Back to work...

I had an early charter this morning.  Well, I had a charter scheduled.  It rained most of the night here, and was still coming down steady at 7:30 when I walked to work.  I am scheduled to pick up two people at the sea plane dock at 9:00.  While prepping and fueling the boat, I watched the steady rain and decreasing visibility.  I got an old report on a whale sighting... it would give me a starting point if I could run at normal cruise speed... probably not going to happen with this visibility.  And then, the call: the sea plane is holding in Seattle due to weather; at least a one hour delay.

So, here I am with some time on my hands.  The hourly weather predictions don't look promising.  We had things timed so I'd be able to do an early charter and still take a full boat out for our normal 1:30 whale watch.  Mother Nature gets to make the call... I'm just along for the ride.  Or, sometimes, I don't get the ride.

My friends, Joe and Ruth, reminded me of my birthday 5 years ago, where I was wearing my Gortex winter coat on July 18th... sitting in the van while they and Joan were out in the drizzle picking peas.  Of course the comments there were: "This isn't typical of our summer weather here..."

Yeah, I was wearing that Gortex winter coat and foul weather pants today.

I feel bad for the folks I work for... the season here is short, every trip counts.  Most of the time, guests are here for a short visit; we can't always find them another time to join us out on the water.  Getting to see the beautiful scenery (even with crappy weather) and the those magnificent Orcas is an experience that shouldn't be missed.