Different Breeds of Boats

Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?

     This is a question that we get asked often as people come in to take a kayak out on the water. Which boat is going to be best for me? This is a great question. To answer, here are some things that we consider. 

• How long have you been kayaking?

• How comfortable are you in a boat?

• How far do you want to go?

     Using these three questions we are easily able to help you decide. If you are relatively newer to kayaking, then we will put you in a more flat bottomed boat. This means that the boat rests more comfortably on the water and feels less, what we would call, “tippy”. Usually these boats aren’t great for traveling long distances quickly, but they always do the trick.

     If you are more experienced, we will put you in a boat that is more, as previously stated, “tippy”. This means that the boat can get up on it’s edge more easily, making turning more simple. Furthermore, these boats often travel quicker due to a more narrow and aerodynamic finish. 

     No matter your experience, we have the right boat for you so come down and take one of our boats for a walk!

Preserve the Reserve

Quartermaster Harbor and the shore of Maury Island are classified as an aquatic reserve. Aquatic Reserves are areas that are seen as extremely important places for spawning, foraging, and resting for fish, vertebrates, and birds alike! The Maury Island Aquatic Reserve is one of 7 in the Puget Sound. However, it is seen as one of the harder ones to regulate. This is because the reserve is also home to a large number of recreational boaters. This just presents an extra challenge of ensuring that the public uses the water and beaches correctly. 

     The biggest threats to the reserve are man made pollution, new construction of docks or bulkheads, and loss of native vegetation. We all can understand the reason why docks and pollution would be good to avoid, but the native vegetation is just as important to preserve. This native vegetation provides housing for insects that the fish and birds eat, and shading for the nesting grounds during hot days. These two things combined could completely ruin a spawning ground altogether. So, it is important for us to protect these areas for our natural ecosystem. 

To learn more about our Aquatic Reserve visit: https://www.aquaticreserves.org/the-reserves/maury-island/about-the-reserve/

The Mighty Mountain

Mount Rainier is a peak of exorbitant beauty. The Mountain, which is a part of the Northwest Ring of Fire, is an active volcano, but the last recorded eruption was over 150 years ago. Some mountains are formed by one large explosion or event that creates the feature we see, but Mount Rainier is different. The mountain has been formed through thousands of years of lava and mud flow. Throughout time these layers continually built upon each other to create the mountain. 

     Rainier is estimated to have once stood at over 16,000 feet above sea level. However, 5,700 years ago Mount Rainier erupted, causing the mountainside to collapse and it now stands at 14,411 feet above sea level. Thip eruption caused a mudflow called the Osceola Mudflow. Many of the towns built around Mount Rainier are built atop this mudflow. Scientists do not know exactly when might erupt like this again, but as an active volcano it could be at any time. 

Shell Middens

As you travel along the scenic coasts of Vashon taking in the beauty of the tall pines and rocky beaches, you may have notice strange areas full of white shells. Well, these phenomenon are not natural. In fact, they are quite the opposite. They are actually referred to as Shell Middens. A Midden is a fancy name for an old dump. For the Native American tribes that lived on Vashon some 200 years ago, these were places to drop shells, human waste, animal bones, and other unused materials. Shell Middens are crucial to understanding the diets and lifestyles of early Americans. Unfortunately, Middens are becoming less and less common due to the erosion of the land that they are on. Thus, archaeologists are eager to find out all that they can from these Middens on Vashon and throughout the Puget Sound before they completely disappear. So, as you paddle around be sure to look out for these strips of shells and imagine what life may have been like when they were being created. 

     For a detailed look at the middens on Vashon you can turn to Laura S. Phillips & Julie K. Stein’s 2003 book Vashon ISland Archaeology: A View from Burton Acres Shell Midden (Burke’s Museum of Natural History and Culture Report, No. 8). Which can be found at your local King County Library.

Squishy but Deadly

If you have ever been swimming or boating around the Puget Sound you may have seen one of these along the way. The Lion’s Mane Jellyfish is the largest jellyfish species in the world. Though they are large, their sting is relatively mild for us humans; However, the fish that get caught by their tentacles are not as lucky. Furthermore, their tentacles have been measured in at 120 feet long! That makes them very hard to evade. Most Lion’s Mane Jellyfish prefer to float alone unless there is a storm or other disturbance that brings them together. Interestingly, these jellyfish tend to thrive in environments where there is large amounts of human activity. This is because we often do not fish for them, and their large predators tend to stay away from areas where. Humans are present. 

For more information on Lion’s Mane Jellyfish visit: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/marine/jellyfish/lions-mane-jellyfish

What’s SUP? (Dog)

Stand Up Paddleboarding is now one of the most popular outdoor activities for summer time! The relaxing feeling of paddling atop the water and the free ability to sit, stand, or even handstand if you want to, have made SUPs a very popular item. SUPs may seem like a pretty new item, but did you know that they have a 3,000 year history? SUPs were originally used by Ancient Peruvians for hunting. Their SUPs were made of reeds and their paddles were bamboo. They would straddle the reed floats like many people use them to this day. They would go fishing and were actually said to have ridden the waves back into shore like modern day surfers. Turns out SUPs and Surfboards have been fun for us humans for thousands of years! 

For more historical fun visit: https://hawaiianpaddlesports.com/news/history-of-stand-up-paddling/

Getting Wild on the West Side

A popular Vashon Adventures kayaking route is up the west side of the island through the Colvos Passage. Departing from Lisabuela Park and covering roughly 8.5 miles north to the Vashon Ferry Dock, it is a great trip for those looking for a little more adventure. A variety of sea mammals have been observed including orcas, sea lions, Dall’s porpoise, harbor porpoise, river otters and seals. On this trip for 6 guests, we had a huge male California Sea Lion rise just feet from the boats before this lunch stop at Fern Cove. What a Day!

Colvos Passage notes:

1. The name Colvos was selected by Captain Charles Wilkes in 1841 during the United States Exploring Expedition to honor George Colvocoresses, a midshipman for the expedition.

2. The house at Fern Cove once belonged to Dr. Belle Baldwin, who became the first woman physician in the state in 1912.

A Ferry Tale

What is the one thing that we, on Vashon Island, have in common? Ferries. Whether they are used for your daily commute or an occasional foray into the city, we rely heavily on our ferry system. It can be frustrating when the ferries are down, but thus far we have not had it as bad as islanders at the end of 1940’s. Prior to 1948 the ferries were run through a private company, the Puget Sound Navigation Company. The company was forced into a shutdown during a strike in 1947. During the period of the strike vashonites were forced to find their own solutions for getting off of the island. This resulted in them creating their own ferry system which became the first, and only, King County Ferry District.

During the ferry district’s first year in service, the captain of the Puget Sound Navigation Company attempted to land a ship at the dock to continue providing service to Vashon Island. As he attempted to dock he was met with 25 angry vashonites equipped with pool cues, ax handles, and other tools to push the ship away from the dock.. They successfully kept his ship from being able to tie up and the Puget Sound Navigation Company never provided another ship to Vashon. This ferry district was in place for three years, and it ran with relative success. It eventually was dissolved in 1951 when the State of Washington created their own ferry system, which is still the same system we use today. Ironically, they provided service to Vashon using ships they bought from the Puget Sound Navigation Company. 

For a more detailed account of the Vashon ferry debacle visit: https://historylink.org/File/3731