I got my new hydrophone wet. It works on a 9V battery and has a sensor that you lower into the water 45 feet, and I hooked its output up to an FM transmitter so that I could listen over the CheckRaise's stereo. The orcas presently in Hood Canal are still 50 miles south of my slip, so I settled for some harbor seals, who, apparently, make no sounds whatsoever underwater. I was bobbing there and watching them frolic for about a half hour when a sound erupted over the stereo. It sounded like someone running the teeth of a comb over a microphone. Within minutes, harbor porpoises appeared all around my boat. This, I decided on the spot, was one of the coolest things ever.
An hour later when I was doing 28 knots, an adult porpoise appeared not 10 yards off my starboard bow. Still very much a newbie, I just about had a heart attack. That's one big animal, especially at that speed. I kept my course, and I hit the trim in order to create a huge bow wake. The porpoise wasn't buyin' what I was sellin,' but still—quite the fun day.