Kayaking Around Eagle Island

Nancy, K.T. from Southeast Exposure, and Dan

On Monday the 27th of June, we had Summer!   Dan and I had the day off, so we decided to go sea kayaking out at Southeast Exposure Kayaks. We decided to try a two person kayak. The day was down right hot with a high of about 72 degrees. The sun was out with very few clouds. We called Mike O'Brien to go with us. K.T. (pictured above) and Sabrina were our guides.

There were 13 of us all together, so Mike went with K.T. We donned our life jackets and spray skirts, grabbed our paddles and went down to the dock to get into the kayaks. It was surprisingly simple to get into the boats. Sabrina and K.T. held the kayaks tight to the dock and we scooted in. Dan and I paddled around to get used to the feel of the kayak and wait for the other boats.

Once everyone got into their kayaks and got used to the paddling, we set out as a group. We paddled along the shoreline first. The tide was low, so we got to see the rocks with exposed sea vegetation, barnacles and star fish that were just below the surface of the water. It was time to turn right and head across Clover Pass and into more open water toward Eagle Island. I felt a little bit vulnerable being so close the the water's surface and looking out at boats (that looked big!) coming toward us. Kayaking here is so different from kayaking in Wonder Lake.

When we paddled over to Eagle Island, Sabrina told us that just the day before there were new baby eagles that hatched in the nest that was about ten feet down from the top of the tree. You can see the nest in the picture on the left. They knew the eggs were there and every day they paddled over to see if there were baby eagles yet. Yesterday was the day. I tried to zoom in with my camera but the pictures turned out a bit fuzzy. Once, though, I could see a feathered wing, so I knew mama or papa eagle was in the nest with the babies. Bald Eagles build their nests in the crook of the trees or, if there are two or three trees very close together, they can build the nest between the trees. Their nests can weigh as much as 600 pounds. The record nest was just over 1,000 pounds, or one half ton! Juvenile eagles keep their brown heads and tails until they are about 4 or 5 years old, then their head and tail turn white.

Time to move along. The plan was to paddle around Eagle Island. So off we went to do more exploring. We liked the fact that the tide was low. There were areas around the other side of the island where the rocks were exposed and we could paddle in and around them. The water was so clear that we could see to the shallow bottom. Lots of rocks, plants and star fish to see.

I was amazed at how easy it was to paddle a double kayak. It really is effortless when there are two doing the work. Also the current from the incoming tide may have played a part in that as well. Dan and I found our rhythm with the paddling. I think we looked pretty good out there.

Sabrina, our guide

The back side of the island was shaded, so the sun didn't feel so hot. With the paddling, the sun and the low 70s temperature, we were getting quite warm. I dragged my hands in the water, trying to cool off a little. That was nice. The water temp has been around 56 to 58 degrees. I didn't snap the spray skirt on, and, in fact I really wished that I didn't have it on at all. There was no splashing, so I didn't really need it. Oh well, next time I'll consider not using it. Here are some pictures of our day on the ocean.

Three quarters of the way around the island we came upon a low tide spot with a lot of exposed rocks. A couple of guys in a kayak thought that it looked like fun to paddle in there. They tried, but got hung up on extremely shallow water. Dan and I knew we could make it through because we saw that just a little bit to the left the water was not as shallow. The guys paddled out, and Dan and I paddled in (we're much more experienced - ha ha). No one else followed us though. But it was very beautiful and it did open back up to the main part of the water where everyone else had paddled.

I can't believe that our two hour tour was just about over and it was time to head back across Clover Pass to Southeast Exposure's dock. That was too short of a paddle. Dan and I said that we would do it again, only we would see if there is either a longer tour, or maybe we could just rent the kayaks ourselves. Anyway, we know that we will be ocean kayaking again.