The San Juan ORCA Challenge will be just that — kayakers challenging the sea, winds and their fellow paddlers, and organizers challenging everyone to take better care of the orcas’ environment.

Nadja Baker and fiancé Jim Zimmerman, both of Anacortes, are working with the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce to add the race to the 2009 Waterfront Festival, putting more “water” back into the annual event.

The open water sea kayak competition will be divided into two races. The first is a 3-mile “fun” race for all ages and experience levels. The second is a 20-plus-mile “endurance tester” for experienced kayakers only.

Both races will be on Saturday, May 16 during the first day of the two-day festival. Participants will start at Seafarers’ Memorial Park and finish at the Cap Sante Boat Haven.

“With thousands of festival-goers as your personal cheering squad at the finish and all proceeds going to a great cause, how could you not join us?!” states the event’s promotional material.

The great cause is the Orca Network, a nonprofit that raises awareness of Pacific Northwest whales and the importance of providing healthy and safe habitats for them.

The San Juan Challenge isn’t a new concept. It was part of the Waterfront Festival for about nine years.

“It was really popular and every race we go to people are still talking about it,” Baker said.

Originally it was a two-day race, which made it difficult logistically, Baker said. And then it died out about 2005.

Zimmerman also speculated that organizers aimed at making the race too big, while he and Baker are doing it for the whales.

“That’s the twist,” Baker said. “Now it’s a fundraiser for the Orca Network.”

The Orca Network was founded in 2001 by Howard Garrett, director and board president, and Susan Berta, volunteer/event coordinator and board treasurer.

“Habitat degradation, industrial poisons such as PCBs, and other impacts of human activities are taking their toll on the orcas we have come to know and love,” according to its Web site. “It is time to reflect, to reconnect, and to respond as better caretakers of our planet.”

Within the Southern Residents — J, K and L pods — that spend most of their time around the San Juan Islands, seven whales are thought to have died this year alone, leaving 83.

Baker said Puget Sound itself is in an emergency state.

She remembers catching salmon with her hands in a creek near her Northwest home when growing up. Now in her 30s, she said in her short lifetime she’s seen the orcas and salmon populations decline.

“We need to wake up,” said Baker, who worked on two whale-watching boats this past summer.

“It made me more aware of the fragile environment the whales are trying to survive in,” she said.

Baker said she and Zimmerman hope starting the race up again will make the Anacortes community more aware of the orcas.

People would think more about what they’re putting on their lawns and in their cars if they had more ownership of the three families of whales that live here, Baker said.

“Basically we’re just a couple of whale-hugging paddlers,” she said.

The couple is also trying to bring back the sport of sea kayaking.

“We want to see people out there,” Zimmerman said.

Anacortes and the San Juans are a mecca when it comes to sea kayaking, he said. Yet there’s hardly any shops in the area and the sport seems to by dying off. More people choosing to hit the water with surf skis, which are narrower and lighter than regular kayaks. They can go faster but are less stable.

Zimmerman and Baker spent this past summer in a double kayak just about every weekend, traveling up to 60 miles a trip. Baker has been kayaking since she was about 10 years old and began racing when she was 13.

Zimmerman didn’t discover the sport until he was 18. His first race was the San Juan Challenge in 1997, with 30-knot winds and 4-foot seas. Baker’s dad was also there and said it was all about survival, not a race, Baker said.

Though overwhelmed at times, Baker and Zimmerman are organizing the San Juan ORCA Challenge on their own. They have received help, advice, support and direction from Bill Walker, who puts together the Deception Pass Dash at the beginning of December.

“I think now, thanks to Bill, this race is going to happen,” Baker said.

The 3-mile “fun” race or short course will be held in Fidalgo Bay and is aimed at all ages with all skills.

The 20-plus-mile long course will take kayakers around Guemes and Cypress islands. The more challenging course will only be open to experienced long-distance paddlers since it will have them crossing currents and shipping lanes.

“So they have to be solid in their skills and able to get back in their boat if it capsizes,” Baker said.

Every kayaker in the race will be required to wear a lifejacket and have a flare, whistle and other necessary self-rescue equipment. Safety boats will also be out, Baker said.

Entry fees are not set yet and will depend partially on the cost of T-shirts, insurance and other overhead.

San Juan ORCA Challenge

The 3-mile fun and 20-mile endurance races will be Saturday, May 16 during the Anacortes Waterfront Festival to raise funds for the Orca Network.

For more race information, go to http://www.expeditionpaddlers.blogspot.com.

For information on the Orca Network, go to http://www.orcanetwork.org.