It's July-uary...

Yep, another weather post.  It is July 2nd; the calendar says it is summer.  The forecast for today was: clearing skies, high in the low 60s, winds 6 mph or less.

The reality: the warmest I saw was 53º, the wind was blowing around 15 mph on the west side of the island, and it rained.  Pretty consistently, once we got out of Friday Harbor.  I had put on a compression shirt under my company shirt for the warmth... I was thinking that might be a bad idea as I walked to work.  It sprinkled for about 10 minutes while we were prepping the boat, after the first mate had cleaned all the windows.  We had a full boat; I told her to have rain slickers ready for each guest... thinking that if I was ready for the rain, it wouldn't happen.  Apparently, reverse psychology doesn't work on Mother Nature?

Going through Cattle Pass on the way to the west side of the island, we were treated to the strongest currents and eddies I've seen this season.  Oh, and it was raining.  We found whales around Eagle Point, but they were being stealthy.  The guests came out from under cover to watch.  I ran north to see if we could find some more active whales.  In the rain.  Found a few.  I saw a big male and a female make a fast turn as they dived.  I guessed where they'd head and was rewarded with really good views for the guests.  In the rain.

I switched out the company ball cap for the company wool knit cap; swapped my leather gloves for some warmer waterproof gloves.  I was wishing I had put on longjohns.  The water flattened out as we ran across Spieden Channel... we were treated to 3 bald eagles flying over, and the rain let up.  By the time we got back to Friday Harbor, the rain quit.  Nice timing.  Still, the guests were happy, and my work day was done.

Joan got off at the same time I did, and we talked on our walk back to the boat.  We ran into some people that she had booked for today's trip, and they put 2 and 2 together to figure out that we are a couple.  One lady asked, "Are you heading to your boat to go where you live?"

I said, "No, we are heading to our boat, where we live.  At least for the summer."  Of course, they thought that was the best thing ever (see the "Marina People" previous post).

Joan cooked two meals today, so I suggested we go out for supper.  With a nano-second of consideration, we were off... supper in a nice restaurant with a view of the marina.  A walk up the street for a grocery stop, then back to the boat... just in time for the rain to start again.  A 90% chance of rain predicted for tonight - they have that one right.  And chilly.  More of the same predicted for tomorrow.

I'm not sure I have enough layers.