I get asked all the time, “So, how long have you been doing whale watching?”
This question has always been a hard one for me to answer. I often ask myself if the recipient wants to hear the long answer, and usually, I talk myself into just giving the short one.
The short answer sounds something like, “I grew up in the industry because my parents owned a whale-watching business when I was young, and I helped a lot – so I felt prepared to start my own company nine years ago.”
While all true, this doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of ‘how long’ I have been watching whales professionally.
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If you’re still reading, I’ll tell you the long answer. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and budget seven minutes of reading time. 😊
My story starts with a boat. In 2003, after a year of living on a remote island in Alaska, with no steady job or source of income, my parents decided to purchase a boat. This boat was brand-new yet unwanted in Seattle and had been just sitting for over a year. This is where my dad, Jay Beedle, found it for a heavily discounted price before purchasing it and driving it from Seattle to Juneau. We named it Merlin.
The boat changed our lives.
In 2004, my parents founded the company Harv and Marv’s and started offering personalized fishing and whale-watching tours. Growing up, I was my dad’s shadow. Because he was always outside, doing cool things, I insisted on being wherever he was. Since my dad was operating tours, that’s where I was too.
In the summer of 2004, day in and day out, we toured. I worked either as a naturalist, customer entertainment, or intern captain; at 11 years old, I had already found my dream job.
When the summer season ended, the Merlin was pulled out of the water. I felt out of place without my daily time on the water and dreamed of the coming summer.
In the spring, we camped on the Merlin. We took multi-day photography trips to remote places, like Tracy Arm Fjord. In the summer, after tours, we fished on the way home, catching salmon for dinner.
In the fall, we winched the Merlin up onto a rocky and remote island beach and covered it with a tarp – nice and snug – in preparation for winter.
In the winter, we shoveled the snow out of the Merlin while dreaming of summer.
In time, Harv and Marv’s grew. More boats were bought, but the Merlin remained THE boat. This was the boat that seemed to handle the seas just a little bit better than the rest, offered the best camping set up, and was still chosen by my dad above all the rest.
In 2012, as a captain at 19-years-old, this was the boat I used to operate my first solo tour.
To better understand how I feel about boats – especially this boat – try to remember your first car. Can you recall every aspect of it? Were you able tell when it was running a little rough? Do you remember feeling, for the first time, that your car was an extension of yourself, and you were confident in every movement you made in it? That was the Merlin for me.
Eventually, my parents sold Harv and Marv’s and retired. Although the business was under new ownership, I was hired as a captain for four years; this is how I paid my way through college. Captaining in the summer is an opportunity I will always be thankful for, as many employers probably wouldn’t have taken a chance on a teenage captain.
My Uncle Steve bought the Merlin and continued to operate tours – the Merlin’s whale-watching legacy continued. While I was assigned to other boats, it was nice to see the Merlin out on the water still.
In 2015, I graduated from college. In October of that year, I separated from Harv & Marv’s and started Jayleen’s Alaska. At that time, I purchased The Alaskan Girl – an almost twin of the Merlin – or rather, the closest thing I could find.
In the years that I have operated Jayleen’s Alaska, I have watched our amazing team and fleet grow to what it is today. When Uncle Steve sold his business, deciding to go back to the pure joy of captaining outside of business ownership, he approached us about becoming part of the Jayleen’s Alaska team. With him came the Merlin.
Being able to welcome the Merlin, the original boat – the boat that started it all – into the Jayleen’s Alaska fleet, was a full-circle moment for me – the boat with too many wonderful memories to count, is back home.
