CHAPTER SIX WHALE-WATCHING SURPRISE

“What if I get seasick?” I grumbled as I plopped down on the bench next to Lucas at the front of the boat.

“Oh, come on, Marena,” Lucas said. “You’ve never been seasick in your life. Most people would be thrilled to go out on a boat to look for gray whales! What’s your problem?”

Then he gave me a funny look and moved a bit farther away.

“But if you do feel like you’re going to puke, will you please do it over the railing on the other side of the boat?” he asked.

I scowled at him in reply.

But he’s right. I should be excited.

“Beautiful day to look for some grays,” Captain Perry said as he started the engines. Captain Perry didn’t usually take people like Lucas and me out on his boat. He did research, not tours, so his regular passengers were other scientists. But he was doing a favor for Samuel. Turns out Captain Perry was his mentor, like Anna was mine.

Samuel came to sit beside Lucas and me. He was dressed in his wetsuit.

“Why are you wearing that?” I asked.

“I always wear it when I go out with Captain Perry,” he answered. “You never know when the opportunity for a dive might come up.”

“Yeah, well, maybe next time I’ll wear a wetsuit, too,” I said.

Samuel didn’t reply, but his eyebrow went up, and he slightly smiled. Interesting. That was exactly what Aisha would do when she approved of something I had changed my mind about. No words. Just unspoken approval.

“What do you and Lucas know about gray whales?” Captain Perry asked as he slowly guided his boat out of the harbor.

“Not much,” I admitted, glancing at Samuel.

“Well, they’re one of my favorite sea mammals,” Captain Perry said.

I looked at Samuel, who was now grinning widely. He shrugged as if to say, “Who knew?”

Yeah. Right.

“You wouldn’t believe how far these whales migrate,” Samuel said.

“Yes,” Captain Perry agreed, “and we’re lucky to be on their path. Each year, gray whales travel along the Pacific coast of the U.S. as they move from the cold waters of northern Alaska to the warm waters of Mexico and back again. Some travel up to 22,000 kilometers a year in a round trip.”

“That’s 14,000 miles, if you’re doing the math,” Samuel said. “It’s like crossing the United States coast to coast five times!”

Even I was impressed with that distance. Sometimes Samuel’s explanations did come in handy.

“They have a very distinct look, too,” Captain Perry continued. “They have a hump and a series of bumpy ridges down their back. And they’re covered with barnacles that cling to their skin,” he explained.

“I think they look like floating rocks,” Samuel said. “BIG rocks, though; some are as long as a school bus.”

His enthusiasm was catching. Both Lucas and I looked out to the water, hoping we’d get to see some of these animals.

It took a while. We had been out on the water for more than an hour when suddenly, Captain Perry put his binoculars down.

“We’re in luck today; here they come,” he said.

“Where?” Lucas asked, standing up with excitement.

“Straight ahead!” Samuel shouted. “See the water shooting up?”

I looked where Samuel was pointing and saw a big lump of a gray whale. As it surfaced, a huge spray of water erupted into the air above the whale.

“Wow,” I said in wonder, “is it blowing out a nose full of water?”

Samuel laughed at the reference to my own diving experience.

“Ha, no, Marena. It’s actually blowing out what’s left of the breath it’s been holding. But the air coming out is warm, so it causes the cold water around its blowhole to mist up into the air,” Samuel said. “Kind of like the little cloud of mist you can make when you breathe out warm air on a cold winter day.”

“That’s right,” Captain Perry said. “But that spray into the air is more than just water. It also contains mucus and bacteria from the whale’s lungs. In fact, it can be kind of smelly.”

“Cool,” Lucas said. “Whale snot!”

We all laughed at my brother. Leave it to Lucas to think of that.

“So, are you going to place a tag on any of them today?” Samuel asked.

I wasn’t completely sure where you place a tag on a whale, but I knew, being with Samuel, I would soon find out.

“Yes,” Captain Perry answered. “And I have a surprise for you about how we’re going to do it.”

With that, he put the boat in neutral and disappeared down the ladder to the quarters below. We were still pretty far away from the moving whales. I worried we would lose them.

A few seconds later, Captain Perry came back up carrying a drone.

“Are you kidding me?” Samuel exclaimed. “You’re using a drone?”

“I knew you’d like this,” Captain Perry said with a smile. “This drone carries a device that sticks to the whale’s back with suction cups. It sends out data so we can keep track of where the whale is going and how fast it gets there. We even put hydrophones—which are little listening devices—in the tag so we can hear the whale’s communication. I just have to fly the drone over the whale and drop it at the right moment. It doesn’t hurt or scare the animal, and it’s so much better than having to chase the whale in our small boat.”

“This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” Samuel said.

I had to admit he was right.

Captain Perry checked the tag that would stick to the whale. Then he expertly moved the controls. The little drone lifted up into the air and headed straight for the whales.

After a few minutes of expert flying, Captain Perry had the drone positioned right over a big gray whale. He had to place the tag before the animal took a dive.

We held our breath as he dropped the tag.

“Yes!” Captain Perry said as it stuck to the back of a large whale.

“Good shot!” Lucas called out.

I had to admit Captain Perry’s timing and aim were right on. He had told us the tag would remain on the whale for a few hours, recording its valuable information. Then it would drop harmlessly into the sea, where it would float until Captain Perry could pick it up.

After the successful drop, Captain Perry began flying the drone back to the ship. As it approached for landing, a sudden gust of wind came up. The drone was tossed upside down and started to fall toward the ocean, just short of the boat.

“Whoops,” Captain Perry said as it landed with a splash. “Almost made it back.”

But he didn’t seem that upset at the crash landing. The drone was floating where we could easily see it.

“It happens,” Captain Perry said. “I’m just glad I crashed it on this end of the trip.”

Samuel was already zipping up his wetsuit and grabbing his flippers, mask, and snorkel.

“I’ll go get it,” he said.

Captain Perry smiled and nodded okay.

I glanced at the long-handled pole that was secured to the side of the deck. It had a small hook on the end. It would be easy to grab the drone with that tool. But Captain Perry clearly knew it wouldn’t be as much fun—at least for Samuel!

Samuel jumped into the water and swam toward the drone. It wasn’t very far from the boat, but just as he was about to reach it, there was a slight splash near him. Then I saw it. There was a fin poking above the surface—and it was moving right toward Samuel.

“What’s that?” I yelled, pointing.

Samuel spun around in the water. He saw it, too.

Lucas said softly, “Oh, no—is it a shark?”

I felt a tug of fear in my stomach. The animal was getting closer to Samuel. I looked at Captain Perry. What do we do?

Suddenly, the animal surfaced—and let out a sharp blow of air.

“It’s a dolphin!” Captain Perry yelled. I felt great relief and then excitement that a dolphin was coming so close to our boat.