Sea Kayak - Anderson Island

We met at Luhr  for a 9:30 a.m. launch.  We displayed our Discover Passes.    The parking lot was about half full.   Some hunters.     

Forecast was for patchy morning fog until 10 a.m. , light variable wind less than 5 kt, temps in the high 40s and no precipitation.    This was accurate with the exception we had continuous fog until about 11 a.m.   We had a cloud cover all day, low to medium.   In the afternoon we could see Mt. Rainier lit up by the sun from our cloudy location.    We didn't have sun breaks, but you could say the sun tried to come out a couple of times.  There were small waves and ripples at times but mild conditions.

From Luhr boat launch we crossed over to Anderson Island at a bearing of about 5 degrees M until nearing shore when we turned and headed for the marine trail site.    After a break at the marine trail site, we continued into Drayton Passage, where the current was mild, probably ebbing slightly in places and not in others.   We bypassed Amsterdam Bay and continued to Balch Passage where we had slight current assist.    We landed near south end of Eagle Island, our planned lunch stop.    About 50 minutes later most of us paddled around Eagle Island CCW and there were many seals on the north side.    We tried to give them space.    After rounding Eagle Island, we all then continued around Anderson.  

We looked for the Anderson Island ferry, which was docked on the mainland, and we passed by the ferry dock uneventfully.   We had some current assist.  We paused once to look at a memorial on the beach and then stopped on Beach 8 for a quick break prior to reaching Sandy Point.   Then went wide around Oro Bay.   Some of us spotted and watched some porpoises.    At Lyle Point we headed back towards the boat launch, correcting for the flood current.     We all reached the launch just before 3:30 p.m.   

Wildlife we thought we saw/heard included harbor seals, porpoises, blue heron, loon, grebe, pigeon guillemot, kingfisher, gulls, buffleheads, cormorants, bald eagles, and others.

During part of the paddle we could see Mt. Rainier, shining in the sun, with new snow and surrounding clouds.    

Overall it was a pleasant late fall paddle with very favorable conditions and group.   GPS showed that we had gone 13.5 nm.     

 Further exploration of the area could include Oro Bay, Amsterdam Bay, the ferry terminal, etc.