When Brian Perry first saw whales basking in Hervey Bay's waters in 1987, during one of his chartered fishing tours, he thought they were "logs that moved".
Within five days the fisherman, who had recently moved to the area with his wife, Jill, and their three-month-old daughter, he had set up the region's first commercial whale watching tour.
![Their first vessel the Tasman Venture, which they bought in 1986.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170716022850im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/a/k/h/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxakgb.png/1499937621859.jpg)
The Perrys sold the Hervey Bay Whale Watch business on Tuesday to friend John Peaker, who had helped the couple with their very first tour.
"Brian and John were in the plane spotting (whales) from the air, throwing toilet rolls out to show us the direction of travel," Mrs Perry said.
![The Perrys have owned all seven vessels over the 30-odd years they have been operating.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170716022850im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/a/k/i/m/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxakgb.png/1499937621859.jpg)
"We saw three that swam around and under the boat for hours on end, I was on the vessel.
"I had never seen a whale before, I got so excited, I jumped up and down, I clapped my hands and ran around the boat.
"We had a lady singing, we had people crying, everyone was just amazed."
Mrs Perry said she was a "negative Nancy" when her husband first pitched the idea to her.
![Hervey Bay Whale Watch provides a swim the whales under agreements with QPWS.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170716022850im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/a/k/3/i/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxakgb.png/1499937621859.jpg)
"We were just doing fishing, all the fishermen knew all the whales came into the bay but no-one had actually done anything about it," she said.
"He (Mr Perry) came home and said he wanted to start whale watching tours of which I said 'How do you know the whales will still be there?'.
![Jill and husband Brian Perry bought the Tasman Venture charter fishing business in 1986, when their daughter was three ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170716022850im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/a/k/i/e/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gxakgb.png/1499937621859.jpg)
"I went to the paper to place an ad, which they declined."
Their first trip, on September 1, was booked out and the company's success has continued ever since, Mrs Perry said.
"That very first trip, I will never forget that because I didn't know what to expect and it absolutely blew me away and it still does every time I see whales, I just get so excited," she said.
"(Fraser Coast) is known as the whale watch capital of the world, it is where whales rest and play not in open ocean for four months each year (from) July to October."
According to Tourism Queensland, the Fraser Coast is the only genuine stopover along the east coast migration route where whales are known to stay for days at a time rest, play and socialise.
Ms Perry said the business's history would continue after the skipper who they bought their first vessel from 30 years ago came back to work for them just recently.
"He went away and did other things and came back and said 'I miss the water, can I come back and drive the boat for a couple of days?'," she said.
Despite the couple's plan to retire, Mr Perry still drives the boat a couple of days a week and Mrs Perry continues to pick up customers and bake muffins for morning and afternoon tea.
"I am still picking up customers on the bus for the whale watch tour every day so I am not quite retired yet," she joked.
She said she bakes about 27,000 per whale season, with this year to be no exception.
"I am known as the muffin queen of Hervey Bay, my muffins are famous," she said.
The couple plan on visiting their daughter Sarah, who just got her skipper's licence at Airlie Beach, once they leave the business in the "next couple of months".
Hervey Bay Whale Watch runs twice daily during mid July to late October and accommodates up to 95 people aboard.