"We owe it to our children to be better stewards of the environment. The alternative? - a world without whales. It's too terrible to imagine."
Pierce Brosnan
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| Harbor with San Diego Skyline Behind |
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| San Diego skyline from our boat |
Yesterday was one of those great crisp winter days we have here in San Diego during the winter months. The sky was not blue, it was full of fluffy clouds, and there was no chance of rain. It was somewhere in the high 60's, a perfect day to be out on the water in a boat. A really sunny day would not have been as good, it is harder to see whales on a sunny day, and harder to get good pictures. So, it was the perfect day for whale watching. and my husband and I went out, on a ship from the Point Loma area.
The trip was a Christmas present from my husband. Like last year, I asked him to give me "things to do" instead of more "stuff". He gave me this trip, as well as a Segway tour and Bon Jovi Concert tickets. Those two things are still on the horizon. This was for now, as the whales only migrate south in December and January. They head north later in the spring. Those are the only two options to see them in San Diego.
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| Sea Lions and a bird, napping |
This has been one of the best years for seeing the whales, according to the newpaper, and the boat owner confirmed that. They have had some really good sightings everyday. I knew I would probably not get as good a look at a whale as I did last year when I kayaked 2 miles out and a whale came up about 20 feet in front of us. I was eye to eye with that whale, and maybe a little too close. That was an exciting trip. But it was also a lot of work getting out that far. This was going to be a little more laid back.
We set out about 10 a.m. with 20 to 30 people on board. As we were heading out the bay to open seas we passed an area where boats can pull in and get bait for fishing. The place was crowded with sea lions, taking a nap. We cruised slowly past and watched them.
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Me on the Sea Adventurer 80
Whale watching |
Then we reached the open sea and we all started searching the horizon for signs of whales. We were out for about an hour and still hadn't spotted them. The captain kept saying that there were whales ahead, he knew they were there. He said we were headed north and would meet up with them as they were heading south, right towards us. We kept looking. Finally, there was the shout, "thar she blows". Someone had spotted a spout of water from a whale. We kept heading that direction. There were several other boats gathered around the area, all watching a mother and baby whale who were making their way south to Mexico. We joined the group.
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| Mother whale with her baby |
Whales usually come up to breathe every 6 minutes. While up, they break water about 4 times before they deep dive down again. So we followed the mother and baby whale as they broke the surface. When they deep dive their tails come up, and then they are gone. We followed along the direction they were headed, south. We kept our eyes open to see where they would come up. After 6 minutes the shout went up and we could see them out a distance to our side. They did their 4 short dives and then did another deep dive, tails up. We were all enjoying watching them, and taking pictures.
We slowly followed them like this all the way back down the coast. At one point though, the 2 whales came up right in front of the boat, so close I was almost afraid we'd run over them. That was really exciting and when I got my best pictures of them.
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A pod of dolphins that was just below
the bow of the ship |
We spotted them several times after that, and continued to follow them. Finally we were back at the entrance to San Diego bay and had to say good-bye to our whales. We had a great day out on the water, and we saw not only whales, but also the sea lions and several pods of dolphins. The whales will now enjoy several months of warmer water in the Baja waters in Mexico. They go there to give birth, and to feed. We think the baby whale was a yearling, and the mother was probably on her way to give birth to a new baby. Anyway, they were almost to Mexico when we left them, so today they may be heading into the bay where they will stay for several months. They have had a long journey and I'm sure they will be glad to be where they can rest and feed.
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| Mother whales tail as she deep dives |
There were quite a few people on board our ship who were on vacation from other areas of the country. I know there was a man from Ohio, and a couple from Minnesota, and 2 women from San Francisco. Whale watching is a popular thing to do all over the world, and if you are traveling somewhere where they have whale watching trips, it is a fun thing you can do for a day of your vacation. Or if you live here in San Diego or the west coast, this is the time of year to go.
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| This bird was waiting for us back in port |
If you would like to read about the kayak whale watching trip I did last January, go to:
http://havelistwilltravel.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-sea-kayaking-adventure.html
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