On America’s birthday, we all woke to a warm breakfast of cheesy eggs and homemade bagels. Thinking that we were going to be underway in the next hour or so, we were surprised by Andy’s announcement that we were going to attempt to squeeze some whale/bear viewing before lunch. Split up between two skiffs, we were eager to start our adventure. Andy operated the skiff I was in, and captain Trevor operated the other. After perusing the nearby shores, it didn’t seem too promising that the bears would be coming out for breakfast. Andy slammed our skiff into maximum throttle and we motored out a mile away. At first we saw an innocent sleeping otter, simply floating on its back. While pausing to take advantage of the photo opportunity, we still kept our ears open for any other creatures that might say hello. We skimmed the waters for a little bit longer and there it was…that soft blast of mist in the air: WHALES! The whole skiff was silent, minus the periodic oohs and ahhs. The scene was the epitome of magnificent. There were at least three to five whales feeding all around us; at certain moments it was confusing to decide where to look! Afterwards we all returned to the Island C, enthusiastic to share our photos with others.
We proceeded underway while eating black bean burritos and watching Rush Hour 3. The ship stopped a couple times for people to fish. Jon Sabin caught a humongous ling cod…apparently you’re not supposed to touch its gills or mouth and the only way to pick it up is by its eyes. GROSS. I didn’t think Jon would pick it up for the picture, but he did!
Some of us began to feel queasy again and decided to go to sleep, but those who decided to bite the bullet of seasickness were rewarded by seeing Orcas (killer whales). Andy hadn’t seen Orcas in a few years!
I happened to be one of the nappers, and woke up to an abundance of classic July 4th food: grilled burgers, hotdogs, bbq chicken, grilled pineapple, watermelon, rice crispy treats and homemade chocolate chip bread (desserts were made by Hayley and Emily)— talk about a feast! Once everyone were revived from their food coma, we all crowded in the dark to watch the movie ‘Crash’ (not really an Independence Day movie, but oh well). Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it, but the festivities were not over yet.
We all congregated on the deck to shoot flares that have already expired (don’t worry, parents, it’s totally safe, and Andy notified the Coast Guard ahead of time). Crew leaders shot rocket flares while the rest shot hand flares. We attempted to shoot everything successively and then sang The Star Spangled Banner. It’s 12:30 am and the generator is off. The boat is making absolutely no noise, so I can pretty much hear every single conversation occurring right now. All I see are the soft white rectangles of everyone’s headlamps since there’s no electricity. Some people just pulled a prank on Shane and Melanie (mind you, it’s completely dark right now)— breakfast crew has to wake up in 7 hours— Hayley and Emily are about to attack me…I think it’s time for bed. Hope everyone had a great Independence Day!
-Jasmine
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