In my next career...

Yeah, I'm kidding: not planning a next career.

Yesterday was a rockin' and rollin' day on the water... nothing to do with music.  I knew what to expect when I saw the forecast calling for wind building from the southwest.  The only whale report was southwest of us, at Hein Bank... a long ol' haul for the boat I drive out of Roche Harbor.  Especially knowing that the wind would be driving waves.

Our first trip felt like a scene out of Kindergarten Cop: the boat was full, but the number of kids was unusually high... and about 6 of them seemed determined to do dumb stuff that would likely get them hurled overboard.  The first mate had his hands full trying to keep them corralled, since the person watching them didn't keep an eye on them.  Yes, it was one young girl who got on with a group of kids right at the end of our boarding.  Swell.

And if rockin' seas and rowdy kids weren't enough fun, the current was against us, meaning the trip would run long.  Will the fun never stop??

On this boat, we aim for 30 to 45 minutes between trips so we can get the boat cleaned, maybe grab a quick bite to eat, and use the potty.  Today, we had... let me check... oh, minus three minutes.  In this case, we do what's called: turn and burn.

Another full boat for the second trip... a couple infants, a few older kids - but, none of them looked rowdy like the first bunch.  A check of weather sounded promising: diminishing winds, seas 2 feet.  The water had been choppy where we were viewing whales on the first trip (3 foot seas)... and the whales hadn't moved much.

It was clear after we got out into open water that the weather weasels were lying bastards: the wind and sea state were both building.  After another long slog to get to the whales, I had to work to keep the boat oriented into the waves with either the bow or the stern... and we had taken the waves on the beam (from the side) for the last hour getting here - that is the most uncomfortable ride.

On the bright side, I was glad I was driving this boat, because it is bigger and heavier than the one I drive out of Friday Harbor.  On the not so bright side, the waves were 4 to 5 feel and building.  There were only two other boats out on the whales, and I watched one take a bigger wave and wondered how people stayed on their feet... maybe they didn't?  I knew we weren't going to stay long... we came a long distance, and I was going to have to slog back in conditions that weren't going to improve.

I "tacked" my way back north, doing my best to keep the boat oriented to the swell and waves to give the guests the best ride.  I heard other captains on the radio cancelling their evening trips.  Smart move.  The last boat on the whales was calling it 6 foot waves and building.

Some days are a frolic, some days you really earn your paycheck.  This was definitely one of those "earning" days.

When we got into more manageable water, I had the first mate take the helm so I could walk through the boat and see how everyone was doing... 3 definite "mal de mer" , 2 looking a bit green, most of them OK, and four older ladies who seemed to be really enjoying the ride.  I found out that they were all long-time sailors.  ;-)

Only an hour and 15 minutes late getting back to our dock.  The water in Roche Harbor was blissfully calm.  I came down from the helm and asked, "So, who's happy to be back at the dock?"  The passengers gave me a round of applause.  I got a lot of "Thank you" and "Great job" as folks got off the boat.  I guess they could tell that I was doing what I could to make the ride better for them.  The first mate thanked me, too.

It took some extra time to hose the salt spray off the boat before heading for home.  It had been a long day.  Oh, and that next career?  Yeah, I want to be a weather weasel - they can sit in a comfortable office, make a guess at what they think the weather is going to do, be wrong or right, and still get paid.

My Honey walked up to the parking lot when I got home so we could walk back to the boat together... it was a nice way to wrap up the day.

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The above was from yesterday, 'cause I was too tired to write it last night.  And this morning... it is my birthday.  I knew that because Joan had a couple "Happy Birthday Captain Jim" posters in the boat when I got up.  Slowly.  With some muscle aches.  Yeah, this is one of those "ends in a zero" birthdays; a time when you evaluate... the days ahead are going to be fewer than the days behind.  Well, unless I live to be 120.  ;-)  My Mother was right: getting old isn't for sissies.