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| - | ==== Easter Whale Adventure ==== | ||
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| - | **watsonpilates** \\ | ||
| - | 03/23/08 #4199 | ||
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| - | Today was an affirmation to me that I live in one of the most amazing\\ | ||
| - | locations in the world. | ||
| - | |||
| - | The day began when LeAnne and I loaded our boats and gear before dawn\\ | ||
| - | and headed to South Whidbey Island. The wind was howling and the rain\\ | ||
| - | was pretty steady, and we had no idea what conditions awaited us. The\\ | ||
| - | night before we had talked about heading down to check out a tip from\\ | ||
| - | a friend of LeAnne's who lives in Langley and mentioned that gray\\ | ||
| - | whales had moved into the area. This friend is a rather magical\\ | ||
| - | fellow, and was able to also tell us that if we headed to a point 200\\ | ||
| - | feet of Camano Island at 8:44 the whales would be waiting for us. Good\\ | ||
| - | enough for us. | ||
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| - | We launched from Langley at 8:30 or so and headed towards Camano\\ | ||
| - | Island, crossing what I believe is know as the Saratoga Passage. We\\ | ||
| - | could see white caps in the middle of the channel, and were not sure\\ | ||
| - | if it was within our capabilities. Definitely was the largest\\ | ||
| - | conditions I have yet encountered. We made it about half way there\\ | ||
| - | when Leanne suggested we turn around and surf back a bit, so I could\\ | ||
| - | be sure of my skills before we got into a situation beyond me. Well,\\ | ||
| - | the surfing was good and the biggest waves I have been in yet. LeAnne\\ | ||
| - | has done more, and was really comfortable. I was definitely\\ | ||
| - | experiencing uncharted territory. My rudder jammed and we decided to\\ | ||
| - | go back to shore so I could fix it. We also decided that it was\\ | ||
| - | foolish to try to paddle to Camano, as I had found the previous 30\\ | ||
| - | minutes to be challenging, and it was obviously much bigger further\\ | ||
| - | out. So, we decided that we would just paddle up along Whidbey Island,\\ | ||
| - | staying close to shore and practicing in some tricky current. Fixed\\ | ||
| - | the rudder and off we went. After about 10 minutes of easy paddling I\\ | ||
| - | said to LeAnne, "Wouldn't it be amazing if the whales just showed up\\ | ||
| - | in front of us?" And she said, "Yes, Carolyn, that would be amazing."\\ | ||
| - | And in about 5 seconds we saw a fin. A really big fin. | ||
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| - | In front of us two mature gray whales (big!!) were in shallow water,\\ | ||
| - | maybe 15-20 feet, feasting on sand shrimp. They would roll on their\\ | ||
| - | sides, suck up shrimp,and then blow out the sand. We saw all the good\\ | ||
| - | stuff: fluking, their bodies rolling up and out of the water,and even\\ | ||
| - | a bit of their heads. We sat in calm water, giving them some space,\\ | ||
| - | and watched them for about 30 minutes. We were close enough that we\\ | ||
| - | could smell them (super briny shrimpy smell) and hear the incredible\\ | ||
| - | noises of their feast. They didn't seem to care that we were there,\\ | ||
| - | and only seemed to bothered when a motor boat came by, at which point\\ | ||
| - | they moved on and we headed in. | ||
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| - | It is hard to put the magnificence of the experience into words, but\\ | ||
| - | suffice it to say it was the greatest outdoor moment of my life. It\\ | ||
| - | also affirmed that sometimes the greatest rewards come by not pushing\\ | ||
| - | limits and moving into fearful situations, but by respecting\\ | ||
| - | conditions and honestly assessing the skill level of the group. In\\ | ||
| - | this case, LeAnne did a great job of predicting when I would reach my\\ | ||
| - | limits. I did move into a bit of unchartered territory, but just took\\ | ||
| - | a little bite. And interestingly enough, it was when we let go of the\\ | ||
| - | "goal" of seeing a whale, that we found them. | ||
| - | |||
| - | A big day, on so many levels. When I told the story to my 10-year old\\ | ||
| - | daughter she said, "Well, Mom, the whales didn't like the waves\\ | ||
| - | either. And LeAnne's friend gave you advice to put you in sync with\\ | ||
| - | whales. That's why you both ended up in the same place." Seems so\\ | ||
| - | simple through a child's eyes. | ||
| - | |||
| - | Carolyn Watson | ||
| - | |||
| - | \\ | ||
| - | **Whidbey Whales\\ | ||
| - | lori & beau whitehead** \\ | ||
| - | 03/23/08 #4200 | ||
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| - | We saw the same whales from a friends cabin near Langley on Friday afternoon, in Saratoga\\ | ||
| - | Passage. Awesome that someone paddled with them. I was wishing I had my paddle board\\ | ||
| - | with me. | ||
| - | |||
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