August 14 - Johnstone Strait to Port Harvey and an unexpected close encounter

This morning, we said good-bye to Eileen, Bill and Casca.  We have spent two months together and every day was a good one. We followed their boat, Ceilidh I, out of the harbour and when our boats turned to take different paths, waved good-bye from our respective bows.

Ceilidh I recedes in the distance

Then we were on our way to Port Harvey, a 5.5-hour trip.  We were on heightened alert because we had not previously traveled in the infamous Johnstone Strait and we were on our own.  Johnstone Strait can be very nasty when the winds kick up and there was a strong wind warning due to start some time this afternoon.  We checked the currents and winds and headed into alternating fog and clear skies.

About three hours into our journey, we had an unbelievable experience.  A Humpback whale came up under our boat, striking the portside bow (left-side at the front).  We had seen dolphins earlier in the day but no whales.  Shortly before the strike, Rob spotted a whale-monitoring zodiac boat and so was watching closely for whales but could see none.  The impact jolted the boat.  I ran to the stern (rear of the boat) with my binoculars, expecting to eventually see a big log floating behind us and waiting to hear signs that the propeller was damaged.  I was shocked and upset to see a Humpback whale breaching in the water about 30 meters behind our boat.  Rob motioned to the "whale monitor", a very nice young woman named Robin and she motored over to our boat.  We discussed what had happened and she was reassuring.  She did not know where the whale would come up and this had prevented her from traveling nearer to our boat to warn us about it.  Fortunately, we had been traveling at low speed, the whale did not make contact with our propeller and when I saw it breach behind the boat, the fluke (tail) looked to be fine (very important, apparently).  Perhaps it was a glancing blow; I really hope so.  In any event, Robin radioed her colleague, further up the strait, asking her to identify the whale (they know all of the whales in this area).  She said they would photograph and check it for injury and she agreed to call us on the VHF radio with an update.  We did not hear from her but it is possible that we were out of range when she tried to contact us.  In the aftermath, I remain shocked that in such a large body of water, a whale would come up under our boat and worried that the whale was injured.  At Port Harvey, we are finally docked and having a well-needed drink.   I will try to follow up on the whale and if I have any news, I‘ll share it here.  Apparently, Killer whales have a good sense of nearby boats and will avoid them but Humpback whales are not blessed with the same sensitivity or inclination.  I just hope that the whale is ok.
Evening update:  After a pizza at the Port Harvey marina cafe (very good), we worked on tomorrow's route.  We double and triple-checked our calculations and made a Plan A (Johnstone Strait, if the winds are low) and Plan B (a more circuitous and protected route that requires us to traverse three sets of rapids at just the right time).  This has taken until 10:30 p.m. and we are exhausted but ready to go in the morning.