Just for whale watchers

Each spring and early summer I try to make an effort to go whale watching from the shore of the Oregon coast. The past 3 spring trips I have also been fortunate enough to be invited on board one of the many research vessels in the area to view the whales up close. None of those trips have produced a whale sighting! I have actually had better luck with my binoculars sighting whales from the shoreline.

Oregon has some fantastic coastal parks and recreation areas that have numerous whale watching platforms. Many marine biologists offer to man those platforms as guides to people coming out to the coast to catch a glimpse of the whale migration. The service they provide is invaluable.

Now I only wish the weather would get better for my trip. The forecast for the next 4 days is nothing but rain.

The weather has been damp in the northwest

Rain, rain and more rain, so is the story of the northwest coast of the USA. It is June already and I think I have only seen one day of clear blue sky in the last 10 days. Even the Memorial Day weekend was cold and rainy. I had to delay a trip to the coast because of the weather last weekend and I have been itching to go for months now. I had been hoping to catch some of the whale migration off the coast.

Planning ahead

If you have ever been out on the ocean in a small craft then you know the importance of boating navigation. It is no laughing matter to get out on the ocean without a depth finder or communication to the mainland. I should know, the boat I was in had just narrowly missed hitting a reef that was only 5 feet below the surface but with the small swells the reef came within inches of slicing the boat open. This happened several years ago when I was a teen and I will never forget the panicked look on my uncles' face. Ever since then I have been a big fan of electronic gizmo's for marine use. Whenever I climb aboard a boat I am always asking if there is a depth finder on board along with the mandatory life jackets.