Whale watching in Monterey Bay - Large post!

[petepics]

My wife and I have been on many whale watch trips over the years and have even been lucky enough to spend some time on research vessels. This past October we were on vacation with my sister and her kids (the kids first trip to the ocean), and had a whale watch experience that was nothing short of spectacular.


1) On the way out of the harbor, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds for a moment, so I tried to take advantage of the good light illuminating these sea lions on the rocks.

http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438236_9JXxC-M.jpg

2) Our first sighting! An ocean sunfish, or Mole-Mole. It looks like half a fish. A BIG half.
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438246_SokwM-M.jpg

3) Our second sighting was a baloon that we stopped to take out of the water. Sea turtles mistake these for jelly fish and die when they eat them.
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438254_h3pwV-M.jpg

4) Next up were som Russo's porpoises.
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438272_tX9jJ-M.jpg

5) One or two got playful for just a moment.
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438263_FCvC5-M.jpg

6) Being the experienced whale watcher that I am, I was "checking 6", and caught this sea lion and pelican having an early lunch.
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438284_3HLAx-M.jpg

7) Our first whale turned out to be a pair. I like the :not quite out of the water" fluke shots the best.
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438302_G9giV-M.jpg

8) Always "check 6". The pair we left behind began putting on a show for a research vessel that was behind us. this shot helps me appreciate the size of the whale, which often gets lost with over the water shots.
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438324_Nuf3k-M.jpg

9) Awesomeness at 12 o'clock. The report from the whale watch boat ahead of us was that these Killer whales had just got a hold of a sea lion or two. By the time we got close enough for pictures, the feeding frenzy had died down.
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438341_jeKrY-M.jpg

10) This is truly a remarkable sight. Killer whales are known to hunt humpbacks. Its hard to see, but that is a humpback just at the surface, heading to the left. The Orcas are passing right by in the opposite direction.
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438349_NXzi2-M.jpg

11) Coming right at us. The group of 3 swam right under our boat.
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438364_iC5hw-M.jpg

12) Mama and a healthy looking juvenile.
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438409_Q5AX2-M.jpg

13) One of my favorites.
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438483_7tnsc-M.jpg

14) Abouyt 2 hours into the trip, things got real interesting. Yes, that IS the pectoral fin of a humpback whale, and it IS stcking out right from under our boat. It got better and lasted a long time!
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438584_5EMcu-M.jpg

15) This is the second time Cindi and I have experienced this behavior. Humpbacks will occasionally become "friendly" and approach and then hang around a boat. Its unbelievably exciting.
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438605_3h2iX-M.jpg

16)
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438655_fZygU-M.jpg

17)
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438675_7h3CS-M.jpg

18)
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438711_9guLM-M.jpg

19)
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438734_uBnFS-M.jpg

20) Did a mention that this humongous whale came right up to our boat and just hung out for an hour? :barb
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438743_cAM7B-XL.jpg

21) We all thought it was pretty cool.
http://petepics.smugmug.com/photos/411438316_LjWJm-M.jpg

[draggin]

Look like you had a whale of a time (sorry somebody had to say it) :rolleyes Your very fortunate to be able to get that close to such large animals and manged to get some very nice shots

Tim

[dlplumer]

Great series :thumb :thumb

[Sam]

Great post. Thanks for sharing!

Sam

[Maestro]

What an awesome experience! I can't help but think that the humpback was playing and knew that this boat meant no harm. Wonderful images! The orcas were all so cool too and to see a juvenile with its mom, wow!

[jonh68]

Great pictures! I wonder if the whale was using the boat as a refuge from the killer whales?

[leaforte]

Lovely. I follow the whales in the San Juan Islands of Washington and love them dearly. Per chance have you seen this video (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=17681319)of a friendly whale near Lummi Island, saying hello to the kyakers.

[petepics]

Great pictures! I wonder if the whale was using the boat as a refuge from the killer whales?

Interesting possibility. We didn't notice any killer whales in the vicinity at the time, but our idea of "vicinity" is limited by our slow moving boat. We humans tend to describe any wild animal behavior that is not agressive, as "friendly". Truth is, we really don't understand most of the whale behavior that is observed at the surface.

To leaforte:
I have seen that video and its a great reminder that these are wild animals. respect that and keep your distance.