Today was the first day of the month where heavy jackets and waterproofs were not necessary, as the sun burned through the remaining fog and filled everyone with a sense of excitement. Passengers listened eagerly as the naturalists explained how we will be seeing certain parts of Gray Whales such as flukes, dorsal ridges, blow holes, and peduncles. Little did anyone know however, today held a surprise in store for even the most well-seasoned naturalists on board.
Naturalist Susan explaining what pieces of the gray whale passengers should expect to see.
As we departed form the dock, we passed the usual species of guillemots, murres, and surf scoters. As we left the harbor it became clear that today was going to be a smooth day out on the ocean, with little to no chop which is promising for wildlife sightings.
Guillemot drying off in the sunshine basking the harbor wall.
A gull landing on a very clear ocean surface.
As we made our way out into the Pacific Ocean it became clearer, as the minuets went on, that Captain Jared Davis was on a mission. We powered out farther north up the coast, and many people saw a possible blow off the port side. Jared then came over the boats intercom system and told us that while some people had seen a potential blow, he had received word from another boat tailing of a group of three Gray Whales moving north along the coast. The certainty in captain Jared’s voice led to a buzz of excitement that spread around the boat. It didn’t take long for Jared’s determination to yield results as within thirty seconds of us arriving at the boat that made the call, two whales surfaced in unison.
Two Gray Whale surfacing for a breath before diving.
We followed them for around ten minutes, with them following the pattern of taking a breath then diving for five to ten minuets before resurfacing. After one of the longer waits between resurfacing we all were in complete shock as one of the whales fully breached out of the water about forty yards off the port-bow side. After a few seconds the second whale breached as well, to the joy of the now exuberant passengers.
A Gray Whale Breaching off the coast of California Half Moon Bay.
As our naturalists were telling the group that its fairly rare to see Gray Whales breaching, as if on cue the third and final whale in the group also breached out of the water. Then they seemed to calm down and began to only surface for air in the usual pattern, and also seemed to go under our boat and then reappear on the starboard side.
Then Jared came over the speakers again to tell us how while these guys had given great sightings its never his intentions to bother the animals. Then again as if on cue, as Jared said we would hang around with them for another five minuets then head back south, they gave us one final breach this time with the beautiful Californian coast line in the background.
Final Gray Whale breach of the day caught with the California coast in the background.
Jared then, as reluctant as any of us, said that its time to head south to potentially find more migrating Gray Whales. We headed south still in shock about what we had all been lucky enough to witness, excited about what the remaining hour had in store.
The rest of the day was fairly calm compared to beginning, but was still special as we came across a buoy with a group of California Sea lions on it, which is always an interesting sight. Watching them jostle for prime position and occasionally voicing their objections to the movements of others is always entertaining.
But the most comical sighting of Sea Lions came as we were ending the trip and pulling back into the Pillar Point Harbor where we saw a California Sea Lion chasing a fisherman in a paddle boat, trying to steal one of the fisherman’s catches. This was a awesome and comical sighting to end what was a magical day of whale watching.
California Sea Lion Chasing a fisherman outside the harbor.