Beam Reach

I’ve eaten porpoise spit, have you???

Ok, now I know what you might be thinking: Porpoise spit?? Disgusting! But, before you judge, consider what I mean. There we were, sailing along on a gorgeous sunny October day (that happened to be Megan’s 21^st birthday—Happy Birthday!) when we were lucky enough to get Dall’s porpoises bow riding the Gato Verde again! How fortunate can one Beam Reach group get! They were so close that Megan and I, who were enjoying some fresh, crisp, amazingly delicious honeycrisp apples, got showered with some of the spray from their blows. HOW COOL IS THAT?? Too amazing. You’re jealous you haven’t gotten to eat porpoise spit, admit it.

How about some more random facts about the current Beam Reach experience:

1) I have now become a measure of temperature for the group. Despite my Midwestern roots, I am by far the coldest member of the boat at any time. I am typically wearing 2-3, sometimes 4 more layers than anyone else. Need an ice pack? Try my fingers!

2) Dave is pulling ahead in the cribbage competition. Which is absolutely not ok with this highly competitive girl…

3) Val Veirs (my current hero) has created a click detecting (aka “click counter”) program for my data analysis. Though this is wonderful and could make my data analysis infinitely easier, I’m still fighting with it, trying to get accurate and consistent results. I will keep you posted on my struggle with technology.

4) I am the first, and only, Beam Reacher to get stuck on an oar while climbing into the dinghy. This occurred while Megan, Cat, and I were attempting to go for a walk while anchored at Prevost. I won’t pretend that I’m the most graceful person, but I may have outdone myself with this stunt: wobble into dinghy, stumble down to the stern to make room for others, find myself (via the back straps of my lifejacket) attached to oar, attempt to free myself, only manage to flail about a bit, and nearly lose the oar in the water. Luckily, Megan had already successfully climbed into the dinghy and freed me from my trap. Whew. I think I impressed even Jason with that one.

5) The log of a number is the power of 10 that gets you the number!

6) When sewage doesn’t go where it’s supposed to go, it’s no fun for anyone. Seriously (thank you Capitan Todd!)

7) There isn’t a cooler view than standing on the roof of the galley. Well, maybe the roof of the cockpit is better. I don’t think you’ve lived until you’ve gotten a chance to experience a sunny day with an ocean full of whales until you’ve done that.

8 ) Orca shaped funfetti birthday cakes are the most delicious of all.

9) I’m running out of random facts.

10) When orcas pass your boat (that is fighting a strong current) and you can’t keep up with them, it feels exactly the same as when bikes pass your car while you’re sitting in traffic. Not a great feeling.

10) Oh oh! October 6, 2010 may have been one of the best days yet (are you sick of me saying that yet??)

So. Here’s why today was awesome. Gorgeous, sunny, (albeit a little chilly) fall day. Lovely trip down to Discovery Island, where we drifted a little and came upon…WHALES! There were like 20 whales all bunched together. So cool! There was a ton of spyhopping, and I mean a TON….we’re talking up to 3 at a time and like 20 in the span of 2 minutes! And even better, DALL’S PORPOISES CAME TO PLAY (would you really play with a predator that can, and has killed your kind??) with the whales!!!! The porpoises were darting around with the whales, even following some of them directly. It looked like a blast, and was such an amazing sight to see two beautiful species interacting like that. Definitely a top 3 moment for me!! That was the most exciting whale adventure for the day, but after a slight wrong turn south at False Bay, we headed north with them and saw some great foraging behavior. After docking at Jones Island tonight, we got to enjoy a warm dinner, leftover birthday cake (some of us may or may not have skipped right to the leftover frosting…), stargazing, and….RACOONS! I know I should be used to how cute they are and accept them for the dirty pests most people see them as, but they climbed up on our boat and were just SO CUTE! They’d press their little faces up against the glass and peer in, we’d scare them away (well, not all of us), and then they’d return for more fun. It was adorable. Granted, now we have to sleep with all our hatches closed since one did attempt to climb in to cuddle with Jason. All in all, a terrific day!