PORT OF FRIDAY HARBOR

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List of news stories about the Port of Friday Harbor

Port gives green light to guided kayak tours

posted 01/24/02
San Juan Safaris received preliminary approval to launch guided sea kayak tours from the W2 slip in the Friday Harbor Port Marina this summer. The company will also continue to operate out of Roche Harbor as it has for the past eight years.

Owner Bill Wright said, "We see it as good opportunity. We have (lodging facility) operators coming in who have asked us to set up trips for their clients. it is economically feasible."

Harbormaster Ed Barrett said the operation would not be allowed to impact ingress or egress on the walkway. Wright will use a custom-built pontoon placed at the slip as a launching pad for the kayakers.

Wright expects guides will operate two trips a day out of the marina. The kayakers will skirt the shoreline and will paddle up towards the UW Labs. The ratio of guides to kayakers on San Juan Safari trips is 1 to 5.

Commissioner Greg Hertel said, " I don't want to spread commercial operations around marina, but this one is a good fit. It looks good to me. I want to do it as a experiment for one year and review how it went."

Commissioner Mike Ahrenius agreed and the staff was directed to draw up an agreement with Wright.

Port signs lease with San Juan Safaris

posted 06/14/01
Port of Friday Harbor Commissioners had their first chance yesterday to use the business moorage guidelines they adopted thirteen months ago. According to the policy the purpose of commercial moorage is to stimulate the growth of small businesses that can provide jobs that give employees island "living wage" jobs. During their June 13 meeting, the commissioners approved a resolution assigning moorage slip No. 4 to San Juan Safaris.

San Juan Safaris, owned and operated by Bill and Colleen Wright, runs whale-watching and kayaking trips out of Roche Harbor Village. "We need to expand," said Bill Wright.

They are in the process of determining how the Friday Harbor moorage will be used. Mothershipping, using a boat to carry kayaks and kayakers to different areas, is one of the ideas under consideration. Whatever is decided, it'll be next season before they start running trips out of the new slip. "We're pretty excited," said Bill Wright. "We'll see what comes up."

The 60-foot slip which is southeast of Spring Street had been used by Puget Sound Express which gave the slip up in March.