Whale Watching in Langley

We saw several California Gray whales on Friday and Saturday, but being the skipper of WaveGuide, it was difficult for me to run the boat and get a photo or two at the same time. At one point a whale surfaced immediately in front of the boat, and I immediately shut down the engines so as not to injure the whale if he (she?) went under the boat. By the time I got outside with my camera, the whale was gone. Oh, well. So for your viewing pleasure, I've done the next best thing and attached this picture I took last year in the Queen Charlottes of a humpback whale.

Unfortunately, the trip was not without adventure. When I left the marina yesterday morning, I heard the sound of something flapping in my starboard side engine compartment. I thought it might have been a fender line or something, but when I opened the engine compartment, I saw water accumulating in a rather alarming fashion. The propshaft seal (which doesn't normally rotate) had seized around the shaft. As it spun with the propshaft, it broke off the water hoses that kept the shaft lubed. I limped back into Langley, and with Gary's help managed to get the broken hoses plugged. Gary also was kind enough to stay close on the trip back, just in case I had further difficulties.

So, my mission for this morning is to arrange for repairs, which unfortunately won't be cheap. I have to get WaveGuide hauled out of the water to pull the shaft to replace the seal. Oh well, boating is not for the faint of heart or faint of wallet!