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Whale watching adventures are plentiful in Victoria, BC. Tours range from intimate Zodiac expeditions, where you can get up close and personal with whales - to larger catamaran expeditions, where you still get fairly close, but stay warm and dry in the meantime.

Today's a bit chilly, so we decide on a catamaran tour. WildCat Adventures is located on the Inner Harbour of Victoria, in front of the Wharfside Eatery. Co-owner Alan Hogan meets us and helps us gear up for the trip. Born in Great Britain, Al first trained as a mechanical engineer, then joined the British Merchant Navy, where he spent several years traveling throughout all seven continents. He moved to Vancouver in 1969 and worked as an engineer and a commercial diver. He's sailed and dived in most of the world's oceans and seas.

"What'll we see today?" I ask him.

"Hard to say," he replies with a smile. "It's always a surprise."

We board the red WildCat, a 48-foot twin hulled catamaran, powered by 800 hp Caterpillar engines, a Seafury drive system and 28 inch propellers. It has 54 seats.

"But we only fill 44," Alan says. "So once we stop, you have room to walk around." The WildCat is the only one of its kind in Canada. It was built in 1997 by Cougar Catamaran in Australia.

Reverberating whale songs play over the boat's P.A. system. At times, their voices almost sound like violins. The skipper fires up the engines and we slowly make our way out of the Inner Harbour.

Casey Overweel is our onboard naturalist. He has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Victoria, with a specialization in biology. He was born and raised in Victoria and is very proud of his backyard. He's made well over 850 trips out on the WildCat so far, a distance equal to 2 1/2 times around the globe.

"Get familiar with your gear," he advises. "If you're wearing a cap, make sure the peak's turned the other way. I forgot to tell a baseball team that last year and 27 hats went over the back in 13 seconds and we spent 20 minutes picking them all up!"

As we clear the Outer Harbour, we accelerate from 20 to 40 knots. The cold salt wind feels good on my face. Mount Baker and the Three Sisters seem so close today. The Olympic Mountains of Washington have never looked so clear. Out we go, into the Juan de Fuca Strait, towards the Gulf and San Juan Islands.

There's a lively group on board, many of them from the English dance troupe, "The Hammersmiths." They've been busy performing in Vancouver and Victoria and are taking a day off to enjoy the

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