It was raining this morning. Predicted to stop by 9:00, but it didn't. Not at 10:00 or 11:00, either. It was still raining when we walked to work at 11:45. Radar showed that the rain would be moving out... the reason it would be moving out was the nasty wind coming in behind it - the forecast was for winds WSW at 20, gusting to 29. Waves 4 feet or more. Small Craft Advisories.
All in all, not shaping up to be a fun day on the water. The wind was building as predicted when I took the boat to the fuel dock... you really feel it up on the flybridge. I told the first mate to lay out rain slickers for the guests as we prepped the boat. I listened for reports and heard wave heights of 4 to 5 feet and whales sighted at Kellet Bluff (outside of Roche Harbor), moving north. I planned to run north between Spieden and Stuart Islands, hoping to intercept the whales west of that area... and likewise hoping for some protection from the waves along the way.
As we headed north out of Friday Harbor, the clouds broke a bit, with occasional blue sky showing. The rain gear I was wearing helped with the chilly temp and building wind. I slowed down along the way so guests could see seals, harbor porpoise, and bald eagles. As I got closer to the open water beyond Spieden, I could see the white caps.
I saw a flash of black to my starboard... not an Orca, but a kayak pointing to the sky, then crashing down in the waves. Well, my day was certainly better than his. ;-) Then, into the open water, bracing myself for the waves, and an Orca breached a couple hundred yards off our side! Yep, this is a nice way to start our whale watching. There were a couple other whale watch boats further south, but we were first on this scene with about 8 animals moving north. We paralleled their path for about 45 minutes, as other boats joined "the parade." It was a great viewing, plenty of activity from the Killer Whales, and the guests were hooting and hollering in a good way as the boat rode the waves. I had let them know that we'd be in some chop before we left the dock, and did my best to pump them up for a good viewing. They had a great attitude and took it all in stride.
After running north, I invited another whale watch boat to take my place and moved aside... we all try to "play nice" and we had the whales to ourselves for quite a while. The naturalist came to the helm and asked where we'd go next... "I'm going to run around Turn Point, maybe see more whales up there, and get behind Stuart Island for some protection from the waves." I like it when a plan comes together - we saw a couple more whales, got bounced around even more (the current and waves looked like a washing machine) off the point, then sunshine and much smoother water as we made our way southeast. Through John's Pass, then east; the current was running about 6 knots by the Cactus Islands. We could feel the wind as we ran south in San Juan Channel, but we were in the lee of the island, so the waves weren't bad. And the sun was shining. :-)
Lots of boats on the water as we neared Friday Harbor. Amazing what a little sunshine will do.
The wind was swirling around in the marina (I look at all the flags and wind indicators as I come in - they were pointing a variety of directions), but we made an uneventful landing. The first guest to depart said, "Where is the tip jar? That was the best boat trip ever, and you guys deserve a tip!" I may hire her to come along on every trip. ;-) Since she asked, I let her know that she could put the tip in the first mate's hand.
I was able to take my jacket off while hosing off the boat. (Yeah, the spray made it all the way to the eisenglass on the flybridge, but I managed to stay dry.) I checked the temp... it made it all the way to 58º. It turned out to be a pretty fine day on the water. Oh, we rocked n' rolled some, but the whales were active, the guests were good with it, and there was that sunshine thing, too. ;-)
I got to walk home from work with my Honey. It was cool, but the sun felt good while we were out on the "lanai" for appetizers and a toast to the way the day turned out.
What's that saying? Oh, yeah... never judge a day by the weather.
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