Submitted by Sam Kaviar for Kayak Nisqually
It has been a wild ride and a pleasure to start an eco-tourism sea kayaking company on the Thurston/Pierce county line this past summer. Last year I was in a PhD program for biology and ecology at University of California San Diego (UCSD) studying honeybees, but by late spring it had become apparent that I was seriously allergic to the pollen collected by my study animals. I had to leave the PhD program I had been working towards so long for my health. While I am glad that I gave the academic world a chance, I discovered that my calling was neither in the academic ivory tower nor in the public agencies working as a biologist.
After leaving the San Diego program, I was working odd jobs and wondering what was next for me. After reflecting on my life, I realized I was happiest when I was helping to connect people with the environment as an interpretive naturalist sea kayak guide in the San Juan Islands, and directly doing biology research in the field as a biological technician in the Nisqually Delta. I was able to secure a loan to start my business and I hurriedly packed my belongings and drove home to the Nisqually Delta. In the tail end of June I applied for a business license, and by the 2nd week of July I was able to lead my first tour as my new company, Kayak Nisqually.
Starting mid-season with no infrastructure, no reviews, and no experience owning my own company my expectations for selling tours were low. I took starting my own business as a chance to give back to the broader Olympia and Nisqually community that has so enriched my life over the years. I have donated fundraising tours for the Nisqually Reach Nature Center, the Hands on Children’s Museum, Friendly Water for the World, South Sound Community Farmland Trust, as well as the Olympia Free Clinic with more fundraisers for non-profits planned. I also donated a kayak safety training to the Wa-Ya outdoors school, and was able to take students kayaking from the Northwest Indian College. The donated kayaking tours have been able to garnish thousands of dollars for these important nonprofits, and have allowed me to get news of my company out to a bigger audience.
One evening during the great Puget Sound smoke event of July 2017, my friends and I were doing some paddling in the evening and we noticed the stunning bioluminescence. This bioluminescent phenomenon is quick flashes of “cold” light in the water when conditions are right, with the dark smoky sky and conducive tidal exchange the flashes were brilliant. Bioluminesence is a seasonal phenomenon best viewed when the lunar and tidal conditions are right in late summer and early fall. I wondered if any community members would be interested to do a bioluminescent paddle. Around 85 percent of my paying customers in my first quarter of operations went on my bioluminescent night paddles.
I also conducted full and half day wildlife watching tours, pre-dawn tours, special porpoise-centric tours and even a 2-day overnight tour. By and large customers loved these tours as evidenced by their reviews. Challenges remain ahead for spreading the word about the great kayaking and wildlife viewing opportunities available at the Nisqually Delta especially in the fall and winter.
Fall brings a change in the weather and the sea states, which my fleet of 19.5-foot, sit-inside Boreal Esperanto kayaks are well suited for. The season sees a return of many wonderful species of overwintering birds and marine mammals. I have several exciting projects that I will be unveiling and working on over the winter season, and you can check back here on ThurstonTalk for more articles from Kayak Nisqually about the changing wildlife visitors to the Nisqually Delta and other subjects of interest. Thank you to the Thurston County community and beyond for embracing Kayak Nisqually and getting out on the water.
