Homer, Alaska

-- Last Updated: Jul-27-11 7:52 PM EST --

Anyone paddled in Homer, Alaska? I'll be up there for two weeks in late September, early October. I'm looking for a cabin to rent also. I paddled the Juneau area quite a bit, but I know nothing about this area. How are the paddling conditions this time of year?

Pete

i will facebook my family and
see if they have any info. email me and i can keep your address and let you know.

My wife and I spent four months in Ak
some moons ago, and we found that the kayaking right at Homer and Homer spit were not that good, but you can, (or could then) get a water taxi to take you and your yak across to Kachemak Bay, and there was some good kayaking at Halibut cove.



Jack L

contact Tom Pogson
That’s his hometown and he’s hugely helpful.



info@alaskakayakschool.com

(907) 235 - 2090



Lyn

Here is a page from our Ak trip report
July 1: At Homer



We had a fantastic 15-mile kayaking day.

We took a “water taxi” across Kachemak Bay to a place called Halibut Cove. The water taxi was a big aluminum boat about 26 feet long, with a small cabin that could hold about six or eight people. It had twin 125 hp outboards. We were the only two people on it, and there was just enough room to fit our kayaks sideways one on each side of the cabin.

On the way we passed several pairs of sea otters.

Our game plan was to paddle around Halibut cove for a few hours and then paddle into Halibut lagoon with the tide. There was a narrow opening to get into the lagoon, which has a strong tide rip until a few hours after low tide, and then it just has a strong current at about 4.5 MPH. Even though we did as advised, we had a very strong current against us, so we stopped for lunch, and waited until it turned in our favor.

Halibut Cove was a beautiful secluded cove with about a dozen houses scattered around the rocky perimeter. The only way to these houses is by boat, and if they have electricity it is by generator.

After we left Halibut cove we headed across about a mile of open water to get to the far shore which we paralleled until we got to Halibut Lagoon, and on the way we got up pretty close to a hand full of Puffins which were swimming in front of us.

We also saw a harbor porpoise and several seals, which would give us inquisitive stares before ducking under water.

Halibut Lagoon will be an unforgettable experience.

It was about two miles wide, and three or four miles long.

We saw more Eagles than you could count, and could get very close to them. On one beach, one was sitting on a piece of driftwood, and Nanci got out of her kayak, and walked to within 50 or 60 feet of it. We saw several dozen immature ones, and in one tree, we counted five, with two more in the next tree, while the mother, (we assume) was up higher in another tree.

The array, size, shape, and color of the starfish that we paddled over were just amazing. They were every color of the rainbow, from red to orange, to blue, to green. Many of them were ten and twelve inches across, and some looked like a cross between a jellyfish and a starfish with many legs. Some were solid and fat, while others were thin. There was a carpet of them mixed with sea urchins.

As we paddled every so often a seal or two would pop their heads up off to our sides, and give us a stare as if to say what the heck are you. Different times we would hear a odd almost indescribable noise, like a cross between a sea gull and a cat noise, and it finally dawned on us that it was the seals. We are not sure whether they were scolding us or welcoming us. But for the rest of the day, until we finally left the lagoon, we heard it.

In one place a never-ending school of king salmon swam in front of my kayak. They were beautiful to see in the clear water. Many of them were two and three feet long.

We had hoped to catch the outgoing tide through the narrow opening of the lagoon, but were too early and had a close call with the tide bore, (the water temp is 42 degrees). We almost got in the middle of it, but realized our mistake in time to get into an eddy, and then paddle back, until we could make about a half-mile circle around it, and get out over a shallow section where we were just paddling against a strong tide rather than in a rip tide.

When I mentioned the water temperature above it made me think that I should mention our standard mode of dress for kayaking.

We wear a polypropylene long sleeve T-shirt, with lightweight polar fleece long johns for our base layer. Next is paddling dry pants, with a medium weight polar fleece top, and over that are our waterproof winter NorthFace Ski coats. We have NRS knee high waterproof mukluks, and we have paddling gloves. We take off, and put back on as the weather dictates. Sometimes it is sunny and 65 or 70 degrees, but other times it can be 40 degrees with a cold rain or mist.

We made it back to the beach where we were going to be picked up about twenty minutes before the boat got there.

On the way back in the boat, the captain took us by a sea bird rookery on a remote rock cliff island, called Seagull Island, and it was very interesting. The Island was covered with thousands if not millions of sea birds, and what was interesting was the fact that there were different species all nesting together.

On one side of the Island there was an eagle sitting on a ledge feasting on either a baby bird or a bird egg. We were told that the eagle is the only predator that the birds have, and the birds all lay their eggs at one time, so that some of them can reach maturity even though the eagles do a number on them.

When we got back to our “beach house”, we had our usual supper at 10 PM.



and a picture;

[http://thumb10.webshots.net/s/thumb4/6/41/85/93964185eaWxiP_th.jpg](http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1093964185049732290eaWxiP)



Jack L


Was any of our info. helpful?
You got a lot of great info. posted here and i hope you got my email . Keep us posted :0)

Ditto Tom Pogson
Alaska Kayak School is wonderful with wonderful equipment and expertise and skills- check them out first---------