Hello to all,
This day, Thursday, October 02, 2025, during the 2pm outing, will remain engraved in my memory forever.
My personal goal was to reach 300 trips over a season, as no captain had been able to achieve this figure since the introduction of 4 cruises per day in July and August, 3 cruises per day in September/October and 2 cruises per day in June.
What's incredible is that during my 300th outing, we were able to observe all the whales: blue whale, humpback whale, fin whale, minke whale and beluga. Among the captains, we call this the "Grand Slam", because we've seen it all. It's exceptional to be able to accomplish this in a 2-hour outing. Arriving at the site by boat, I asked my customers to take a photo of me surrounded by whales.
And before heading back to the marina, we came across some white-sided dolphins. A rare marine mammal in the marine park. That was the icing on the cake. I was lucky and extremely happy with my cruise.
Physically it's very hard because of the rhythm of the working hours, the weather, the waves, the fog and sometimes few whales. I had prepared myself to do it in terms of my ego, to know if I'm capable as I approach my 50th birthday. I was available to go out on my vacations. However, as the season drew to a close at the beginning of October, I saw my chances diminish, as there were fewer tourists and the captains took turns going out.
My daughter had drawn me a picture clearly showing the number "300" if I reached that goal. It sat on my bedroom shelf all season.
My track record in terms of number of releases since 2008 (with a break between 2017 and 2021) :
Season 2025: 301 cruises
Season 2024: 284 cruises
Season 2023: 279 cruises
Season 2022: 104 cruises
Season 2016: ? cruises (notes not found)
Season 2015: 180 cruises
2014 season: 174 cruises
2013 season: 185 cruises
2012 season: 174 cruises
2011 season: 169 cruises
Season 2010 : 129 cruises
2008 season: ? cruises (notes not found and June 2008 only).
I would like to thank the marina staff and the boat guests for the wonderful photographs.
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