Your Adventure
Everything You Need To Know Before We Go
Important Details & Requirements
Check-In for Tours & Rentals
Because all trips and rentals are custom arranged, there are no standard times. Please keep track of the time you are scheduled to be met and be ready to go 15 minutes early in order to assure a smooth transfer or departure. Kayaks can be delivered to your lodgings or you can pick them up at the Sitka Maritime Heritage Boathouse. This is located across the bridge on Japonski Island. It is the very first right after the bridge at the old white clapboard boathouse visible from the bridge.
If you are arriving in Sitka for a multi-day expedition, please call us the day before your trip begins, to let us know that you made it to town as planned.
Equipment Loss or Damages
We promise to provide clean, well-functioning kayaks & gear to every customer we serve, and in return we expect customers to treat our equipment with care. Please do not drag or slide kayaks on the ground, launch ramps or beaches. The full replacement or repair cost will be charged to the customer for any equipment that is lost or returned with damages caused by careless use. Additionally just as with a rental car, if a boat that is returned requires undue amounts of cleaning a service fee of $25/hour will be added to your fee.
Early Returns and Cancellations
There will be no partial refunds for early return of kayaks or short-notice cancellations. Please understand that when we make a commitment to reserve equipment and/or guide for your rental or expedition, we are removing that service from inventory available to other customers. In our short season, if you cancel with less than 30 days notice, we stand little chance of recovering the lost business.
Participation
- All customers will be required to read and sign a liability release waiver prior to the start of any paddle activity: rental, guided tour or expedition. Any participant under the age of 18 will be required to have a parent or guardian sign on their behalf.
- Participants under the age of 12 must ride/paddle in the same kayak as at least one parent or guardian.
- Before being released to begin a sea kayak rental, all participants must attend an orientation session, and must be able to demonstrate, on land, the proper technique for a self-rescue.
- Before departing on a self-guided paddle, participants will be required to complete and submit a float plan that includes general details about the duration and route of the intended paddle.
Weather Considerations
- We do not cancel guided tours or rentals because of rain. Sitka is located in a rainforest, and we do enjoy occasional doses of “liquid maintenance” to keep the forest lush and beautiful. Fortunately, rain has no effect on safety and very little effect on the paddling experience.
- We will cancel guided tours and rentals if we determine paddling conditions to be unsafe: strong wind, very choppy seas, greatly reduced visibility, or a combination thereof. These conditions don’t occur often, but when they do the safety of our guests is our highest priority.
- If we do cancel due to weather or some other unforeseeable event, there will be no charges and you will receive a full refund.
