Shaw Island, WA Oct 2007

On this beautiful fall day a couple of paddlers circumnavigated Shaw Island in Washington State's San Juan Island group. We launched at the marina in Deer Harbor at 8:15 am under bright blue skies. With the direction of the currents we decided to take full advantage of the flow and head around the west side of Shaw. Not a lot of building on this beautiful island so the waterfront looks faily prestine. A land conservencey along the south and east sides of the island has prevented most development, very much appreciated. As we traveled around the north side of the island we stopped for a break at Blind Island SP which is another nice place for the paddle-powered community to take advantage of. There is also a WWTA site on the island so canoe's and kayakers can camp overnight. We finished our paddle 4 hours and 15 minutes after we started back in Deer Harbor. We traveled 17 1/2 miles.

Hat (Gedney) Island Paddle

This is a nice 14-15 mile paddle you should try. In the ' off season ' which really never happens for kayakers. This is an easy location IE: short carry from your car to the water, to start a trip. On Sunday, Oct 7 the weather forecast was for 15-20kt gusting to 25 southerly winds so we timed our paddle during an ebb hoping for some big wind waves to play in. We were rewarded with some very stiff wind and waves on the east side of Hat. FYI you can sneak a landing on the north side of the island but landing is frowned upon by the islanders. On our return my paddling partner and I practiced some rolls and rescues for the beach goers who stare in wonder. Well actually they were wondering about our sanity ! One caution is to stay well clear of the Washington State ferries which run between Mukilteo and Clinton.