It happens. It stinks, but it happens. We get enough people to run a profitable trip, get the chum and everything read to go, have what we think is a favorable weather forecast, and then get blindsided by worsening weather/ocean conditions and a cancellation the day before the trip.
There are times when the charter office and I have concerns about the weather, and we discuss the situation before arriving at a mutual decision on whether or not to go.
Other times, the skipper or the charter office makes the decision unilaterally. The skipper has the ultimate responsibility for the safety of everyone on their boat, and therefore has absolute control over when or if their boat goes out. Their decision is the final word, and no amount of arguing or wishing will change a decision to cancel.
No one likes a cancellation. The charter loses money, the crew doesn't get paid, we don't get paid, and every participant loses what they have spent on travel. However, safety rules. If there is any concern whatsoever about a trip being safe, it cannot go. The skipper was out on the ocean on Saturday, didn't like the condtions that day, the weather forecast worsened, and made the decision that our trip would not be safe. This happens at least once a season, so for those of us who do this regularly, it is not entirely unexpected. But it is always disappointing, and for those people who have spent a lot of money and traveled a long distance, it is a huge blow. Hopefully, they understand that the decision was made with their best interests in mind.
If you have never seen the long wings of an albatross guiding toward the boat (or even if you have), you should make it a priority to come out on one of our trips. Oregon Pelagic Tours is excited to start our 10th year of offering pelagic trips off Oregon. We are off to a good start on two of our first three trips, as our 8-hour trips on August 18 (Garibaldi) and September 7 (Newport) are full and waitlist only. Our August 25 12-hour Deepwater Pelagic (Newport) can definitely use more participants to be sure of going out. This trip is one of our most exciting trips, because although the overall number of seabirds is not always as high as on other trips, it has the potential for rare birds as we attempt to reach deep water beyond the continental shelf. Hawaiian Petrel has been seen twice on this trip. If twelve hours seems too long, then our 8-hour September 15 (Garibaldi), October 6 (Newport), October 12 (Garibaldi) , and October 26 (Newport) trips all have spaces available. Hope to see you on the Pacific this fall!
