There are words you use out loud -- especially in anger -- I can't print here. It's a shame, because these words accurately describe certain unpleasant individuals and behaviour. For the sake of this column, let's substitute the word "fishbag."

Last week, my parents took my wife and me boating. Just off Otter Bay on Pender Island, we encountered a massive pod of killer whales. There were about five other boats in the vicinity, but only one stuck out. To the boaters we witnessed following the whales from less than three metres: you, my friends, are fishbags.

Full disclosure: After the pod passed, we were approached by a zodiac from Strait Watch. We were on the wrong side of the whales -- you should avoid being between the pod and the shore. To get out of their way (good) we headed to the shore side (bad) rather than open water.

Why bad? For one thing, we were hemmed in, unable to stay the requisite 100 metres away when the whales came closer. Rather than cutting through the pod (very bad) to correct the mistake, we deemed it wiser to stay put. We didn't know, and they were very nice about telling us. Lesson learned.

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