Another no report day while I was prepping the boat. Then, a sketchy report (from a Victoria aquarium boat that got passed on to one of our association boats: a humpback north of us. An aquarium boat?? Can't say I'm familiar with that.
Some boats were south, looking for minkies. In 2 foot chop, which makes it hard to find them. Yeah, I am thinking north sounds more promising.
A few miles north of Friday Harbor, a solid report came over our fleet radio: two killer whales in the Strait of Georgia, heading southeast (towards Patos Island). Probably transients. The fleet boat that was on the scene said they were doing deep dives, and he was trying to find them again. We're going to Patos! A quick check of charts and GPS put us about 40 minutes away from our current location.
The water in Presidents Channel was beautiful! Off the bow...
And, looking back...
I told our naturalist the plan, and I could hear a bunch of happy people below when she related the news. Naturalist Rachel does a great job with the guests.
When we first got on scene, we were the 5th boat there. Judging by the traffic on the radio, we were going to have a lot more company. The whales were being elusive at first. Then, a dorsal fin...
I counted three animals, and they were moving east at about 6 knots. We could see another group further behind us. OK, maybe 8 or 9 animals. Then, the first obvious kill, and the whales came together and quit moving so fast. This made for some very nice viewing while we were shut down...
Another seal met its demise, and more activity...
The power of these animals is impressive.
A female and a youngster...
Yep, a fine day for viewing Killer Whales in their natural habitat. As predicted, when we were leaving the whales, I looked back - lots of boats...
Our timing was good, the weather was pleasant, the sea state was decent, and the whale viewing was outstanding - a very good day on the water.
Coming back in, the inter-island ferry was standing off from the ferry landing... which meant we couldn't get in, either. We switched to Plan B, and dropped our guests off at the Spring Street Landing commercial dock (so they weren't delayed), then waited to see what the ferry was going to do. When they finally went in, I let the swirl of water die down a bit, then gave them a call on the radio to make sure we had time to get in before they departed.
A bit of maintenance on the boat, and I was able to ride home with my Honey.
3 comments:
And you get paid for this-- Nice retirement!!
I enjoy your Blog-- Thanks for sharing..
And you get paid for this-- Nice retirement!!
I enjoy your Blog-- Thanks for sharing..
Thanks, HRB. Some days, like this one, are easy. That isn't always the case... the experience can be weather-dependent, or the whales can disappear, or be so far away that they are beyond our range. Our crews really do work hard to give the guests a memorable real-nature experience.
Our daughter still reminds me, after I said these words to her many years ago when she spent a grueling summer working at an amusement park: someone has to work hard so people can have fun. ;-)
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