Category Archives: Ecoguardians Log
Building Stairs
4 Elephant seal pups are swimming daily!
New Back stairs
Facility work: The new stairs for Eco-guardians house are under construction this week. Wood and supplies have been delivered to the island and the work is moving ahead successfully. My good friend Colin Baird has joined me to tear down and rebuild the front and back deck and stairs.
Elephant seal females: We now have 8 females on the island and the highest numbers to date. All have molted, molting or starting to molt.
Elephant seal pups: The 4 pups remain on the island, swimming daily.
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Vessel Traffic: 1 PC boat.
Weather– Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72
Weather–Past: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?id=72
Kayaker in trouble
Rescue day:
Early this morning I was very surprised to find a person yelling at my door for help. The man was very upset and his broken English difficult to understand, but I eventually figured out that his friend was in trouble.
The pair were fishing in the protected marine reserve when the push peddles on the friends kayak broke. I spotted the kayaker on the south west side of the Main Island, and it was quickly being pushed out on a big ebb tide to the west. The kayaker was trying to paddle against the five knot tide. Witnessing very little progress, I learned the fishermen were not carrying a VHF radio and carried unworkable mobile phones (which often don’t work on the south side without a US plan or roaming). I immediately took action to launch the Race Rocks boat but the low tide and risky boat ramp conditions would not allow the boat to launch. There was simply not enough water to float the Race Rocks boat to help the kayaker.
Immediately, I contacted the Coast Guard (my cell phone *16) and they tasked out a RIB and lifeboat from Victoria. Myself and the Coast Guard were in constant communication about the troubled kayaker. While in communication, the kayaker managed to find a back eddy and travel to land on the south beach of the Main Island. After a discussion with the kayakers, they decided they were too exhausted from paddling to safely travel back to the mainland, even if they waited for the a slower tide. I confirmed their request with the Coast Guard who continued with the rescue.
One of my responsibilities as eco-guardian is to inform the public about the eco-reserve as a marine protected area. This means there is no fishing, crabbing or prawning permitted. Clearly, the kayaks were both outfitted with all the gear to crab, fish and prawn including a big capture net. I informed the kayakers the Coast Guard may have some questions as to why they were illegally fishing in the protected marine park. To record the incident, I quickly went to the main house to grab my camera. By the time I returned to the kayakers, the man with the working kayak was paddling frantically back to the mainland shore. Soon he was caught in the ebb tide and heading out to sea. The fear of getting in trouble with the Coast Guard was enough for him to abandon his fishing buddy.
The Coast Guard arrived within 17 minutes from the first call. They picked up the broken kayak and the exhausted kayaker. By now, the second kayaker was on the north west side of the main island in the ebb and quickly heading out to sea. The Coast Guard pulled him and the boat after a 45-minute paddle against the very strong ebb.
As a seasoned marine captain, I have several lessons to share about this incident. First, don’t head out into the Juan de Fuca straight without being prepared for an emergency. Always carry a VHS radio and/or reliable mobile phone plan. Second, don’t crab, fish or prawn in a protected marine park. Always check fishing regulations and tide tables. Third, don’t abandon a fishing buddy, no matter the circumstances. The buddy system saves lives.
Thank you to the Coast Guard for their hard work and commitment. I am happy to report that both men were returned home safely.
Best wishes,
Captain Rod King
- RIB and Kayak
- Life Boat
- kayak on the run
Animal Census
Birds
- Harlequin duck 16
- Snowy plover 0
- Bald eagle adult 2
- Bald eagle juvenile 4
- Turnstones 24
- Killdeer 1
- Gulls 238
- Cormorants 28
- Pigeon guillemots 47
- Oyster catcher 12
- Canadian geese 10
- Surf Birds 12
- Mammals
- Steller sea lion 62
- Harbour seal 138
- California sea lion 60
- Elephant seal male 0
- Elephant seal female 7
- Elephant seal pup 4
- River otter 0
- Sea otter 1
- Animal Tracking and Injuries: 0
Elephant seal pups
Elephant seal pups:4 swimming at night. Spending lots of time on the boat ramp testing the water at night and day .
Female elephant seal
Eco guardian notes: This morning another new female elephant seal arrived during the night. We now have five females four pups. This new animal has two green tags E103 E135. She has returned to molt on the island for the last 4 years. Welcome home.
Sea otter
Ecological Notes: This morning, I was visited by a sea otter on the south east side of island. He was feeding on a sea urchin. The new elephant seal that arrived yesterday is female and now the largest one on the island. This time of year, the elephant seals come here to molt. The four pups continue to test the waters every night and sleep all day. Canada geese are nesting and chasing away any thing that gets close to their nests, including myself.
Elephant seal female: 4
Elephant seal pups: 4
Facility Work: Power washing continues outside of the battery and generator buildings.
Weather– Current: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/current.php?id=72
Weather–Past: http://www.victoriaweather.ca/station.php?id=72
New Elephant seal
Ecological Notes:Today, we have a new elephant seal. We now have three female with one new arrival. The new arrival is laying with its back up and chest down hard and it is difficult to identify the sex. Canada geese are nesting and we now have seven nests on the main island. Groups of pacific harbor porpoises were sited off the south side of the island. DND had one blast.