Winter 2001
Mar 17, 2001	Save Our Shores Scopes Out Their New Vessel
Mar 14, 2001	"the thrill of a lifetime..."
Mar 3, 2001	Comerica, Mating Grays and Risso's!
Feb 25, 2001	We Needed the Rain, but These Folks Came a Long Way!
Feb 14, 2001	Fourteen Fabulous Weddings on Monterey Bay
Feb 5, 2001	The Dance of Life
Jan 28, 2001	We Could Kiss Every One of You!
Jan 26, 2001	Our New Catamaran is Here!
Jan 16, 2001	A Day of Reflection: What Is, Was & Will Be
Jan 1, 2001	The Real New Millenium Begins!
Dec. 28, 2000	The Gray Whales are Here!
Dec. 24, 2000	Peace and Joy

3/17/2001: Save Our Shores Scopes Out Their New Vessel

We had a terrific cruise today. We had several of the women from Save Our Shores out with us so we could conspire on a fund-raiser cruise Sanctuary Cruises has donated to them. This is not uncommon for us. Steph and I believe you can claim to protect the environment or you can get out there and do it. We choose to do it and the best way we can think of is to support the groups we admire. These are organizations that fight to protect nature as well as those who work to make lives better for kids.
Save Our Shores is our kind of organization. Direct, hard working and clear in their mission. We have given them and their volunteers free cruises since we started Sanctuary Cruises and as we have grown, so has our commitment to them. David Helvarg is an award-winning author and producer of documentaries for Smithsonian, Audubon and more. His new book, which is soon to be released and already receiving acclaim from reviewers is called "Blue Frontier - Saving America's Living Seas." Anne Rowley at Save Our Shores knew we wanted to do a fund-raising cruise for them with our new catamaran "Princess of Whales." She called and burbled along like a happy brook,wondering whether a book signing cruise with David Helvarg on board might be possible. Gee, a whale watching cruise with the author of a book that "takes readers on an adventure-filled tour of America's last great wilderness range." Does that fit with our mission at Sanctuary Cruises? You bet!
So stay tuned for this. It will most likely be in early June and if you are on our email list, you will get an invitation to this cruise which will sell out well before it sails.
I also mentioned our affection for making the lives of kids better, which dovetails perfectly with our belief that in taking kids out onto the sea and introducing them to its wonders, we can help plant the seeds of marine conservation in them. Someone who agrees with us is Lesley Ewing. For the third year in a row, Lesley has provided a $2,000.00 grant to us through the Ewing Vanguard Trust. We sign it over to the Lyceum of Monterey County and they select the kids and arrange the trips out on the Monterey Bay with us. Then we discount the cruises, so we can take more kids out. We are elated at the chance to transport these kids into our world. Many of them would never get out there any other way, but over the years, we've been able to take several of them on multiple cruises. Not much can compare with a little guy walking up to me in Safeway and announcing, "Hi Captain! I was out on your boat!" Then introducing me to his mother while he beamed and recounted what we saw out there where land is far behind.
It isn't because we are fat cats and have money falling out of our pockets that we do these things. We have big expenses with our boats and huge responsibilities. Even so, we live life for today. We work to protect things that matter. We live a fairly frugal life and we know that in giving to the organizations that count, we're doing something that gives us joy. I guess you could say it's a selfish pleasure for us. It certainly provides us with wonderful company on our boats, such as the brilliant and dedicated women from Save Our Shores, as well as an abundance of like-minded people who enjoy sharing an adventure such as whale watching with the marvelous gray whales as they head back north.

3/14/2001: "the thrill of a lifetime..."

Updates are written by Heidi unless otherwise noted. We have had Princess of Whales about a month and a half and it still seems like a dream. The weather was cruddy for a few weeks, which put a damper on things, but then it cleared up and we were rockin'! Last weekend, we had people from all over join us at Moss Landing Harbor. There were folks from England, the midwest, Australia, San Jose, San Francisco... even Monterey, Santa Cruz and Watsonville! We had dear friends out with us as well as people who may well become dear friends. Everyone was in high spirits and shared our enthusiasm for our new boat. They appreciate the fact that we love our work and have put everything on the line to purchase this incredible vessel that adds so much to the joy of whale watching and special charters.
On Saturday, we saw a big pod of common dolphins which made a dramatic turn and headed our way to play with us. Squeals could be heard throughout the boat as the dolphins zipped past our bows, surfed behind us on our wake and exploded out of the water in happy bursts! We also had a couple of gray whales that were motoring north so fast it was hard to believe they were grays, which normally cruise around 4 knots.
It was a beautiful day, we were able to show off some of the Monterey Bay's best sea life and a lot of people went home glowing from the experience. Here is what one wrote about his day on the Bay:

Dear Heidi and Steph,
I just wanted to take a minute to thank you and your crew for the thrill of a lifetime that I had yesterday (3/11/01) on the whale watching cruise. ...your crew was outstanding in taking care of the passengers and all their needs - that includes the seasick ones as well as the salty dogs who reveled in that glorious day on the water. In particular, I wanted to thank Jeremy who most graciously helped attend to my son.
Continued success in your new found adventure/life's work.
Paul Kovacik

This bears mentioning: Our crew is exceptional. As Paul said, some folks get seasick. When someone is sick, how many people remember being kindly cared for by the crew? And how many boats have twice the amount of crew mandated by the Coast Guard? Just us, as far as we know. Paul mentioned Jeremy by name because he was so caring in tending to Paul's son. Jeremy is the son of our mate, Captain Danny Cordova, and the two of them are great shipmates! At the end of the trips, it isn't uncommon to hear people thank them individually for having added to their adventure. This is so important to us, having crew that treats our folks as we do. It took a lot of trial and error, but we have found some real winners. This also includes Deirdre Hall. Deirdre works for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary office here. She is acquiring sea time to sit for her captain's license and since I know what a woman can go through in the maritime industry (not all bad, but certainly not all good!), I am very happy she is working part of her weekends with us. I used to ask myself, back when I worked on tugboats and had a sour, depressing crew, "Where is my happy little boat?" Well, she and her happy little sister are in Moss Landing Harbor!
Sunday, I spotted a gray whale blow off our port side. I was up top and I radioed Steph. He told our passengers about it, but elected to keep heading out, looking for multiples. Whales that are in the company of others tend to be more comfortable with boats around. I kept telling him about the one whale and finally he turned that way. Soon we were surrounded by them! There were two to our starboard side, one was behind us, then it was two, then a third popped up with them. A decent swell was running, but the catamaran allowed us to turn any direction without pitching people all over the decks as a monohull might.Princess of Whales doesn't flatten the water, but she sure does make for a much more comfortable ride. It doesn't hurt that she provides plenty of room to spread out and relax, either. In fact, one family brought an entire birthday party onboard! They took over an area of tables in the main cabin and made it their own with decorations, platters of foods and drinks.
Our reservations are growing with the approach of spring, so Princess of Whales will be running on some weekdays soon. She will start with Fridays, but she runs any day we have a minimum of 30 reservations, so if you have a small group, let us know!

3/3/2001: Comerica, Mating Grays and Risso's!

Saturday, we got a respite from a series of storms blasting through California, so we headed out to see what was up. The pressure was on because several employees of Comerica Bank joined us for whale watching after reading a cool article on us in the Comerica Times. Called "Whale of a Loan," the article detailed how our loan officer, Danny Braga, and his team at Comerica worked very hard to help us secure an SBA loan to buy the Princess of Whales, our new catamaran. These people had originally signed up to go out on another boat, but the article convinced them to change their minds. Half the party went out with us and half of them on the other boat. So heading out, we found conditions were mild for the cat and the ride delightful. We headed for the transect line where the grays most often cross the Monterey Bay. We are often treated to sightings before we get there but not on this day! Steph ran the trip and I spotted, but even up on my favorite seat, three stories above the water sitting on top of the bridge, I didn't see a darned thing for several miles. Then we got out by a couple of other boats and sure enough, there were a few blows from two whales. When they sounded, we never saw them again, even though we hovered in the same area. Our Comerica passengers got a good look at their coworkers on the other boat. They chuckled over how they'd been told to bring lunches with them on that boat, while we had a full galley with hot and cold food and drinks on ours.
Clearly they were enjoying their trip since they stayed on the sundeck almost the entire time, but they were there to see whales! The other boats headed in and we decided to cover all bases by working out a few miles to the northwest. No whales, although Steph spotted several dozen Risso's dolphins which we got great looks at and photographs of. But what about the whales?!
We made our way to the center of the bay and it was our sharp-eyed new employee, Captain Danny Cordova, who spotted some blows ahead. Sure enough, gray whales. And not one or two, but at least three and maybe four. Best of all, they were mating and put on an exciting show! As I announced over the PA, "If you haven't quite figured out the birds and the bees, get ready, because this is a larger than life experience!"
The whales stayed at the surface for minutes at a time. They are highly tactile. The males rub and stroke the female as they try to get into position to mate. Often one male supports the female from below while another male mounts her. Several times, they stuck their heads out of the water in lazy spyhops. They blew, rolled, threw their flukes up into the air slowly, fanned their pectoral flippers out of the water...
Conditions were terrific compared with outside the bay and down the coast, where our friend Leon reported he encountered some nasty wind and rough water. We were able to just sit at a respectful distance and watch without bothering the whales at all. When they dove and surfaced on the other side of us, Steph turned the boat slightly, but we just told everyone to go to the other side. With a boat with a great viewing area forward on her main deck, inside her main cabin, outside on her aft deck both covered and not AND up on the sundeck, they had plenty of room. It was a magnificent display of nature at its best.
There were even a dozen or more Risso's with them, cruising in very close to the whales in what appeared to be a casual act of voyeurism. People laughed, took pictures, fired questions one after the other. Everyone got long, good looks at these mysterious animals we so rarely are able to see in such a slow motion mode. As we finally eased away, there were broad smiles on everyone's faces. And the Comerica group? They finally left the upper deck to go below for hot drinks and to read some of the many articles on us and the whales in the main cabin. I caught up with them there and asked if they felt they'd gotten the better trip. Oh yes, I was told, and since they would all be meeting for dinner that night, everyone was going to hear just how much better!
In addition to several families, a few smaller groups and a couple of adventurous individuals, we had the honor of being joined by a gentleman who served in the Coast Guard during WWII when the Coast Guard was folded into the navy. He told me stories of his duty up in the Aleutian Islands, including being thrown off his vessel when it made a sharp turn. But here he was, over 50 years later, telling the story. I passed this onto Steph who invited the man to visit him on the bridge. We both thanked him for his service, as we often do with veterans. We all appreciate what these guys and women did for us, but how often do we get, or take, a chance to say it? I went outside and chatted with his wife and daughter, until Danny came out to request a photograph of our visiting captain. Yep, there he was, sitting in the captain's chair, beaming. Stuff like that makes you feel great. It's a tiny payback for a debt we can never really repay at all.

2/25/2001: We Needed the Rain, but These Folks Came a Long Way!

This past week, we made up for the dry and often summer-like winter we've had. One weather system after another has come through, often with snorting winds and rough seas. Rain has been torrential on occasion. Several people who had made long trips to the Monterey Bay just to join us whale watching were in danger of going home disappointed. Yesterday, with the wind whistling through the sailboats' halyards and the Bay churned up by it, we canceled our trip. Today just had to be better and I am happy to report it was. We had a good-sized swell running, but the sun came out and we were able to fall in with some of the early northbound gray whales for a tiny part of their migration. They rewarded our passengers with several photo opportunities as they raised their wonderful heart-shaped flukes to dive and time after time, they cruised along at the surface, showing off their barnacle-encrusted bodies. Okay, so we needed the rain. But we also needed to get out on the water and see our whales. A lot of people are flying home tonight with great memories of time well spent, in the company of California gray whales.

2/14/2001: Fourteen Fabulous Weddings on Monterey Bay

Princess of Whales had a special charter for Valentine's Day: 14 couples who won radio station KBTU's contest with their essays on why they wanted to get married on the Monterey Bay. Also joining us were the wedding couples' friends and family and a whole bunch of KBTU's staff. They filled the boat's enormous buffet area with food, drink and two cakes the size of Montana. I strung the boat with several hundred feet of rope lights so that she had a bit of a Taj Mahal look about her. Everyone on that boat was ready to have a great time and they sure did! We will post pictures soon and they'll amaze you. Women were dressed in everything from elegant, jewelled wedding gowns to simple but lovely suits. Men wore everything from white tuxedos with tails to a Zoot suit. In a first of many firsts, one of the couples that was joined in marriage was a gay couple. There was a strong burst of applause when they were introduced; it was an evening of warmth and fellowship without judgements.
KBTU deserves credit for creating a lovely celebration of the heart. They chose as one winning couple people who have been married 25 years; they renewed their vows. Also, their was a young couple who had married only recently but her father had been ill at the time, so he couldn't give her away. Her father was the one renewing his vows with her mother after 25 years of marriage. So he was able to give his daughter away this time! Try and top that! We wish them all long and loving marriages.

2/5/2001: The Dance of Life

If you were out with us on the weekend of February 3rd and 4th, you already know what an astounding event it was. We had the best weather, warm and sunny. The Bay and ocean were marvelous, there were thousands of dolphins dancing on our bows and gray whales were making their way south, spewing their heart shaped plumes into the air to the thrill of us all. It was the weekend for the AT & T Pro-Am Golf Tournament at Pebble Beach and while this often brings cruddy conditions that have been dubbed "At & T Weather," it didn't happen this year.
The weekend is a blur, especially since it came right after my first round of activities as a member of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC). We had quite an event last week: The gathering of the directors and coordinators of all of the country's sanctuaries, including the national head, Dan Basta. We were introduced to a gem of a legacy of Bill Clinton's presidency, the newly proposed Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Imagine diving in a cove and finding 11 sponge species, 9 of them brand new! Picture a remote island beach strewn with sleeping Monk Seals whose entire population on the globe is believed to number only 1400 animals. A great slide presentation on the new sanctuary was highlighted by thoughtful commentary from Hawaiians associated with the sanctuary; one woman reported that although the Hawaiian Monk Seal is so closely identified with the roots of Hawaii, she had only seen one in her lifetime.
Possibly one of the highlights of the SAC gathering for me was to have Andy Palmer, coordinator of the Olympic National Marine Sanctuary, join us aboard our new catamaran for a whale watching cruise. His sanctuary is where the Makah Indians killed a three year old female gray whale with an elephant gun. Andy knew about our efforts up there to help the Makah start a whale watching and ecotour business. He saw what Steph and I have done in less than two years. And he promised to take the message back home with him that the Makah missed out on a great opportunity. He says he feels the Makah will eventually come around. We can only hope so.
We also had two women who work at the Monterey Bay Aquarium join us. They call themselves "The Aquarium Brats" and they are lively and funny people who, until Saturday, had never been surrounded by dolphins. They were up on the foredeck; they squealed, laughed and yelled for half an hour or more! "We have watched this from the aquarium deck," one said, "but never imagined it could be like this out here!"
We also had a dear woman out with us for fun this time, even though we first met when we conducted a cruise to bury her mother at sea. We had old friends from my hometown join us and several of our former passengers arrived wearing their Sanctuary Cruises caps, anxious to celebrate our new boat with us. On yesterday's cruise, we had FIVE licensed captains aboard! Several joined us to check out the new girl in town. And as we passed by the Monterey whale watching boats, a few of their skippers called over to compliment us on our new baby. One, impressed by her grandeur, asked if we were serving steak and lobster in the snack bar. Another skipper, who had missed an informal party we'd had when Steph first arrived with the cat, radioed warm and kind compliments. Pretty classy. He also said he had recently looked over our website and was impressed. He quipped, "Heck, if I was a tourist, I'd go out with you!"
So that was our second weekend. We are thrilled to be in Moss Landing. It's great having a boat selling fresh fish right behind us at the dock (several of our passengers shopped there yesterday and so did we). It's fun wandering through the antique shops as I did briefly after we got in, so I could take pictures for the web site. Many of our passengers headed off to Phil's Eatery and the Whole Enchilada for early dinners before driving home. We all are in agreement that Moss Landing and Sanctuary Cruises is quite a combination.

1/28/01: We Could Kiss Every One of You!

Our very first weekend running our new, luxury catamaran has come to an end and it was the stuff of dreams. We had spirited people join us both days. We had a spectacular time introducing them to the Monterey Bay and the gray whales (Saturday and Sunday) and also to the killer whales and Risso's dolphins that we saw on Sunday. My first opportunity to dock our new girl, who is 65 feet long and 30 feet wide was on Saturday with over 110 people on board. She is a marvel to operate and it was a joy to command her. Steph and I trade off, running every other trip, so he also had the opportunity to share in the terrific experience. We would like to thank everyone who joined us for our first weekend: The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary educational outreach team and the many schools that joined them; the Sierra Club's Inner City Outreach program that takes kids out of the city to experience nature (a very special thank-you to Shabbir Latif who works so hard to make sure this program is a success); Jack Laws and his California Academy of Sciences field journal sketching class (Jack brings big time magic to our boats and we are sure he brought us Orcas today!) and the friends, new and old, who are helping us grow and continue to excel in providing a great experience on the waters of this National Marine Sanctuary. We also had my brother Kai and his daughter, Holly aboard with us for our first cruise. They drove all the way from Sonoma so they could help out and boy, did they!
Pat Riley, a revered NBA coach, said, "It isn't enough to be the best of the best. You have to be the only one." We think we are and we could not do it without your support, so thank you. We could just grab your cheeks and kiss every one of you!

1/26/01: Our New Catamaran is Here!

Our new boat arrived Tuesday, January 23rd. Steph, our mechanic and great friend Rick and Russ, our great friend who also runs the big power catamarans for Blue and Gold Fleet on the San Francisco Bay were the delivery crew. Somehow, it appears my being senior captain of Sanctuary Cruises has relegated me to handling more paperwork and web work and less boat work! The guys brought Princess of Whales up to Morro Bay from Huntington Beach, then Russ went home. Steph and Rick worked on her systems and made some changes, then they brought her up to Monterey on the eve of my birthday. I got a call as they approached the harbor. It was Steph. "I was just wondering, what would you like for your birthday? How about a cat!?"
Face it, a million dollar catamaran is one fine birthday present and it would have moved me to tears if it weren't for the fact that I am still on the hook along with Steph to pay for her. I rushed down to the harbor to see her come in and help tend docklines. They were about a half hour away and I was getting close to the harbor when I realized I had forgotten the most important thing for her. Every time I have visited Costco, I have purchased a several more strands of ropelights for the boat. I called Steph and asked where they were. Too close, they would beat me to the harbor if I turned around for the ropelights.
"Just stop!" I said. "I want to see her come in but she has to have ropelights tonight!" I bolted back to the house. Half an hour later, I was at the wharf and had a clear view over the breakwater. I called Steph and told them to come on in. A few minutes later, there she was. It was dark but her starboard light and steaming lights were visible, as was the incredible expanse of windows of her main cabin, which was lighted. Even in the dark, rainy night, the vision was enough to make me gasp. As she rounded the breakwater and made her approach to the wharf, her turbo-charged engines purring with a throaty hum, I thought I might faint. Rick casually walked out of the wheelhouse and sauntered across her upper deck toward the stairs to the main deck. The boat passed in front of the wharf and then did a slow turn so that her starboard side was parallel to the dock. I saw Steph's head pop out of the wheelhouse window briefly, then heard her engines engage in reverse and she came toward me. I have docked a lot of boats. I have tied up tugs and barges and other vessels thousands of times. But when Rick tossed me the bitter end of a line and I snapped it around the cleat in clean figure eights, then called out, "Headline! You can work against it!" I felt as though I might just faint at the thrill of it all.
How often, in one's lifetime, does one tie up her new baby, a luxury power catamaran the likes of which Monterey Bay has never seen before? How often does her husband, love of her life, deliver her from her maiden voyage and artfully dock her in a space more often used by vessels one quarter her size? It was a magical, wonderful experience. When she was securely tied up and her engines shut down, a few of the guys who also run boats here came by to see her. Their reaction was the same reaction we have seen from everyone since, including tourists, commercial fishermen, the guys at the boatyard who thought they'd seen everything and even the Coast Guard! They stand in awe, then walk up to her with a glazed expression, shaking their heads at the grand spectacle before them. Many give us a double thumbs up, which I like to think of as meaning, "Ya done good!"
My birthday was spent rushing around town gathering foods and beverages for a very casual open house that night. We hosted a very mixed bag. Danny Braga, the Comerica banker who spearheaded our loan for the Princess was there and it was his first time to see her in person. He was ecstatic! He helped our party by strewing ropelights for us with carefree abandon. Joe Schmidt, our friend whom we met at our first Chamber of Commerce function and who has been an integral part of our attaining of this dream, was there with his family. Many of the competitions' skippers and deckhands were there and they very graciously wished us well, then made every side remark you could imagine, such as, "Your boat is beautiful, she is truly awesome, and I hope you realize you have left us in the dust!" We sure didn't buy this boat to hurt them; we bought her to do the kind of business we want to do. Top drawer, with spirit.
We had people from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, hotels, the Monterey Film Commission, Asilomar Conference Center and more. We even had my 2 sisters and 2 of my nieces in attendance! Mike Maiorana, who built Breakwater Cove Marina here and whose grandson had just had emergency surgery, arrived late after leaving the hospital. He and Phyllis are pure Monterey; kind and warm Sicilians who adopted us soon after our arrival. It was a pretty neat turnout made more special having these people to share our excitement with.
Yesterday, Steph and I took her over to our new home at Moss Landing Harbor. I drove (finally!) and as we left the harbor, I sounded the horn. It is deep and powerful, more like a freight train than a car horn. In no time, I was shocked to find we were going over 15 knots. It felt like a slow idle, yet 15 knots is faster than almost any boat on the bay and in rough conditions, its well over their max. I fiddled with her throttles, pulling her back to 14.
"Want to race?" I heard over Channel 80 on the VHF radio. It was Greg who was running an early trip. He'd been one of the first to welcome her to the dock when she arrived.
"Sure!" I replied, "Let me put her in gear." We had a good laugh and off he went toward Point Pinos and off we went to Moss Landing, "Halfway Around the Bay," as I have begun describing this cool little town. As we made our way to our slip, we got the same treatment as we'd gotten from Monterey. Waves, smiles and thumbs up. The cat sidled up to the dock as though to say she liked the fit. We do, too. What a great birthday present and to think it only took 5 months, an enormous amount of paperwork, the loss of 3 pant sizes (for me), computations, meetings, flights, rental cars, sea trials, phone calls and 3 in the morning wakeups riddled with terror and here we are. On the verge of a brand new day for Monterey Bay. We start trips tomorrow. As I say often enough on the boat, "Holy moly!"

1/16/01: A Day of Reflection: What Is, Was & Will Be

Last week, I received a letter from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary congratulating me for my appointment to the Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC). When first invited, I explained that with our second boat on the horizon and all of the work running a business with two boats, Steph and I are just incredibly busy. But even then, that little voice inside was saying, "You work hard to understand the Sanctuary. You fight to protect it. Here's your chance to do so much more!" I filled out the application and warned them, as if they don't already know, that I am a flaming liberal and dead-set against whaling in any form. I also cautioned them I have no time, suggesting if I must serve that I be an alternate. I turned in my application and a few weeks later, was surprised to receive a call from Bill Douros, superintendent of the Sanctuary.
Bill said I was chosen to serve as an alternate on the SAC. He said my appointment would have to be approved by Washington, DC, so I thought I was undoubtedly going to get cut from the team. The Sanctuaries are under NOAA which is under the Department of Commerce, which we have railed against for the Makah Indian gray whale hunt. Surely there must be a list of anti-whaling people who are personas non grata, but if there is, I slipped through the cracks. I knew it when I got some emails from friends and even a few folks I don't know, all folks who apparently read the newspaper more often that I. I'm on the SAC.
I am honored. Steph and I both believe, to our cores, than one is part of the solution or part of the problem. It will be hellish making time for the SAC, but I am going to do it and I intend to do it well!
In the "What Was" category, I received word today that a dear friend's mother died in early January. I only met her mom once, when I offered to take care of her for the afternoon. I knew she was quite ill and thought she might doze while I read. Hardly. When asked what she might like to do, she smiled slyly and replied, "We could go out for ice cream!" So we took a long drive up Carmel Valley. We talked of her many adventures. We got ice cream cones that melted all over us and she let Fluke lick her fingers afterward. We had plans to go to Ross to shop for a dress or to hit the church rummage sale around the corner from my friend's house on our next visit, but she left soon after to live with her sister in Montana.
She lived several more months, but they were increasingly painful Hospice workers were marvelous. They were there for her; they administered morphine, predicted when the end might come and they helped the family prepare to lose its matriarch. When her time came, they helped her soul take wing and they eased the awful grief for those behind. I am so deeply appreciative of what hospice workers do and I marvel at how well they do it. Maybe you have never needed hospice's services. Maybe you never will. But know this: There has got to be a special heaven for them when they move on and people who support their work will go somewhere every bit as good.
We have contributed whale watching tickets to the fundraising efforts of Hospice up in Santa Cruz, but we wanted to do more. With the addition of Princess of Whales, our new catamaran, I called Hospice of Monterey and suggested we conspire on a grand fundraising cruise for them. Between the SAC and supporting hospice, I am pretty much where I want to be. Fighting the good fight.
Today, we finalized the loan for Princess of Whales, which brings me to "What Will Be." I have always known I would make a great philanthropist. I am generous with causes I believe in and have never let the excuses of not enough time or money get in the way. It is the same with Steph. We look at people rolling in money who squander it on a whole lot of nothing, but they claim they don't have enough to give to others. True enough. They are paupers. So today, as we signed our names on a hundred dotted lines and put ourselves in so much debt that if it were dirt, we would surely be in Australia, I silently assured myself this is a great day. We will make our new boat a smashing success. We will let the whales sing their ancient songs to our passengers' souls so that they might champion these creatures who have no voice on land. We will have spectacular events on her and we will thrive. And as we do, so will the groups we support. The Boys and Girls Clubs, Hospice, Save Our Shores, SPCA, The Marine Mammal Center, The Nature Conservancy... The list is long, time is short but here are the words we live by: If not me, who? If not now, when?

01/01/01: The Real New Millenium Begins!

We have closed one millenium and opened another overnight. What this year will bring is something we have pondered frequently. We saw common dolphins yesterday and they cavorted around us to the delight of our passengers. Then we saw Risso's dolphins in what had to be their most comfortable, hanging at the surface behavior we have ever seen, affording tremendous photo opportunities. And we saw gray whales, their heart shaped blows and heart shaped flukes drawing admiring squeals and gasps from our morning passengers (a wonderful assortment of old and new friends). Best of all, we had our first gray whale breach of the season and it was right in front of us and spectacular.
Earlier, we had taken a family out to conduct a burial at sea for a gentleman who had lived a long life well. Following their cheerful send off and singing of Happy Birthday, since it was his birthday, a cup of coffee was tossed into the Bay in honor of the fact he never went anywhere without a steaming cup in his hand. Gray whales were ahead of us, and the family was anxious to see them closer, so after the ceremony, we worked out by Point Pinos and they were treated to several sightings before we had to turn around. His widow was elated; she kept saying it was just great. One fellow told us it was as close to perfect as they're likely to ever get. That's the kind of day it was.
Our afternoon trip was a charter for a wedding party staying at Asilomar. I had really wanted to show our morning whale watch party some blue whales because I thought that would be one great way to end this chapter of time, but every time I headed out to the area over the submarine canyon's edge where they feed, we found more wonders close by and slowed to visit with them. Also, several times we left animals as other vessels neared to lessen the impact on them. That's the benefit of three hour trips.
But nothing stood in the way of our afternoon group, so off we bounded for the land of the blue whales of summer, whales that have decided to stay here for however long. We were not disappointed! Not only did blue whales appear, there was one that fluked dramatically as it sounded. Everyone on Sanctuary went crazy with pure joy. One guy watched the blues through a camera and got several photos, but when he put the camera down when we were watching a gray whale, he was astounded at what he saw, "It's so BIG," he yelled out. Imagine what he'd have said had he not looked at the blues through the camera!
And that is how we ended the Year 2000. Happy, healthy, the richer for the people and the sea and the life in the sea that surrounds us. Happy New Millenium to you.

12/28/2000: The Gray Whales are Here!

We have seen gray whales the past few weeks. One here, two there. As well as up to 9 blue whales just two days ago (they're our summer whales. but you'd never know it this year). Today, though, the gray whale migration kicked into high gear! We were watching whales 15 minutes out of the harbor. Then more appeared a bit to the north, steaming our way. Out past Point Pinos, we saw several more. While much of the country is besieged by rotten weather, we had folks in T-shirts, dabbing on sunscreen. Common dolphins made a spectacle of themselves and had most of our passengers leaning over the rails, watching them, grinning like fools. Days like this are why we do what we do. Trips are 3 hours long which allows us to cruise and watch several different groups of whales as well as dolphins. It also allows us to minimize the impact on whales. On days when there are fewer whales close to Monterey, the boats running two hour trips will practically surround the unfortunate whale that appears close in. We wouldn't like being a whale surrounded by boats and doubt they like it either. It's nice to go out farther and visit more whales.

12/24/2000: Peace and Joy

Christmas is a really special time for us. We don't work Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. We draw inward, reflecting on years past. We miss family and friends who are gone and this year, my mother is part of that swirling energy in the universe as well.
We remember and celebrate the missing faces and we anticipate the new ones. Life does indeed goes on.
It is our hope that you and your loved ones are warm and safe this holiday season. All of our best goes out to you. Heidi, Steph, First Officer Fluke, Sanctuary and Princess of Whales