After a very productive exhibition the day before, and very similar weather, spirits were high, and everyone was excited to board the Salty Lady and begin our search for migrating gray whales. As we left the harbor, Captain Jared Davis informed us that there had been some Humpback Whales spotted a little farther from shore then we usually go when looking for migratory Gray Whales, but it was worth the risk.
During the journey to the last known location of the Humpback Whales, we came across the familiar sight of California Sea Lions lounging on a buoy. All jostling for prime spots on the buoy with the occasional bark and one taking an inevitable tumble into the ocean.
A California Sea Lion who moments before been pushed off the buoy now glares at the culprit.
The excitement of whale watching often can play tricks on people eyes as crests of waves look like surfacing whales, and buoy’s looking like seals and sea lions, these tricks were fooling everyone today. The first whale sighting however was a rare and fleeting glimpse of a Harbor Porpoise surfacing for two quick breaths then disappearing before anyone could grab a shot. Seeing this elusive species only added to the groups excitement for what the rest of the day had in store.
As we headed further out into the Pacific Ocean in search of the humpbacks one of the passengers pointed out that there were hundreds of jellyfish floating just below the surface. It was difficult to make out certain shapes, but naturalist Peter informed everyone that they were a species of jellyfish called sea nettles. While they were not humpback whales, they were still fascinating and was one of the highlights of the trip.
One of hundreds of sea nettle jellyfish floating just below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
After another hour of searching for the humpbacks Jared mentioned how they were probably miles off now and said that he was going to turn around and head back closer to shore to see if we can find Grey Whales. On our trip to shore we came across some garbage floating in the ocean, and deck hand Tommy netted it and made sure this piece of trash would not affect the oceanic ecosystem any longer. This moment was very poignant as many of the passengers had taken a survey, conducted by Stanford researchers, that addressed this very issue and gave them a real-life example of how our garbage can affect the natural world.
Salty Lady Deckhand Tommy Scoops up a floating piece of garbage from the ocean.
After properly disposing of the trash we continued up the stretch of ocean that captain Jared likes to call the Grey Whale Highway for close to an hour without seeing anything. Then after some patients and perseverance some one on the bow of this ship pointed to a series of blows to the south of us moving north. They were a pair of grey whales obviously on their northern migration to Alaska, as we got closer a series of energetic flukes breached the surface of the water, rewarding the patience of everyone on board.
{Photo 4} Grey Whale’s fluke energetically splashing the water of the Pacific Ocean of the Coast of Half Moon Bay California.
After following this group of Gray Whales for about an hour Jared reluctantly told all of us that we had run out of time and would have to head back to the harbor. As Jared said that we would have to say good bye to these guys, as if on que the whales fluked one final time as if to wave good bye to us. With smiles on everyone’s faces we headed back to the harbor the end another successful Half Moon Bay whale watching expedition.
A gray whale of the coast of Half Moon Bay flukes as if waving goodbye to the passengers on board the Salty Lady.