Sunday, August 11, 2013

Some days, everything just falls into place...

And, some days, your bread falls in the dirt, butter-side down.

Today was one of those "falls into place" days.  I never take that for granted.  Before we left, I had a solid report for transient Orcas, and a "good rumor" for humpbacks.

How's this for "falls into place": the humpbacks were on our way to the Orcas.  There were no other whale watch boats on the humpbacks, but they were very near the rumored position - it was a mother and a calf.  We pulled up and they surfaced nearby within seconds.  Great timing.  They were doing 4 surfaces then a deep dive; staying down for 4 to 4 1/2 minutes, then starting the cycle over.  It was easy to position the boat so the guests had a good view.

I had my hands full at the helm , but managed to get a shot of the calf...


We got to see several "fluke dives," but I didn't catch one for the camera.

From there, it was into Canadian water to see some transient Orcas.  Haro Strait was pretty calm, the visibility around us was great, not a bunch of boats once we got to the whales.  I positioned us on the far side of them, so the light would be best for those taking photos...



Oh, yeah, there were better views than this, but again: people kinda expect me to position the boat for their viewing pleasure.  ;-)  Or, maybe they don't realize that's what I do?

We enjoyed the Orcas, until it was time to head back.  My naturalist on the boat said the guests were delighted with the viewing... I told her we'd take the time for some other viewing on the way home.  They got to see young harbor seals with their mommas, several bald eagles, and some of the 4-legged wild animals on Spieden Island... I turned off the boat and let the current take us from one nice view to the next.  The Mouflon Sheep...


Happy guests on the boat.

And, one other thing that fell nicely into place: the weather weasels were predicting a 30% chance of thunderstorms for this afternoon... it was gloriously sunny!

The next week is going to be very busy - several days of double shifts for me... early charters, sunset whale watches, and day-long water-taxi trips.  Odds are pretty good it won't be a "two kinda whales" days ahead.


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