Very quiet here in the islands this last month. Last week we had six transient orca come past Deer Harbor in San Juan Channel. J and K pod were seen two weeks ago on the west side of San Juan. Not sure ID’s were made as to who was there but I think most of the J and K whales were sighted that day.
Seems to be lots of salmon around now as well. A sports fisherman came into the marina this weekend with three big hatchery black-mouth salmon <http://www.sschapterpsa.com/ramblings/PS_Blackmouth_fishing.htm>. They also released two other salmon that were from wild stock. Not sure where they were fishing so I can’t give you any tips where to go.
As we begin a new month the boat maintenance list I’ve been compiling is going to come into use one item at a time. I always try and do as much preventative maintenance as I can now, hoping I avoided a problem later in the season by tackling it now.
I’m adding another boat to the business this year. The boat will cater to small groups of no more than six guests per trip. It’s a comfortable, fast and quiet boat, with a heated inside cabin and good outside viewing decks. The boat will make a great offseason boat and offer a more exclusive trip to some folks who like going with a smaller group.
If the weather gets warmer (hopefully), I am going to do a wildlife trip in mid February on or around Valentine’s Day weekend. There’s usually enough people on the island to get the boat out and I’ve seen transient whales on some of my mid February trips. However, the focus of the trips will be the Steller sea lions, bald eagles and porpoises. If the weather isn’t cooperating I’ll wait and start up some time in March.
In the meantime enjoy this week of Sun we’re supposed to get. I’m at my computer these days pecking away at my first book (a story about whales and boats, what else?) that will probably go to the publisher sometime in 2015, if I’m lucky.
