Another dinghy...

No, I am not saying anything about stupid dinghy tricks.  Heading out of the harbor today, I saw this...

The dinghy tied alongside the big yacht is a C-Dory TomCat.  Pretty much the same cabin as the C-Dory 25 we had, on a catamaran hull.  We spent months at a time on our boat, comfortably cruising.  Yeah, in a boat that is the size of that yacht's dinghy.  ;-)

We had options today: there were Ts (transients) pretty close to the north, or residents on the southwest side of the island.  Either should be a good viewing, I opted to go north, thinking we could view the transients, then look for other wildlife around the Spieden Island area.  The down side might be: lots of boats in San Juan Channel on a Sunday afternoon... really, it wasn't bad...

Oh, there were a few private boats who crowded in and got too close, but they didn't stay long and there weren't as many of them as I expected.  By the time we got to Spieden Channel, there were only 4 commercial boats and one private boat with the whales.  The transients were moving fast, then slow; zigging and zagging.  It kept me on my toes tracking them.  Literally - I was standing to view 360º around us.  They surprised us a time or two by coming up close, diving, then popping up again in a completely different direction.

Near Spieden Island, we were close to the shoreline, with the whales about 200 yards away in the channel, the other commercial boats were on the other side of the animals.  They went on a deep dive and came up right in front of our boat, close to the shoreline (it is deep right up to the rocky shore).  I turned away from the shore and shut down the engine.  Nice viewing.  After the next dive, they came up behind us.  Going west.  Then south.  Then east.

I did manage to get a couple shots off while shut down...

Interesting color/reflection in the water, with the golden colored grass on the south side of Spieden reflecting that light back at the water.

We stayed with the whales for over an hour, then toured around Spieden Island, getting to see seals, bald eagles, cormorants, deer, Mouflon Sheep, and some beautiful scenery.

The day had started out a bit breezy - part of the reason I decided to go north (protected water).  From what I heard on the radio, the water to the south wasn't bad and those folks were getting a good show, too.  Nice to have options, and a beautiful day on the water.

This is our "Friday" - we both put in more hours than usual, and we're ready for some down time.  We met for supper out after work to toast another work week behind us.

About that breach...

I said no one got a photo of that humpback breach on a trip earlier this week.  I stand corrected.  One of the guests on our other boat sent this photo to us...

What a shot!

Every day's the Fourth of July...

If you said: "Saturday In The Park by Chicago," you get 100 bonus points!

I've had mentioned how crazy things get at Roche Harbor around the 4th of July - especially with all the dinghies parked too close to our boat.  There are signs where our boat is slipped that state "No mooring."  Someone tore down the sign that is right where our bow sits when we are tied off.  The result:

I can't imagine that anyone thinks that is a smart place to tie off their dinghy.  In order to get out, I had to move the dinghy right at our bow... the pointy parts on the back of the dinghy were straddling our bow with their motor sitting against our boat.

My preference would be to simply run over it as I rotate out, but that would make for a lot of paperwork.  ;-)

I needed to fuel and pump-out before my trips today.  I was just about to untie the lines to get to the fuel dock, when a ratty looking 40 foot boat pulled into the spot I needed at the fuel dock (where I can also reach the pump-out).  They didn't fuel.  They didn't pump.  The guy took the water hose at the pump-out and proceeded to rinse off his whole boat.  Obviously too cheap to get a slip, he took up space there for over a half hour.  Yeah, I have a schedule; I came in early so I could get a spot at the fuel dock.  Over half way through the season, I find I have less patience for stupid people.

It was a beautiful day: plenty of sunshine, not too much wind, decent sea state.  I mention that because the Vancouver (BC) boats canceled trips for the second day because of snotty conditions in the Strait of Georgia.  Not that far away.

I only had time for a couple shots; it was a long, busy day.

Turn Point...

Look at that peaceful water.  Some of our guests on the bow of the boat...

Breach...

My Mother used to tell me that I tried to be born breach... she would say, "You came out telling the world to kiss your ass... nothing has changed."  Ah, dear ol' Mom, she had a way with words.  But, that's not the breach I'm writing about today.

We had a private charter on our boat today.  I was originally scheduled to work out of Roche, but the scheduler moved me to Kittiwake, in Friday Harbor.  I don't ask why.  My charter turned out to be all guys... a bachelor party... a group of friends from around the country.  Of course, they bought a Washington State Beverage License so they could have alcohol on the boat.

And, of course, they were late.  They got on the boat with a LOT of beer, some harder beverages, and a few snacks... "Exactly how long do you guys think you're going to be on this boat?"  Yeah, they thought that was funny.  I was firm in my safety speech and let them know that Hannah, my first mate "speaks for me," and is their go-to person and safety officer on the boat.  "Don't mess with her."

She handled them fine; she's a good hand on the boat.  And, of course, neither of us had any idea what the charter was... until they showed up.  We roll with it.

They wanted to see whales... "Oh, and eagles - we want to see some bald eagles!"  No Orca reports, but we did have 3 humpbacks moving down San Juan Channel.  We put the power on, heading for the humpbacks.  Our first view...

One never knows how active or elusive humpbacks will be.  This turned out to be a very nice viewing.

Our other boat on the other side of the whales...

Love the flukes...

We tracked with the whales, out of Cattle Pass and into Juan de Fuca.  The weather was warm, lots of sunshine, and nearly calm water - great for viewing.

Without warning - a breach!  This is the biggest humpback I have seen in the San Juans!  And, he came all the way out of the water!  Did I get the shot?

Umm, no.  Hands busy at the helm.  Just the splash.  No one on our boat got the shot.  No one on our other boat (on the other side of the whales from us) got the shot.  But, I will carry this one in my memory - it was very impressive!

We tracked them for a while...

I let our guys know that the next surfacing would be our last looks, and we would be in search of other wildlife.  "Wave bye-bye to the whales."

The guys were hooting and hollering.  They listened while Hannah told them about the whales.  Yeah, they drank, but they stayed pleasant.

In search of bald eagles, we found 3 of them, and were treated to a nice close fly-over.  They had questions about the bull kelp in the water... I told Hannah we'd bring some onboard for them... they were like little girls about touching it.  Hannah pulled up a good size stalk, I cut it open so they could see it was hollow, and we passed it around the boat... well, for those who would touch it.

Exploring more, we found a Stellar Sea Lion where they could compare the size of it with some nearby harbor seals.

It was a good trip.

Only one trip for us today, but it was enough.  Safety training and fueling before and after the trip.  A great time with the humpbacks.  And, got the guys back in time for them to have a meal before they caught the next ferry.

We are heavy into the busiest part of the season.  I'll be working an extra day this next week... some thing about another charter... yeah, we'll see what that turns out to be.

Have you ever seen "Captain Ron"??

As we were getting the boat put away last night, a guy came walking down the dock, towards our boat.  You can tell when someone has something on their mind as they're moving towards you.

He said, "Can I visit with you a moment?"

Uh-oh.  I don't recall waking anyone or otherwise pissing off anybody.  "Sure."

He came up to the boat and said, "My wife and I were in that restaurant (pointing at The Place) - we watched you come into the dock.  That was some of the best boat handling I've ever seen!  I've owned boats for 30 years, and I would never try what you just did - it looked like that scene from 'Captain Ron' where he swings the boat sideways and slides right up to the dock... but you had to dodge other traffic, that dock and boat, and going backwards and sideways into your spot!  It was great!"

I said, "Glad it looked good.  It's the only way to get that boat to this spot.  It scares me, so I usually have my eyes closed while I do it."

"You're funny, too!  Can I shake your hand?  Have you seen 'Captain Ron'?"

"One of my favorite movies - I thought it was a training film."

He laughed some more.  We visited a bit and then he said, "Well, I can see you are busy - I just wanted to tell you how impressive that maneuver was."

"Thanks."

Being a boat captain has some similarities to being a pilot: people judge the trip based on the last couple minutes of it.  I've made that "arrival procedure" a lot of times over the past 5 years.  It can get very interesting when you add wind, swirl from the ferry wake, small boat traffic that isn't looking, and current.  Timing is critical.

On the really bright side, my boss was on the boat right behind us - he got to hear it, too.  ;-)

Long day...

Two trips on my boat today.  I also did safety training before the trips, so it made for a long day.  It's that time of the season.

My first trip was great - I didn't get any photos, but we had a very nice Minke experience on Hein Bank: 3 Minkes, good surface activity, including some lunge feeding.  The only Orca report was too far away, but we saw a lot of other wildlife, including a large Stellar Sea Lion that was pulling itself up on the rocks.  Impressive.  The guests were very happy with their afternoon on the boat.  Beautiful weather and nearly calm water.  Nice!

My evening trip started with no Orca reports.  I headed south, then got a report of transient Orcas north... U-turn and put the coals to it!  We were in Cattle Pass when I got the report, the whales were on the northwest side of Orcas Island, moving south.  I knew we could get to them within an hour.

Again, water conditions were flat calm, no wind, and comfortably warm.  There were a dozen or so boats looking at the whales, and the they (the whales) were being a bit elusive.  Because our boat is taller than most, I was able to see a couple other Orcas in the distance... we left the "conga line" of boats and were able to get two whales all to ourselves.

I wasn't able to get many photos (the workin' stuff cuts into the photo ops)...

The best part of the evening was the beautiful light.  As we approached Flat Top...

The whales were between us and that island - their "blow" (the spray from their blow-hole) was backlit in the dwindling sunlight.  I wish I had gotten a photo of that - it really was beautiful.

A couple sunset images on the way back to Friday Harbor...

South Beach...

No, we didn't head for the Miami Beach area... there is a South Beach here on San Juan Island.

First things first: before going south on the scoots, we ran into town to get a couple PowerBall tickets; the prize is around a gazillion dollars.  Somebody's gotta win, right?  Then, heading south...

Whales are reported north, moving south.  I suggested we stop at Eagle Cove before going to South Beach... just in case.  Nope.  But, it was a nice ride and pretty scenery, including these plants...

Nice views from the homes in this area, too...

Rolling again...

South Beach is just down the hill.  Nice views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Mountains in the distance.  South Beach has parking and potty facilities...

We parked the scoots and walked to "the beach"...

For my South Padre Island folks, this is what passes for a beach here...

An unusually calm day today - people on stand-up paddleboards and kayaks...

Looking towards the Olympics...

An obligatory selfie...

Looking north...

Heading back to the bikes...

It had been warm enough on the way down that we didn't need coats.  The slight breeze coming off the water reminds you that the water temp here is still in the upper 40s.  We put jackets on to continue our ride...

Heading for our favorite view turn-out on the west side, we passed more bicycles and rental scooters; not always easy to see in the shade...

Some of the road construction is complete - you can tell by the freshly painted yellow center lines.  Some of the roads in this area aren't wide enough to have any kind of a bike lane... or even a white line, apparently.

One of my favorite road views: Haro Strait...

We got off the scoots at the turn-out and took in the view.  We both miss being able to look out the window and see water, even though our RV site is delightful.

Last of our days off.  Well, for this week.