Fins to the left...

Fins to the right...

Another private charter for our boat today.  Nice people; they were early!  They had chartered the boat for an extra hour than usual.  I had two options to get to whales - neither of them close... one way south and west, moving west; the other way north, moving north.  About the same distance away, so I made the decision to go north - it is prettier running through the Gulf Islands than it is chugging away in Juan de Fuca.

These guests were celebrating a birthday; all adults, and they had purchased a liquor license for the boat.  I was pretty sure they weren't going to care too much that we had to go a long ways.  I visited with them, and we got out a bit early.  I was right - they knew how to enjoy themselves.

The whales were near Active Pass, between Galiano Island and Mayne Island.  Well, when we got to them, they weren't quite to the Pass.  Instead, they ran close to Enterprise Reef... plenty of boats whale watching today, and not all of them paying attention to the fact that they were drifting right at the reef.  I saw my depth finder go from over 250' to about 30' and moved out to reposition us... the whale watching was good...

Well, you might not know it from the photos... I had my hands full at the helm; the wind was blowing and the whales were not running any sort of straight line.  Transients again today; the guests got to see the results of them taking a seal.

We positioned ourselves just outside Active Pass, assuming that would be the way they would go... they did.  A dozen whale watch boats, a bunch of private boats, the whales... oh, and several BC Ferries all trying to squeeze through that pass...

Yes, I shot that image before going into the Pass.  Otherwise, it would have been from a LOT closer.  The BC Ferries are painted more festive than the Washington State Ferries.

The current was ripping through Active Pass; the guests were hooting and hollering, enjoying the ride.  We ran out into the Strait of Georgia for a while before it was time to head back south.  I gave them the scenic way back, and they got to see some bald eagles and harbor porpoise along the way.

The people were a delight; the weather wasn't sunny, but it was very pleasant ('cause I was dressed for it); and we had the time and speed to get to the whales... everyone was happy.  The guests were particularly fond of my first mate, and offered her a job with a dive operation when her time here is done.  He shook my hand at the end of the trip and said, "Man, you can drive a boat.  The first mate said you aren't looking for another job when you're done here, huh?"

"Nope.  It's playtime for this retired guy."

"Well, it's very apparent that you enjoy this position."

Very nice people.

Joan got off work about the time we got back to the dock.  She ordered pizza for us.  The place is called Kung Fu Pizza, it's connected with the China Pearl Chinese Restaurant.  The best part: you get fortune cookies with your take out pizza, too!  This was mine...

Yeah, that seems about right to me! ;-)