So many whales...

It was a light drizzle when I rode to work.  We had safety training on the boat... yes, the first mate had a tough day: a couple people fell overboard, two different fires, I had a heart attack and he had to get the boat back to Friday Harbor.  And use proper radio procedures in the process.

Fortunately, I was feeling much better by the time we were ready for guests.  ;-)  In the rain.  On the bright side: a good whale report, and the wet stuff was supposed to improve as the day went on.

We headed south.  In the rain...

Out through Cattle Pass, and we were on the whales in a couple miles...

There were only two other boats on the scene.  Oh, and one private boat who figured: wherever we were, right in front of us would be the best view.  Dipshit.  I have no issue with other boats on the scene... but there was plenty of room - he didn't have to get right in front of us (and by that, I mean between us and the whales).  Repeatedly.  Well, at least the rain stopped.

We spent a few minutes watching these three whales, then decided to explore another direction where I had seen a couple spouts.  I set us up for some viewing with the engine shut down...

A big male.  Then, a spy hop...

Then, the whales we were watching on our own went on a long dive.  When they came up, they were close.  Real close...

The shot immediately above is shot with a wide angle.  That whales were apparently not aware of the 200 yard regulation.  We were shut down, and I wasn't about to start up with animals so close.  The boat captains call it: "getting mugged."  This mugging went on for well over a half hour, with animals coming up on either side of the boat.  Close enough that I couldn't start the engine.  One after another.

Easily, the most amazing viewing this season!  So many whales - most of J-Pod and K-Pod.  Groups.  Individuals.  All the activity you could imagine.  I stopped counting after 15 breaches.  A half dozen spy hops... one about 30 feet from our boat.  We try so hard to keep the proper distance, but it is startling when you see one of these big males come out of the water to the height of our flybridge with a nearby spy hop.

All the big males in both pods were identified.  And hanging together...

The females are just as impressive, even though they have shorter dorsal fins.

We had a family from Mexico onboard; their young daughter asked about sea lions.  On the way home, I made a little "side trip" where I had seen a couple Stellars in the water on our rough water trip last Monday... I was hoping we'd see one up on the rocks.  Nope, not on the "easy" side of the rocks... I took us around to the other side...

A young male.  He doesn't have the "mane," yet, but you can see how much bigger he is than the seals in the photo.

A very special day.