Whale's Cove
The Storm
I held the vessel’s wheel steady, guiding the large ship with the ease and confidence of many years of training. Actually, more like a whole life time of training. From my birth to the present I have practically live on this ship. My father was the previous Captain, guiding this very ship until his heart attack three years ago.
And now I Captain the Lady’s Love, a popular ship for passengers to purchase a seat and catch glimpses of mystic whales and angelic dolphins and every time I hear their surprised gasps and sighs I feel like the little five year old I once was, seeing my first pod of orcas as my father steered the ship and my fiery hair frizzed with the Ocean’s salt.
The aquatic animals still make my heart sigh in awe, even to this day.
Smiling, I press the intercom button I address my passengers, “Good morning, it’s about six o’ clock and already the dolphins are out to play. If you look forward you will notice the sleek mammals riding the ship’s waves. In just a few minutes we should be in the area where grey whales are known to breech or, as I liked to call it when I was little, ‘play peek-a-boo.’”
The ship’s passengers laughed and cheered, all watching with wide eyes as the dolphins raced the ship.
The smile still curving my lips I continued my morning speech, “The place we are traveling to this morning is called Whale’s Cove. Many species of whales are known to pose for pictures in this cove, hence the name. So get ready to pull out your cameras and video taking devices because just on the horizon you can see the shadows of Whale’s Cove through the morning fog.”
And what a fog it was. The closer we got to Whale’s Cove the harder it was to see, which is weird for this time of year.
“Hey, Captain?”
I look from my perch down to a little boy of about eight.
“Yes?” I gave the child a smile.
“Isn’t it hard to see with the fog? Aren’t we gonna hit something?”
I chuckled and gestured to the stairs that led to the Captains deck, “Come up here, it’s easier to see through the fog when you’re higher up.”
He eagerly climbed up, almost running to where I stood. Stepping back I allowed the boy to stand between me and the wheel, helping him to grip the polished wood and guide the ship.
“Wow,” he sighed, “You can see so far away!”
I laughed and was about to say something when another passenger called out, “Look! I see something over there!”
Turning from the boy I look to the right of the ship.
No, it can’t be.
Orca’s are usually in Alaska this time of year.
As my passengers oohed and ahhed I waited impatiently for the rest of the whale’s pod to come up for air, but they never did, and that worried me more than the fact that the whale wasn’t where it should be.
A lone Orca won’t survive long without the rest of its pod.
Watching the whale circle the ship I slowed our speed to a crawl. When the whale disappeared from sight the little boy ran to the railing to try and see the whale under the water, but the boy slumped when he couldn’t see him. Then, a few seconds after the boy moved from the railing, I gripped the ship’s wheel tightly and gasped as the whale breeched on the left side of the ship. It raised high above the water line so closed to the ship I feared it would tip us over. As it rose up I felt chills roll down my back.
Is it starring at me?
As it lowered back down the whale released air and water from its blowhole, causing the children to scream with pleasure and the adults to complain. Just as the whale fully submerged under the water again a dark cloud opened up and began to pour rain. The wind kicked up and tossed the ship and the waves began to swirl. The sky darkened with even more clouds until you couldn’t see the sun.
My God, what’s happening? I tried to control the ship as much as I could, my passengers beginning to panic.
Why did I give Jerry the day off? He could have at least calmed the passengers down as I fought the ship. Turning to my right I yelled at the boy to go down and find his family just as I felt the water recede from around the boat.
That’s not good.
Turning to look out over the railing the little boy had vacated I watched with fear as the biggest wave I have ever seen rolled with anger toward the boat. When it crashed into the boat I was thrown to the left, the water pushing me over the edge as I heard my passengers scream with fright. I crashed into the cold salty water, my eye burning as I frantically tried to swim up, but the ocean began to swirl around me.
And the last thing I saw before everything went black was the Orca swimming to me, circling my sinking body
And now I Captain the Lady’s Love, a popular ship for passengers to purchase a seat and catch glimpses of mystic whales and angelic dolphins and every time I hear their surprised gasps and sighs I feel like the little five year old I once was, seeing my first pod of orcas as my father steered the ship and my fiery hair frizzed with the Ocean’s salt.
The aquatic animals still make my heart sigh in awe, even to this day.
Smiling, I press the intercom button I address my passengers, “Good morning, it’s about six o’ clock and already the dolphins are out to play. If you look forward you will notice the sleek mammals riding the ship’s waves. In just a few minutes we should be in the area where grey whales are known to breech or, as I liked to call it when I was little, ‘play peek-a-boo.’”
The ship’s passengers laughed and cheered, all watching with wide eyes as the dolphins raced the ship.
The smile still curving my lips I continued my morning speech, “The place we are traveling to this morning is called Whale’s Cove. Many species of whales are known to pose for pictures in this cove, hence the name. So get ready to pull out your cameras and video taking devices because just on the horizon you can see the shadows of Whale’s Cove through the morning fog.”
And what a fog it was. The closer we got to Whale’s Cove the harder it was to see, which is weird for this time of year.
“Hey, Captain?”
I look from my perch down to a little boy of about eight.
“Yes?” I gave the child a smile.
“Isn’t it hard to see with the fog? Aren’t we gonna hit something?”
I chuckled and gestured to the stairs that led to the Captains deck, “Come up here, it’s easier to see through the fog when you’re higher up.”
He eagerly climbed up, almost running to where I stood. Stepping back I allowed the boy to stand between me and the wheel, helping him to grip the polished wood and guide the ship.
“Wow,” he sighed, “You can see so far away!”
I laughed and was about to say something when another passenger called out, “Look! I see something over there!”
Turning from the boy I look to the right of the ship.
No, it can’t be.
Orca’s are usually in Alaska this time of year.
As my passengers oohed and ahhed I waited impatiently for the rest of the whale’s pod to come up for air, but they never did, and that worried me more than the fact that the whale wasn’t where it should be.
A lone Orca won’t survive long without the rest of its pod.
Watching the whale circle the ship I slowed our speed to a crawl. When the whale disappeared from sight the little boy ran to the railing to try and see the whale under the water, but the boy slumped when he couldn’t see him. Then, a few seconds after the boy moved from the railing, I gripped the ship’s wheel tightly and gasped as the whale breeched on the left side of the ship. It raised high above the water line so closed to the ship I feared it would tip us over. As it rose up I felt chills roll down my back.
Is it starring at me?
As it lowered back down the whale released air and water from its blowhole, causing the children to scream with pleasure and the adults to complain. Just as the whale fully submerged under the water again a dark cloud opened up and began to pour rain. The wind kicked up and tossed the ship and the waves began to swirl. The sky darkened with even more clouds until you couldn’t see the sun.
My God, what’s happening? I tried to control the ship as much as I could, my passengers beginning to panic.
Why did I give Jerry the day off? He could have at least calmed the passengers down as I fought the ship. Turning to my right I yelled at the boy to go down and find his family just as I felt the water recede from around the boat.
That’s not good.
Turning to look out over the railing the little boy had vacated I watched with fear as the biggest wave I have ever seen rolled with anger toward the boat. When it crashed into the boat I was thrown to the left, the water pushing me over the edge as I heard my passengers scream with fright. I crashed into the cold salty water, my eye burning as I frantically tried to swim up, but the ocean began to swirl around me.
And the last thing I saw before everything went black was the Orca swimming to me, circling my sinking body