So, how did the day go?

You're really wondering: how did the boat do?  It ran perfect.  I had a full boat, and the temp was towards the bottom of the normal range (that's really good).  It jumped up on plane like we were running light.  And, yes, I watched the gauges really close all day.

And what a fine day it was.  You may have seen the fog at the start of the day.  It burned off before 11:00 to beautiful sunshine.  With a high of 70º predicted, I was able to wear... short sleeves!  First time this season, so it was kind of a big deal...

For full disclosure, I had a fleece vest and a windbreaker on while driving the boat.  But, it was short sleeves for the walk to work and while prepping the boat.  Very pleasant.

Only one trip for me today, and I was fine with that.  The report I got before heading out was whales scattered all along the west side of the island.  As we passed Eagle Point, my first mate came to the helm and asked, "Did you see that big male off the starboard side?"

"Nope."  All the other boats were heading further north.  We turned towards shore and had a great viewing, with Blackberry (a large male) as the star.  Followed by 3 females and a calf.  I had the engine turned off so we could hear the whales blow (makes it easier to find them).  Blackberry was running parallel to where we were stopped, then dived.  He didn't come up for a while, and when I reached for the ignition, he surfaced next to the boat!  The guests gasped and cameras clicked; my first thought was: TOO close!  (And I really am playing by the rules - sometimes the whales don't follow the rules!)  He was below the surface as he swam next to our stern, then surfaced on the other side of the boat.  More screams of glee.  Yeah, this will be an "incident report" for me.

We sat with the engine off until he was far enough away, the started up and moved away.  He turned and paralleled our course once again.  I think he likes our boat.  As we veered away, the females started performing... right at the legal distance, of course.  A breach, a couple spy hops, some tail lobs, and plenty of porpoising.

On the radio, I could hear boats north of us complaining that there wasn't much activity, just milling around.  I let them know what we were seeing and where.

I got a report of a humpback south of us, decided to look for that on the way back to Friday Harbor, but none of the boats that were in that area at the time saw any sign (look for the spray first).

An image of a Blackberry at the proper distance...

On the way back, I had one eye out for a humpback, one eye on where the boat was going, and one eye on all the gauges (still running perfect)... well, you know what I mean.  Back in time to fuel the boat (I have tomorrow off; I like to leave it ready to go for the next captain) and clean her up... in short sleeves again.

Joan had the day off, and was waiting in the cockpit with snacks and a beverage when I got home.  Yeah, I'd do the same for her.  Nice wrap up for the day.  And did I mention: the boat ran perfectly?

:-)