He moved forward slowly, judging which way the animals were going.
“Don’t do it,” Rob warned. “We can’t get involved. It’s nature.”
How could he sit back and watch a baby be slaughtered in front of him? He increased the speed as the mother humpback and her calf turned, heading straight towards them, the orca right behind.
“Turn off the engine!” Rob yelled.
“I can get between them.”
“And lose your licence,” Rob said. “Turn it off.”
Damn it. That was the last thing Sam needed. He slowed and switched off the engine as the whales swam closer.
Then, out of nowhere, the pod turned and charged towards the orca. Defeated, it swam away and the passengers cheered. Sam tapped his chest. “Much more excitement than I was expecting.”
“Doesn’t matter. You can’t get involved. If PAWS were nearby, they’d have your licence. Especially the new woman. The rules are strict.”
Shit. He hadn’t thought about rules, he’d just reacted. Mumma and baby swam closer, resting underneath the boat. They were far closer than was allowed by the licence. “Should I move?”
Rob shook his head. “Not yet. You don’t want to startle or injure them by turning on the engines. We’re doing what we’re supposed to.”
A few people rushed to the top deck to get a better angle on their photos, and still Sam waited. The radio crackled and a voice came over, “That was some show, hey?”
Rob grinned and grabbed the radio. “Sure was, Jimmy. We’re waiting for mumma and baby to leave.”
“Roger.”
Rob hung up the radio. “Jimmy is from the boat over there.” He nodded toward the other tour boat which was closer now.
“You ever have problems with the other captains?”
Rob shook his head. “No, we’re competitive, but will help each other. We all want our passengers to have the best experience, so if we spot something interesting and there are other boats nearby, we’ll let them know.”
It was another twenty minutes before mother and calf moved on and Sam could safely shift the boat. His crew prepared lunch and nobody complained it was later than usual. He anchored in a sheltered spot so they could enjoy the food.
“Is it usually this exciting?” he asked Rob.
“First time it’s happened in all my time here,” Rob said with a grin.
Just his luck, though he had to admit it had been impressive.
What a welcome to his new career.
***
Penelope had spent the day doing spot checks on the tour boats on the west coast of the peninsula. She’d only had to issue a caution when one boat had an extra passenger. The captain said the grandmother hadn’t been swimming with the whales, but her hair had been wet. How was Penelope supposed to know if she’d just been snorkelling with the group earlier or if the captain had breached his licence terms? She’d learnt her lesson about not following the rules.
She shuddered as she drove back to the office.
Her boss, Declan, met Penelope in reception, his tall, lean frame tense and a nerve pulsing on his forehead. “We’ve got a problem.” He showed her a social media post with a photo of the Oceanid practically on top of a whale and its calf.
She shook her head. “That’s Rob’s boat.” He worked out the eastern side of the peninsula.
“Yeah, you need to sort this out. Fix it. It’s already blowing up. I’ve asked Dot to meet you at the marina.”
Penelope raised her eyebrows. “We’re getting the police involved?” She’d never seen Declan this uptight before.
“It’s a definite breach and we need to be seen to be doing something about it.”
