Thar she blows...

That's boat captain talk when you see the whales.  ;-)

No, I don't really say that.

We had another wedding party charter today.  Nice people.  They had purchased a banquet license, which allows them to have alcohol onboard a charter... not sure how long they thought we were going to stay out, but they apparently didn't want to get caught short.  The charter would run over lunch time... no, they didn't bring any food.

The bride's only request: "Please, please - we really want to see whales!  That would really make our day special."

No pressure, huh?  ;-)

There were no whale reports.  J-Pod was last seen WAY north.  My hope was that they would decide to come back south... I planned us for heading north.  Along the way, we ran through my favorite part of the San Juans, saw some new seal pups and bald eagles.  In Canadian waters, I heard the first report of any whale siting come over our fleet radio: "Two humpback whales..."  They were about a half hour away from us.  I did a 180º turn, heading east in Boundary Pass.

Our first siting...

That tail let me know that they (appeared to be a mother and a juvenile) were going down for a deep dive.  That usually lasts 5 to 10 minutes, then they they will surface again for several shallow breaths/dives.

Right on cue...

We were well-positioned for the guests to have a good view.  After several shallow dives, down they went again...

I set us up on a course to match their speed and direction.  After 6 minutes, I expected them to surface.  I didn't expect them to surface right next to us!  Shrieks from the guests!  I shut down the engine... if the wind had been blowing the other direction, the people on the starboard side would have been showered in whale spit!

I waited for them to move away...

That is with a wide-angle setting, after three surfacings.  Here's what the guests on the bow saw...

When they were far enough away to start our engine, I set us back up for the next dive sequence.  The bride looked up at the helm and said, "Best day ever!"

Yep.  It was a fine day on the water.  Oh, a bit windy and chilly, and some wave action - they handled it all, no problem.  Back at the dock, it was a "two tripper" to get all the empty bottles off the boat.  The bride gave me a hug on the way off the boat.  A boat full of happy guests.  And crew.

Then, the glamorous work guests don't see: fueling up the boat and pumping out the holding tank.  Pretty sure there was a lot of pe... well, the tank was ready to be pumped.  Boat cleaning.  Have to get it ready to do it again.  ;-)