Are you just trying to mess with me?

We try to show our guests the wonder that is the San Juan Islands (and sometimes the Canadian Gulf Islands).  As anyone who deals with the public knows, there are some "odd ducks" out there.

This morning, I have a charter with one of those ducks.  He has been strange from the first contact...

"Can we kill a seal and drag it behind the boat?"

No.

"Can we fish from the boat?"

No, we are a wildlife and scenic excursion boat, not a fishing boat.

"Can I jump in the water with the whales?"

No.  Definitely no.

"Can I, at least, throw a paddleboard in the water when we're around the whales?"

Joan finally said, "Are you just trying to mess with me?"

Trust me on this: you don't want to mess with the Blonde.

We'll see how it plays out.

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I rode into Friday Harbor early to prep the boat for this morning's charter.  I posted a few photos of Roche Harbor yesterday.  Friday Harbor is just as pretty...

I had some work to do on the boat, and needed to top off fuel before the trip.  Warm already this morning.  I discussed with the naturalist/first mate how we would deal with the charter: friendly, but firm.

They were actually early.  That is a rarity with a charter.  He started off with some of the strange questions again, and I was... friendly, but firm.  Rachel (first mate) was friendly, but firm.  It worked... he was no problem.  Oh, he was strange, but no problem.

With this being an early charter, we were out before the rest of the Friday Harbor boats.  I had a good report from one of the Canadian boats, putting the whales in a good position for us.  By the time we got close, we came upon a nice grouping of K-Pod with no other boats around.  We had them to ourselves for about 45 minutes before more boats started showing up.

Seeing these animals in their environment put things in a whole different perspective - he could see that we were respectful, and working to insure them a good viewing.  And, it was a very nice viewing.  K-Pod was in a hurry, moving at 7+ knots most of the time.  I was getting reports from the Vancouver boats that J-Pod was in the Strait of Georgia, moving south, we were in Boundary Pass, heading northeast... looks like they may be planning to get together.

Plenty busy at the helm, all I got was this one "oops"...

Hey, they aren't all keepers.  ;-)  Maybe Rachel will send me some photos?  On the way back to Friday Harbor, we took "the scenic route," saw some of those seals he wanted to see ("No, you can't feed them.  No, you can't ride them.  They have front claws and sharp teeth - they won't win a fight with a transient Orca, but they fight back right to the end.  That cute little seal will eat your face off!").

Another highlight was a pair of bald eagles sitting side-by-side on a tree close to the water - we see eagles pretty regularly, but not close together like this.  You really get to see the size difference between the male and female (the females are larger).  The male was preening.  And when it wasn't, they were looking very regal.  This was a treat.

Of course, our guest asked if he could feed the eagles.  Pretty sure this guy wasn't used to being told "no."  He heard it more than a few times today.  But, they got a very nice private charter, saw a lot of great wildlife behavior, and we kept them safe.  His wife was sweet, friendly, and very interested in learning things from Rachel, asking great questions.  Judging by the "thank-yous," they were very happy with the trip.

The warmest day this season.  I rode in early in this morning, without layers.  Didn't need a jacket while out on the boat.

I didn't know if we'd have a second trip today; we often don't find out until we are close to being back with the first one.  The office let me know we'd have the rest of the afternoon off.  Joan was able to take a late lunch, and I finally got to take the Blonde out for lunch on a work day (first time this season).

With the charter being hours earlier than our normally scheduled trips, getting off mid-afternoon was a nice bonus.  And little Izzy got some leash time.  Everybody's happy.  :-)