Whale Watching

I love to go whale watching. Just getting out on the ocean on the boat feeds my spirit. I am lucky in that I am not really affected by motion sickness. So once I get settled in my spot, I enjoy the gentle motion as the boat rides the swells.

I've been lucky to go on whale watching expeditions many places. My first experience seeing whales in the wild was on the ferry ride from Prince Rupert, British Columbia to Juneau, Alaska in July of 1991. We woke up one morning to an orca breaching near the ferry. Everyone on the sleeping deck hoped out of their sleeping bags and rushed to the side to watch. On the ride to Glacier Bay we saw minke whales feeding near the shoreline. On our return to the marina, there was a humpback and calf that stayed in the bay until the big cruise ship's entrance chased them away. It was an incredible experience as we were close enough to hear the spouts. They surfaced and breached.

We went whale watching again in Maine in October 2003. We had a very capable and informative interpreter, but we were at the end of whale season - the humpbacks had moved south. But we got to see some remote lookout stations on small rock outcrops in the Atlantic and seals sunning themselves. However, we were heading south, so we took another tour out of Provincetown, Massachusetts. The humpbacks were in a feeding frenzy preparing for their migration to warm waters. Apparently they don't eat while they're in the tropics, so they must feast before they leave the feeding grounds. We got to see the feeding bubbles that the whales create to push their food to the surface. Using my Canon digital and 100-400mm lens, I got some wonderful photos.

In California, I've had several opportunities - both directly on the shore and with several boat runs. One evening when I was at Point Dume for sunset photos, a California Gray whale appeared right off the beach. My photos are not great . . . . but I did get several head shots. We've taken whale trips off Long Beach and San Diego to watch the migrating gray whales. No great shots, but I still enjoyed getting out in the water, watching for the spouts off in the distance.

Two years ago, Debra and I took the blue whale watching cruise from Ventura to see the blue whales. Our first sightings looked like small metal submarines floating in the distance. Our captain did a good job getting as close as the law allows. And one whale surfaced right in front of the boat - giving both himself and us a startled moment.

This trip we took the same trip hoping that Henry would get to see the blues. And with my new, bigger lens I was hoping for some good shots. I chose to limit the photographic equipment. The big Sigma 300-800 mm lens with its huge tripod is a big load. Plus I wanted to have the computer along to keep the camera cards free for pleny of photos. Knowing that it took awhile to get to the viewing area, I started the trip inside - unusual for me. I had anchored the tripod to stake my spot at the front of the upper deck. When I went up with the big lens to get set up, the swells were significant. Here we were with my expensive lens struggling to keep our footing. Part of me was thinking - what am I doing?????? Maybe this isn't such a great idea???? But Henry helped me get the lens on the tripod. He was concerned that the tripod was not stable. I made a few adjustments, but I knew due to space restriction, I would have to count on the bunjee cords to keep the tripod as steady as possible and in its place. I was planning on a fast shutter speed. Once I got everything in place, I began to relax. The front upper deck had a nice place to lean in an almost sitting position with a convenient rail. I kept the camera's strap around my neck (although wondering if that was a great idea - if the camera and lens came loose, my neck was probably not strong enough for the load.) But I felt safer feeling like I had a handle on the camera and lens. Later in the day, I was more confident of my set up, but no so confident as to leave it unattended.


This was the first whale trip of the summer season. The blue whales are late arrivals this year - none had been sighted thus far. But each whale excursion offers unique viewing opportunities. I knew that we would see dolphins, but we saw three different species - common dolphin, pacific white sided dolphins, and Dall's porpoises. Some of the young ones were swimming in sync with their moms. What I was NOT expecting was the number of sea lions we saw. Sea lions and dolphins are so much fun to watch because they are so playful. The dolphins enjoy surfing the wake behind the boat. Their curiosity brings them right up next to the boat. One set of dolphins kept swimming right under the front of the boat;. I kept expecting one of them to get hit as they kept trying to surface right under the hull. The sea lions also seemed drawn to the boat. They would surf the waves, do acrobatic arched leaps over the waves, sun their fins to warm up, and "hide" in the kelp beds.

Near the Channel Island National Park is one of the richest feeding grounds. The whale watching was excellent for us. While the blues were still in route for their summer feeding, the humpbacks were plentiful. Our first sighting was a mother and calf. We waited patiently for them to resurface after their deep dives. We even got a head view as the whale was lunge feeding. I was not in position for a photo, but I was lucky enough to see it. For several hours we cruised and the whales kept appearing. One whale was having fun flicking his tail creating large splashes. While I was not not quick enough to catch the tail motion, I did get on of fhe mighty splashes. It is especially fun when the captain says this is a behavior he hasn't seen before. Later in the afternoon the whales came closer to the boat. While there are limits on how close the captain can direct his boat near the whales, the whales can choose to come closer. We got an excellent show sometime with three or four whales spouting simultaneously. From some of my shots with two whales together, I suspect we had several mother and calf pairs.

This whale trip concludes with a visit to the island of Santa Cruz. Cruising past the coves with the various boats anchored certainly creates the desire to spend time exploring these islands.

To see some photos from this trip, visit my website . Henry also posted some of his photos on his blog .