Mental images of a fine day on the water...

We had reports of a humpback not too far away, and some elusive transient Orcas.  We had an interesting group of guests onboard who had chartered the boat: CEOs of software development companies from different parts of the globe.  Some pretty strong personalities, and they were up for a fun day on the water.

I had a busy time at the helm, so there are no photos of today's trip... I'll try to paint some mental images.

Our first stop was in Canadian water, across Haro Strait, to view "Big Momma," a female humpback who has been seen in various parts of the Salish Sea recently.  She provided our guests with some good views... and, other than SoundWatch, we were the only boat there.

After a while, the folks onboard really wanted to see some Orcas... OK, everyone wants to see Orcas.  The best report I had put a group of transients quite a distance from us.  They had plenty of food and beverage onboard, a good attitude, and plenty of time before their seaplane would depart... we're going to find some Orcas.

It was worth the trip: when we got on the scene, the transients had just made a kill and were very surface active.  A breach, tail slaps, even a somersault!  And then... 3 of them caught a seal right in front of our boat.  The guests were all on the bow, to take in the graphic scene... there was a lot of hooting and hollering.  More celebrating by the Orcas.  The transients are apex predators, and the guests got to see the power and skill these animals possess.  There was only one other excursion boat there to see this.

Then, the long trip back.  The Orcas weren't the only ones celebrating.  I heard two of the Australians on the boat filming an "infomercial" for an upcoming seminar they are doing, referencing the "predators" they saw today.

It was a beautiful day on the water, partly cloudy, almost no wind, and nearly calm seas.  A truly fine day in the San Juans.