Mal'minskie Islands, Sea of Okhostk

A beautiful day at last; some sunshine and no fog, at the Mal'minskie Islands. We could even see snow on the distant mountains. A joy being able to paddle in these conditions. Four of us ventured out in kayaks, the guide Judd Hall and me in singles and a couple from the UK in a double. About 2 nautical miles from the ship to the islands, with quite a rolling swell coming onland and a sideways 3kt current, meant we had time to enjoy the bird life. Guillemots galore (including spectacled), auks of many varieties, puffins (tufted and crowned), cormorants, ancient murrikens, beautiful white glaucous gulls – and on the list went. We encountered varying sea conditions, some a tad challenging but fun, and stopped on a stony beach for some toffee pops and even had an impromptu game of cricket with a bat and ball that Judd had brought – cricket in Siberia? !!

I've chosen this image, of Judd leading us towards one of the islands, where there was an archway through. It didn't look navigable but it might have been because it was low tide. Paddling back to the ship was much easier, with the current in our favour. Such a good day's paddle! Everyone was happy.