Karma...

I do believe there is something to karma.

I did some work this morning to deal with a problem that I didn't create.  I didn't grumble about it... too much.  Had to ride the scoot home in the rain.

And then ride back into town for my trip today.

I spent extra time with the first mate today before the trip, regarding the proper operation of the head (no, he wasn't the one on the boat yesterday).

While prepping the boat (for the second time today), the overcast began to break.  Our guests were all on time.  We got off from the dock a couple minutes ahead of schedule.  I had a good report for the whales, AND they were actually moving towards us.

If I can take a moment to be frank (but, you're Jim - yeah, funny), it is rare that I'm not up for a trip.  This is one time that I wasn't looking forward to it... I'm sure because I was tired of cleaning up situations that I didn't create.

Getting a promising report started revving up my anticipation.  We had a nice group of people on the boat.  I found myself fired up as we pulled away from the dock.  I got a report that conditions were "really nice" where we were heading.  The water was smooth; the boat felt like a magic carpet.

Cattle Pass was remarkably smooth...

The lighthouse at Cattle Point...

Looking over the bow as we approached Eagle Point...

SO smooth.  Then, the first dorsal...

And another, another, and another...

I was thinking I might take some time off from posting whale photos... really, what the hell was I thinking?  Big Mike decided to come visit our boat...

The best trips (in my opinion) are the ones where we can sit with the engine off and take it all in.  This was certainly one of those days.  There were whales all around, and no "lines of boats" having to run along with them.  I had the engine off for a full 1/3 of this trip (including the time to get to the whales and back to Friday Harbor).

The guests were excited.  Eric, our naturalist, answered their questions and gave them lots of information about the whales and what we were seeing.  And, there was time for quiet reflection.

Every day is different on the water, but this will be one that will stand out in my memory.

And, the whales...

I let the folks know that "these will be our last looks."  We sat with the engine off while the whales moved away from us.  And then, one last tail slap.

One of the guests asked, "Did you plan that?"

"I think he was waving good-bye."

It was a nice way to wrap up our time with the whales.

Heading back to Friday Harbor, our timing was "just right": Victoria Clipper III (which throws a huge prop wash) was gone from the Spring Street Dock, and the ferry wasn't due in for another 15 minutes - we had an easy, clear path to our dock.

When we had the boat cleaned and put to bed, I walked up to our office and... Joan said, "I'm off early - we get to go home together!"

Yep, karma let me have a delightful afternoon.  Nice when it works out that way.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a day off, but they needed someone to drive a charter.  Think karma will give me some credit for that?  ;-)