Storms and a minke

"Adventure is out there!" Enough sitting on anchor in one place! As much as I have loved Cape Elizabeth (great folks, good anchorage (but a bit roll-y), wonderful wild raspberries, good access to Portland, close to open ocean, nice snorkeling), the sea calls... I hadn't really been sailing in nearly a week! OMG! 

So, despite thunderstorms bearing down (pm July 23), I set sail to try to catch favorable winds to Matinicus Rock to see puffins, various islands for berries, and hard-shelled lobsters at Bucks Harbor. 

Within about an hour, the storms looked a bit worrisome, so I dropped the mizzen. The winds strengthened, then died after a cloud passed nearby. Still... the wind blew from the south and my apps showed storms approaching from the north... how odd. So I watched carefully and. as the clouds came closer, I gauged their speed.

The wimpy winds died further, but the approaching clouds reminded me of breaking waves hurling themselves across a sand bar and growing rapidly closer: I reefed the jib severely and went out to drop the main.... and as it dropped the wind grew and droplets of rain began to strike. I hopped into the cockpit, zipped the flaps closed, and adjusted the steering as the winds began to BLOW!  A couple noises from below told me I hadn't secured a few items well enough, but the boat moved along under good control and the winds gradually died, skies cleared, sun set,

and stars came out.

Sunrise found me gliding along very gently, perhaps 2 knots...and I startled at a great huff of breath behind me and turned to see a great shiny black back slipping beneath the surface only a boat length (or two) away. Cool!... although I only got a couple pictures of disturbed water.

Another whale (or the same) showed up a couple hours later... and played around the boat like a dolphin or porpoise for over a half hour! Much slower than it's smaller cousins and staying slightly farther out, but often within a body length: it seemed well aware of its size and agility limitations. 

So....I wonder what attracted the whale? I see a parallel to human interactions: did it enjoy my boat's company, was it laughing at it's stolid personality, did it enjoy the peaceful behavior.... or did it find itself intrigued by the shape of my bottom? Well, I really enjoyed the time spent together and have the memories.