Whale Watching

The waves have subsided, and my wife and I decided to partake of a whalewatching tour from Noyo Harbor. Above, from the boat Trek II, looking west towards the Highway 1 bridge.

As opposed to photos taken safely from the hotel room high above the waves on dry land -- now, on this tour, we were at the same level as the crashing waves!

The now-calm green #3 buoy as we exit the Noyo Harbor inlet towards open ocean. . .

The #3 green buoy only five days earlier, same precise place in the channel!

The furthest red #2 buoy. But wait; what's that on board?

Of course. California sea lions! The bell still slowly clangs. How can this not drive these pinnipeds crazy?

We spent a good hour waiting. First, some spouts. Then, at a distance, one remote fluke. And that was the only whale tail we ever saw.

A number of gray whales arched over the surface. But we consistently took the wrong path and were quite some distance from the two pods we encountered.

At the end, we steamed back to safe harbor. The waters were primarily calm though the rolling swells were a good ten+ feet. It was interesting to note that where the whales sounded and contacted the surface, they left a flat and remarkably undisturbed area in their wake. You could clearly make out where they were -- you could not remotely predict where they would be!

BZ