My first driving day...

We saw Killer Whales (Orcas) today!  And I had two trips, my first at the helm, both trips.  We had to run north a long ways to find the whales, but our guests got to see a transient pod.  I have to admit, even though we've seen whales from our own boat before, this was pretty exciting... 6 adult Orcas, swimming in unison.  I'd love to show you photos, but we're not allowed to take photos while we're working.

And, it was an absolutely beautiful day today: clear blue sky, temps in the upper 60s, light wind, and calm seas.  I drove the smaller of the two boats, expecting to follow the bigger boat.  As things turned out, we left the dock first, so I pointed the boat in the direction that the network said we'd find whales, and we were off.  It took about an hour and 15 minutes to cover the miles to where the whales were, and I set the boat up to stay within the proper distance.  It was fun to hear the gasps from the folks on the boat, when the whales showed themselves... about a half dozen adults Orcas!

I did my best to position the boat so our guests would not only have a good view, but the light would be good for photos.  The helm position on the boat I'm driving is on a flybridge, so I am considerably higher than the passengers.  While I enjoy the interaction with the guests (and you don't get that on this boat), the view from the flybridge is pretty impressive.

Being a holiday weekend, both boats were full for a sunset whale watch, too.  We had a report that there were whales coming in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but nothing definitive... so back north we went.  And the whales had gone further northwest.  Again, we were able to get our guests great views of the Orcas.

A full driving day for me.  And happy guests.  The silhouettes of the islands as the sun dropped in the west were beautiful...

Sorry no whale photos.  Driving the boat when close to the whales is pretty intense - rules to follow, distances that have to be kept, other boats to work around.  I completely understand.  One of these days, I'll go on the boat as a guest and hopefully get some photos to show you.  In the meantime, what a way to spend the summer! :-)