7/9/2006
We set out this morning with one goal in mind: Find some killer whales. Last year our efforts were thwarted. We’d later find out that a bunch of salmon were schooling further offshore and the three pods that hang out in the area were out there having a feast.
By the time we got to False Bay we had only seen porpoises. We headed back north toward the Lime Kiln Lighthouse. That’s about when two whale watching boats flew by us in the opposite direction. We swung around and followed them as best we could. When we eventually caught up to them we saw what all the fuss was about–two of the three resident orca pods were feeding. We shut the engines down and watched as about 85 whales surfaced, played, and breached nearby. Two jumped very close to our boat. I shot video for a while and then put the camera down to enjoy the moment.
After that we headed in to Roche Harbor. We paid for a slip and headed ashore for a shower and some exploring.
Dave and I replenished our beer supply with some Full Sail Amber and then began a little project. The goal was to rig a “mast cam” by hoisting Dave’s camera up the mast. The burgee halyard (the “rope” one would use to hoist a pennant or a set of signal flags) fit the bill quite nicely. Our first attempt didn’t go well–Dave had forgotton to disable the auto shutoff. Back down it came. Our next attempt was looking better. The shot was lined up, our light was fading fast, Dave triggered the remote and…his card was full. No mast cam shots this night.
For dinner: Grilled chicken breasts and macaroni and cheese. For dessert: Pound cake with fresh fruit and redi whip. All very good.
On to Day 4.
