Close encounters of the Orca kind...

It's been a couple days since we've seen Orcas.  The word was out.  Just before heading out this afternoon, I got a report of Transient Orcas up north, heading towards Monarch on Saturna Island.  When I did the safety talk, I let them know I had a good report - faces lit up!  I let them know they were north and were moving away from us... are y'all up for some fast running to get there?

"YES!"

Well, got them all in the spirit, now we just need to get 'em on the whales.  We found some Transients just east of Plumper Sound... and, indeed, they were moving to the east at a fast pace.  I pointed out a seal that was in their path (not a bright seal) and there was a collective gasp.  The seal disappeared... I'm going with: he got the heck out of there.  I didn't see him getting tossed around like a volleyball.  We had a nice viewing of the Transient Orcas... also saw sea lions, seals, and some eagles.  Even saw some harbor porpoises on the way back.

It was a good day.  I especially enjoyed the part about not having to be concerned about having an evening trip.  When we were nearly back to our dock, I got a call that one of the other captains (not our company) was having a problem with the steering on his boat.  We got back ahead of him, and had two captains and two first mates, all with large fenders ready to catch him as he came into his slip.  Fortunately, his bow thruster was functional... he made a very nice arrival, but was grateful for the assistance.

It had been a cloudy day, kinda cool.  When we got back, the sun came out.  Nice way to wrap up the day.  A couple images from the ride home...

I got to walk home with my Honey... and little Izzy was excitedly waiting for us...