Mud plumes from 2 gray whales !!
Three trips today, 9 am, 12 noon and 3 pm. The morning featured a strong east wind with a slight bump. As the day moved along the east wind died and things became much nicer. We saw about 2,300 common dolphins throughout the day. Dolphins are always a big hit with the fans and one of my personal favorites that I never get tired of seeing play around. But today, the big show was 2 southbound gray whales, one larger than the other, that we encountered very close to the shore in about 120 ft of water. These two grays were first seen spending most of their time on the surface and occasionally taking a 1 minute dive. After watching them for a while, their behavior changed and down times were extended to nearly 10 minutes. And that’s not all, upon rising up to the surface after being down for 10 minutes, there was a mud plume coming from the mouth of each whale that was clearly visible even at the surface. The hypothesis on board was that the two had been feeding on the bottom. Where was that National Geographic “Critter Cam” when you needed it?
Monday, President’s Day, only the 12 noon trip will run.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store Bob PerryCondor Express