After reading this far I think there really ought to be an saying in the English language something along the lines of "Ask a Pilot about his best experiences and prepare to listen endlessly!"
So I'll add mine....solo along the coast of South Africa spotting a group of Southern Right Whales with their young cleaning off in the fresh river water just off-shore. Perfect green water, the folk walking along the beach oblivious to the show 200m away from them and me in my 150....about the same size as the largest whale below.....
Looking forward to hearing more!