folks for a circumnavigation of Blakely Island with a stop on Orcas for ice cream!

Diana, Jesse, Rich, Vicki and I set out to explore Obstruction Pass and stop for Ben and Jerry's at a cool little store on Orcas.  Once again it was boring.  No wind, no waves, no major monsoons.  Damn!  We did however encounter a bit of current as we rounded Obstruction Island and had to work on our ferrying skills to enter the current and cross over to the Orcas side of the pass.

Enter the Island Empress!  Or as the host at the store put it, "That lady who knits with one needle!"  As we ferried on over to Orcas we passed a small island just offshore.  Suddenly I heard a voice.  Kind of a "Blah Blahhh, blah blah, blah blah" sound.  I soon realized the sound was coming from some woman with a bull horn standing on a balcony up the hillside.  Turns out we were encroaching on a wildlife sanctuary and she wasn't all too pleased.  After consulting the charts we realized she was right.  After consulting with the store owner we found she was only half right.  Guess that's appropriate for a half-wit!

FYI there are places listed as wildlife sanctuaries on the islands.  If they have signs posted then you are required to maintain a 200 yard distance.  If there are no signs then it is recommended that you maintain that distance.  In this case no signs were posted.  We had gotten pushed over towards the island by the currents and thus were not entirely in the wrong.  In any event we became educated on the particularities of the islands and will be sure to keep our eyes open and our distance as is warranted. 

With bellies full of ice cream we soon crossed the mouth of both Obstruction Pass and Peavine Pass and made our way down the East side of Blakely.  As we approached a point at the middle of the island I noted a roaring sound off to my left.  Whoa!  Tidal race galore!  It was screamin' right down the middle of Rosario Strait.  Yee ha!

The wicked current looked fun but I chose to stay in tight on the island with our little group.  Of course this meant finding the reverse eddy and having to work hard at paddling through that instead.  Whups!  I powered back outside a bit and had a touch easier time of it then.  Nothing like a little current to wake you up!  Once we rounded the south end we pulled out onto a small beach for a break.  I needed it.  I was roasting in my wetsuit!

We finished up our paddle and returned to camp only to find out that Bob and Becky had procured something like 40 pounds of fresh salmon for a big 4th of July fest of our own.  Perfect!  I tossed my tri-tip on the Q and joined everyone in sharing food, wine and fun at the big table.  Can't beat it!  In the end I relented and caught a ride over to the harbor where the fireworks went off like clockwork.  A very nice evening indeed.

If this is Thursday then it must be time to head South!  The night before I was asked where was I going tomorrow?  I had considered all options and decided it was time to go South.  At least down to the South end of the island to do a little exploring.  I had heard from Don that the rocks were cool and the little bays quite nice.  To my surprise some of BASKs finest ladies decided to join me!  Whoo hoo!

Jenning, Ingrid and Payette put on at MacKaye Harbor with me and together we paddled down around Iceburg Point and the end of Lopez Island.  Conditions were ideal with minimal currents, wind and waves.  We found tons of kelp, a few seals, a Bald Eagle or six and a nice beach for a snack. 

While puttering around in close to the rocks I chanced a look out into the sound.  To my surprise I saw a blow and then a back.  Whales!  A moment later I saw another back and then a fluke.  Not quiet sure if they were humpbacks or what but I saw them.  We kept a lookout for a few minutes but never spied them again.

Further explorations brought us to McArdle Bay for lunch.  The third of three main bays at the South end this was a nice protected beach with tons of interesting rocks and a large Bald Eagle who kept watch over us.

As we nibbled our lunch we were surprised to find a very important missing person.  Most of you are familiar with Wilson made famous in the movie Cast Away.  Well we ran into his long lost brother Spaulding.  He was resting on the beach and was just waiting for a little attention.  Payette noticed his condition and decided to spruce him up a bit.  He was quite grateful.

After our bit of fun we turned tail and started back out of the bay.  By now the wind had picked up and we had a bit of a slog to get back.  Fortunately we were able to keep inside close to the rocks in order to minimize our effort.  As we rounded Iceburg Point we were treated to a nice following sea which allowed us a little surfing and an easy ride back to Mackaye.

All in all another great day on the water soon followed by a nice evening with wine and good food.   Thanks to Jenning for treating me to a wonderful meal at the Love Dog Cafe.  Good pasta and nice wine.  Can't beat it!

Repeat?  Well, sort of!  The following day I had originally planned to head back to Seattle so I could hook up with a friend and go play on a river.  Unfortunately she was off running around the countryside on her motorcycle so I decided to stick around another day.  Soon I found myself paddling along with Doug and Glen again.  Very cool!

We ran the same route as I had run the previous day.  This time though Glen decided to continue on around the island where we would meet him at Mud Bay.  Riiiiiiggggghhhht!  Once again Glen's fall forward plan worked out and he ended up paddling all the way back to the Spit.  You go guy!

If I had to sum my week up in one word I'd say PERFECT!  A great place to be, wonderful weather, cool people to paddle with and fantastic conditions.  A hearty THANKS! to Glen for organizing the Sucia trip.  It was a cool adventure with plenty to see and great folks to see it with.  Thanks to everyone in camp for sharing food, stories and paddling time.  I had a great time and I'm sure I will go back again someday.

Go here for photos.

Go here for a video of the Spit in the morning.

Go here for a video of the launch for the Sucia trip.

Go here for a video of the gang on the water.

Go here for a video of the crossing to Sucia.

Go here for a video of the South end of Lopez Island.

Cheers!

Craig