Tove and Amy having a spare moment on Supercat. Poor Amy, she came for a holiday and we ended up making her work;)
Tove showing the Orca i.d. book to a family.
Above and below, Capt Trev. One of the good guys!
Rachel and her hot pants, with Ron and Cpt. Dave in the background. I'll never forget those pants:)
Rachel and her fan club;)
Rachel relaxing on Supercat.
Kyla watches as I work my magic;)
Here Kyla is showing the i.d. book to interested passengers.
Above and below, Cpt. Scotty. Another one of the good guys.
Claudia and Jen enjoying the Fireworks on Canada Day!
Our office girls, Jen, Claudia and Jacqueline (who is also the retail Manager)
Cpt. Bill with his assistant:)
Commodore Ron:)
Ron and Bill on Supercat.
Our Naturalist Merina talking about the Hydrophone to our passengers.
Merina amateur photographer that took some wicked shots this year!
Marie, our newest Naturalist in her diving gear and below in fire gear during her course for the Coast Guard.
Josh, a volunteer who has a real passion for Transient Orcas and will be joinging our crew next year. Welcome aboard Josh!
Here Merina & Jac II are trying to identify the two Transient Orcas near Supercat.
Cpt. Bill, JacII and Ron. No one gets more excited about a possible Transient Kill than JacII:)
Here I am, 5*'s unofficial Photographer, Naturalist, Asst. Manager and Blog editor and another overall nice guy;) Apparently I also have a sexy and sophisticated accent, though often a translator is required for our passengers and crew:)
Please find below a brief description of the Five Star Crew.
Eric and Kathy Johnson, the co-owners of 5* and you could not wish for better people to work for. Thank you from all the staff for another fun filled season.
Jim Dale, The General Manager and one of the most patient men I have ever met. Thanks for everything you did to help make our job easier Jim, you really are a saint!
Ron Bates, or Commodore Ron as he is affectionately known. Ron is a Marine Mammal Researcher that comes out with Five Star every day and we are very fortunate to have him aboard. He is the Whale Guru and mentor to most of us in the industry, just don't speak to him, feed him or touch him as he may bite:)
Cpt. Trev, One of the most experienced Cpt. in the industry, a marine Biologist and a good mate to all the crew. We had some good times on and off the water this year, cheers mate!
Cpt. Scotty, Another very experience Cpt. and one of the nicest guys you'll meet on the water. Thanks for all the good times mate, you are not bad considering you are a Scot:)
Cpt. Bill, one of our relief skippers and another nice guy. It was great working with you this summer.
Cpt. Dave, another relief skipper, it is never dull when you are on the boat with Dave:)
Naturalist Amy, Amy only did a few trips for us this year, but that is not bad considering she was supposed to be here on Holiday:) Amy worked for 5* a few years ago but then deserted us for the East. However, we will not rest until we have persuaded her to return to Victoria:)
Naturalist Christine, Christine moved up island this summer but we still had the fortune of her working with us at the weekend. I've worked with Christine for 3 seasons now and I can't remember her not smiling when about to do a trip, no wonder the passengers love you:)
Naturalist JacII, this was Jac's last season with Five Star as she is moving on to be a Researcher in the Gulf of Mexico and will be missed by everyone at Five Star:( No one ever gets as excited about a possible Transient Kill as Jac and I will miss seeing her leaping up and down on the bow of the boat clapping her hands together in sheer delight at the thought of blood:)
Naturalist Kyla, I don't know any Nat that could i.d. the Orcas as quickly and accurately as Kyla, what a gift you have! Kyla is now at St. Andrews in Scotland and will be working at the Whale Research Ctr next summer. It was a pleasure working with you Kyla and I look forward to seeing you on the water next summer, you better wave at our boats;)
Naturalist Marie, our newest nat joined us near the end of the season and fitted in straight away. Marie is a keen diver and hopes to get her dive masters soon. She also passed the Coast Guard crew training course and may get called upon to join the Canadian Coast Guard in the future. However, we hope she will join the Five Star crew again next year as she was a joy to work with and she had a natural ability to interact with the passengers. Marie became an official 5* Nat when she was the first to spot Orcas off the San Juans in fog on Sept 27th, she was the hero of the day;) I still owe you a Five Star badge of honour:)
Naturalist Merina, is one of the best naturalists I've ever worked with and we had some great trips together over the last 2 seasons. Merina is also off to the Gulf of Mexico this winter and we all wish her luck. Her kelp talks are legendary:)
Naturalist Rachel, our youngest Nat but also one of most enthusiastic. Rachel, like Christine, was always smiling and occasionally giggling, when on our boats. She is also by far the tallest Nat I have worked with and commanded respect by her sheer size:) I am looking forward to working with you again next summer, even if you wear those bright orange pants:0
Naturalist Tove, is a real sweetheart and one of our most experienced nats. I know Tove loves this job as much as I do and even though she had a busy life this summer still found time to do trips. She is now busy being a teacher but will be back next summer to do more trips with Five Star, something we are all very happy to hear:)
Retail Manager Jacqueline, Jac always has a smile on her face whenever you see her. She is responsible for all the retail side of 5* and in particular our Humboldt office. Jac is also a very good hearted person and a true friend. However, we need you to get out on the water more next year young lady:)
Office Staff Claudia, Claudia is from Holland and was part of our ticket sales and office staff. She has a real zest for life, is a keen surfer and a lot of fun. We wish you could stay in Victoria and join us for another season next year, but we all enjoyed working with you:)
Office Staff Jenn, we are very fortunate to have Jenn work in our ticket sales and office as she has a natural ability to sell, due in no small part because she is a genuine person and people believe what she has to say. Jenn is now at teacher training school but we hope you will return next year both in the office and on the boat (ignore Eric just get your MEDS).....:):)
and finally me Andrew, 5* Asst. Manager, Naturalist, trainee Skipper, unofficial photographer, Blog editor and known as the crazy Brit:) I worked for another company before and had a great crew there, but I believe the crew we had at Five Star this year was the best bunch of people I have ever worked with and I am going to miss them all when I head down to Belize in a few days. We had some great times on and off the water this season and I have so many great memories;) You guys are awesome and I am proud to have worked with you all and consider you my friends!
So until next season, enjoy your winter and I'll see some of you again in April. Cheers from the Crazy Brit;):)
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