K2...

Not the mountain in the Himalayas, nor the skis... day two with K-Pod.

I had a private charter today, a family of 11 booked the whole boat.  One of their party came ahead of time with food and drinks, which we put into the cooler for them.  Nice people - they were friendly, on time, and just happy to be out on the water... seeing whales was a bonus.

We had a fine bonus for them today.

K-Pod was back on the west side, moving slowly north.  The reports I got let me know that there were a lot of boats with the whales.  We ran north in San Juan Channel, turned west in Spieden Channel... it looked like an armada of boats coming at us.  The water was ugly sloppy with the wake from all the boats.  It didn't smooth out until we were into Haro Strait.

Moving south in Haro, we came upon K-Pod and all the other boats at Open Bay; our first view...

Yeah, there were a LOT of boats on both sides of the whales.  The private boats outnumbered the commercial boats, and there were scads of them moving in too close to the whales.  We did see WDFW stop a couple private boats... one that was running right up to the whales, then stopping - repeatedly.  I don't understand how anyone can think that is acceptable.

The whales were in resting mode, surfacing in unison...

The boats were so close together, it was hard to get any photos.  The commercial guys stayed nice, but private boaters cut in between and in front.  You had to keep your head on a swivel.  Still, the viewing was nice, since we came in from the north and were (for a while) at the front of the "conga line."

After viewing for a while, I checked with our guests to see if they were ready to move on... yep.  I told them I'd motor away at a slow speed so they could enjoy their meals.  Again, nice folks: they brought food for first mate Erick and me.

A short time later, Erick came to the helm and said, "They woke up - they are breaching!"  Sure enough.  We asked if folks wanted to see more - a cheer came up from the boat.  The direction we left the "mob" put us at the front of the pack again.  We were more than 200 yards away, but there was a lot of activity, most of it in close to shore on Henry Island...

When the Orcas began to spread out, I told the folks, "Well, this will be our last looks again - we'll head out from here and show you some of the prettiest parts of the San Juans."  (I had discussed that with the couple that was in charge of the charter - they really wanted to see some scenery as well as the whales.  I appreciate that - the San Juans are gorgeous!)

We saw some other wildlife; stopped to point out islands in the US and Canada, and enjoyed the peace and quiet, and the scenery.  A very nice day.  Beautiful water as we made our way back to Friday Harbor...

It is Sunday, but it is our "Friday" -  days off coming.  Another bonus: Erick and I had the boat fueled and cleaned by 4:30, and my Honey was able to get off early, as well.  We rode home together.  Nice.