Sea Worthy--SFBayWhaleWatching Trip Reports and Images

Tell Us Your Stories!

2010-02-21T16:06:00.000-08:00

It is said that "everyone has a story". When I moved to California, it was the pioneer stories that captivated me, such as: "I packed up my old car and drove alone from Philadelphia...slept in the car on the way...found an apartment, a roommate and a job through Craigslist...all within a week!" It never fails to interest me how people made the decision to leave everything behind for a fresh start. Imagination and courage, I figure, are the prime ingredients that fuel these personal odysseys. Oh, the wonderful stories I've heard, the wonderful people I've met in California.

Starting with the first SF Bay Whale Watching trip I took, the personal stories kept coming - this time stories from fellow passengers about what brought them aboard that day. Lots of locals were ebullient about finally, after all those years nearby, seeing the underside of the Golden Gate Bridge, or seeing those spooky Farallon Islands that they'd only glimpsed on a rare fog-less day (..ah ha - so they are real and not a myth!"). As Verne Bryant always says: "the people who come on a whale watching trip are always interesting, special people".

There was that four-generations-strong family party that thought a celebration at sea was the best way to honor their grandfather's 75th birthday. What more could they give him than time spent all together? Add some Humpback Whales and that was one heck of a party!

Then there was our-now-dear-friend, Verna, who came aboard alone at age 90, to finally see the Farallones. Verna had a weekly habit of walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, where she watched all the ships and sailboats heading out to sea. One day she made up her mind to find out for herself what salt spray felt like on her face...what dolphins looked like outside of an aquarium, what whales looked like in the wild. Verna sat in the bow for the whole trip; the smile never left her face.

Each trip has out-of-towners finally experiencing the Pacific Ocean and it's marine life, a dream come true, after a lifetime of seeing San Francisco Bay and ocean images on TV and in movies. Birthday, anniversary, college reunion celebrants; rendezvous-ing far flung friends; free trip contest winners; gift certificate recipients ('best gift I ever got!"); honeymooners from all over the world; bird watchers who travel huge distances to see the vast bird colonies at the Farallones; and adventures who tick off another stop on their world-wide traverse to see each ocean's species of whales; all these people have a story worth sharing and hearing.

So please continue to share your stories with us - both personally on board, and afterwards in an email to Verne Bryant at SF Bay Whale Watching. It might be hard to beat the recent story about the Oregon high school students and their enthusiastic science teacher who traveled all night by bus to join an SF Bay Whale Watching trip, saw whales, dolphins, sea lions, seals, sea nettles, sea birds, AND the Golden Gate Bride, and then loaded back onto the bus for home ... to tell their stories, no doubt.

Text by Kathleen Jacques.

Blue Whales Sighted!

2009-09-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

“Life is unpredictable” – yeah, we know. Start with weather in San Francisco, and you’ve kicked that cliché up a notch. Now add weather + marine life + the Farallon Islands and anything goes. Surprise - we saw 3 Blue Whales on what I gloomed was going to be a full-out foggy, no-show day! Well, not a complete no-show - the Harbor Seals were on-cue cute, just as we left San Francisco Bay.

Blue Whales; the largest animal on the planet – now or ever. Up to 32.9 meters (108 feet) long, 150 tons, a potential 80 year life span; awesome to image, more so to see. Consider that SF Bay Whale Watching passengers had parked their puny cars a mere 27 miles away from the gigantic Blue Whales they were about to see that day.

Before last Saturday I’d never seen a Blue Whale. Some years pass without even one confirmed Blue Whale sighting out at the Farallones. Turned upside down this year – we’ve had sightings for 3 straight weeks and there were sightings earlier in the year too. Observers from the Marine Mammal Center report that currently there are 12 – 15 Blue Whales out near the Farallones!

NOAA has now made it official that we are in an El Nino weather pattern; the thinking is that the warmer seas are producing less food and therefore sustaining fewer marine mammals. As of the middle of September, NOAA reports “current conditions, trends, and model forecasts favor the continued development of a weak-to-moderate strength El Niño into the Northern Hemisphere fall 2009”. But this has not been our experience - we continue to see many whales, in fact, in record numbers.

The other big story from Saturday was the sighting of an enormous “red tide” – a miles long, mile wide swarm of visible krill, the cafeteria special that day – the reason the Blues were sticking around. The krill feed on phytoplankton; the whales feed on the krill. That’s the reason the too-many-to-count Humpback Whales were happily lunge feeding – flinging themselves upward, mouths agape, throat pleats extended into full “Jiffy Pop” mode to swallow as many krill as 10,000 gallons of water will hold (the water is filtered out, the ¾ inch krill are goners).

Although they didn’t appear on Saturday, we’ve been seeing Gray Whales all summer, well past the time when they’ve usually passed by on their way to feeding grounds in the Bering Sea. Naturalists and researchers tell us that we appear to have a 3 member resident group of Gray’s feeding at the Farallon Islands.

At least one observer tells of seeing a Gray Whale vertically feeding, flukes aloft, in shallow waters just off the Farallones. Gray Whales like to sift through bottom sand in search of amphipods (small crustaceans) and tube worms found in bottom sediments. Come out with us soon, maybe you’ll catch sight of an upside-down Gray Whale AND a Blue Whale!

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Sea Lions, Sea Birds, Whales, Dolphins, oh yeah, and Kelp Crabs too!

2009-07-26T06:50:00.000-07:00

Gray Whale at the Farallones video by Pierre Lavagne; Shelltone Whale Project.

What a great time to take an SF Bay Whale Watching trip! Naturalist Melinda Nakagawa’s account of a recent trip: “We had great whale viewing conditions on Saturday July 4th. Weather: Calm seas almost like glass at times, not much of a swell, wind was about 5 knots, overcast skies, clearing in the afternoon.”

“At the start of our trip we all enjoyed watching several hundred Harbor Seals hauled out (laying out on rocks offshore) just beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, at Diablo Point. There was also a large mixed flock of about a thousand Clark's and Western Grebes here as well, some Brandt's Cormorants, Brown Pelicans, and a Black Oystercatcher.”

“We headed out toward the Farallon Islands, but stopped on the way to investigate some floating Bull Kelp. We discovered some neat critters living on the kelp including several large Kelp Isopods, tiny stalked barnacles (you can see them on the isopod, and kelp photos) and even tiny Kelp Crabs (Pugetttia sp.). We encountered Harbor Porpoises, Moon Jellies and Sea Nettle Jellies.”

“At Southeast Farallon Island, we spotted a Gray Whale- there have been about 5 of them at the island this summer. The island was full of life, as it is this time of year with all the breeding seabirds. This spring and summer, however the oceanic conditions have been unusual, and no Brandt's Cormorants bred on the island. This spring hundreds of adult cormorants have washed up dead on beaches from San Francisco to Monterey, seemingly due to starvation. Biologists are trying to work out what exactly happened to the animals and why they have died.” (Click here for more information from the Marine Mammal Center about what has been happening to these seabirds.)

“At the Farallones we spotted a Tufted Puffin along with Common Murres, Western Gulls, Rhinoceros Auklets, a few Brandt's and Pelagic Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots, Cassin's Auklets, and Sooty Shearwaters. Here we saw all five of our pinniped species: Harbor Seals, California Sea Lions, Steller Sea Lons, Northern Fur Seals, and Northern Elephant Seals.”

“The water was calm enough to allow us to take the boat around West End (the seaward end of the island where water is often too rough for us to round) to view West End cove and the Great Arch. This edge habitat is a great place for large cetaceans, seabirds, and sea turtles. Today we were lucky to encounter about 12 Humpback Whales-- breaching and all! A few were in the distance, but most were in good viewing range, and a few even surfaced 20 meters from the boat! The sea was calm, so the Captain shut of the engines, and we floated alongside the whales, hearing their bursting exhales!”

“While everyone was taking in the magnificent whale viewing, a group of about 12-15 Pacific White-sided Dolphins (Lagenorhyncus obliquidens, or Lags for short) appeared and approached our boat. They hung out with us for the next hour or so swimming along side the boat, and criss-crossing the bow. Four Northern Right Whale Dolphins (Lissodelphis borealis) were traveling with the group as well. They are really elegant, black dolphins with no dorsal fin.”

“All in all a fabulous day of watching marine wildlife!! Can't wait to go out again, Melinda.”

Blog by Kathleen Jacques. Narrative by Melinda Nakagawa. Video by Pierre Lavagne. Photos by Melinda Nakagawa and Ed Estes.

SF Bay Whale Watching Passengers Share a Ride With 10 California Sea Lions

2009-07-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

There was plenty of room aboard-ship for all of the 40+ SF Bay Whale Watching passengers and 10 California Sea Lions as they left port and headed out under the Golden Gate Bridge last weekend. With 27 miles of ocean to cross on the way to their Farallon Islands destination, there was also ample time to get acquainted.

Unbeknown to the whale watchers at the time they booked their trip in search of wildlife sightings, the Marine Mammal Center had asked Verne Bryant, owner of SF Bay Whale Watching, if 10 recovered California Sea Lions could hitch a ride out to the Farallones for release to the wild.

The Marine Mammal Center has experienced a remarkable surge in the numbers of ailing sea lions needing treatment. The San Francisco Chronicle recently published an article detailing the record number of calls that the Center received in June, and the 85 sea lions that were then convalescing in the Center’s newly opened Sausalito rehabilitation facility.

What better way to ferry back home to the Farallones than to join a group of whale/dolphin/sea turtle/albatross/seal lovers?! Comfortably berthed two to a transport box (ok..., dog crate) the young California Sea Lions gave the best marine-life show and tell demonstration imaginable. SF Bay Whale Watching Naturalist and Marine Mammal Center staff member, Trish Mirabella narrated the entire experience for the lucky passengers. That was some great classroom!

Our friend and Shelltone Whale Project inventor, Pierre Lavagne, volunteered his services setting the sea lions free. That was a perk for both Pierre and for all our fascinated passengers. Oh, and they saw whales too! And dolphins, and a giant Mola Mola fish, and thousands of sea birds, and Elephant Seals...

Photos by Trish Mirabella. Text by Kathleen Jacques.

Whales, Dolphins, Sea Lions, Puffins = Cloud 9!

2009-05-29T13:45:00.000-07:00

Some SF Bay Whale Watching passengers are visiting San Francisco on their honeymoon. Business people often stay on over the weekend after their meetings and trade shows and come aboard to unwind. Lots of people come to the area to celebrate graduations, weddings, reunions, and then suggest another outing while in town. Gracious hosts like to wow their special out-of-town guests. And some locals finally get around to it. “Let’s go see a whale!”

Alice Tobin falls into a special category of SF Bay Whale Watching passengers. Alice, intrepid traveler from North Carolina, is collecting experiences around the globe. She stopped here hoping to see and photograph a whale.

It turned out to be a great day at sea. From Alice: “Hi, all, I had such a great time. I'm still on cloud 9. Most people go whale watching in hopes of seeing a whale. We saw a gray and several humpbacks, plus the dolphins, sea lions, puffins ...etc. Nice meeting all of you. hugs, Alice”

Hmm...five or six Humpback Whales at 90,000 pounds each, one Gray Whale at 80,000 pounds, hundreds of California and Steller Sea Lions, a large mixed group of dolphins, Tufted Puffins, tens of thousands of sea birds at the Farallon Islands... I think Alice had an adventure all right. Thank you for sharing your whale photos Alice, and your experience.

The marine wildlife is abundant, the scenery is magnificent, and your fellow passengers are always interesting. Come experience and share an SF Bay Whale Watching adventure!

Whale Photos by Alice Tobin. Tufted Puffin and Pacific White-sided Dolphin photos by Ed Estes. Text by Kathleen Jacques.

40 Killer Whales Spotted by SFBay Whale Watchers

2009-03-17T16:49:00.000-07:00

40! That's right, I said 40 Killer Whales ("orcinus orca", if you want to be formal about it; and while we're at it, an Orca is not actually a whale but a delphinidae, a member of the dolphin family). This astounding photo was taken March 7, 2009 near the Farallon Islands by SFBay Whale Watching passenger, David Leslie. That's what I call being in the right place at the right time (having the right camera and talent helps too - thank you David!).

Thankfully, passenger David Leslie (seen above with his daughter Jennifer) was there to capture the images, and thank goodness our Naturalist, Trish Mirabella was there to capture the story with such knowledge and enthusiasm.

Trish's story: “Last Saturday's trip was amazing. It started out with beautiful calm weather. Cobalt blue skies with marine blue ocean glittering on the horizon. We had a full boat of very enthusiastic participants. We rounded Point Bonita and headed west towards the Farallon Islands. At about 15 miles out the first spouts appeared off to the distance. The blows were bushy and heart shaped in their appearance, a tell-tale sign that they belonged to Gray Whales."

"For the next hour we were surrounded by about 12-15 Gray's. It seemed like they were feeding because they would stay at the surface 3-5 minutes and then “fluke”, sinking their tails out of the water followed by a longer 10-15 minute dive. We didn't witness any babies although some looked smaller, perhaps juveniles. These whales were definitely busy because they didn't stick around our boat long, before moving on to somewhere else.”

“We slowly approached the Farallones. The water was clear blue aqua and you could see the ocean floor near Fisherman's bay with a white bottom substrate. Because of the recent rain the island was brimming with green foliage, a native plant known as the Farallon Weed. The island glowed and had a clean air about it. Around the rocky outcropping of Fisherman's Bay were hauled-out Stellar Sea Lions with the males displaying their dominance by their astute stature. We had a Mola Mola (ocean sun fish) about 3’x3’ that approached our boat. The captain and I thought it was a plastic bag floating on the surface when we realized it had fins that were swimming our way! It came so close to the boat that you could see that it had a turquoise eye.”

“Soon we were heading back towards the golden gate when I heard the captain scream Orca! He witnessed three Orcas ahead with one breaching clear out of the water. Within 5 minutes, our boat became surrounded by black dorsal fins. Some sliced through the water at 6-7 ft high. Males, with large triangular fins followed by 3 ft falcate (curved) female fins. The whales seemed to be greeting us, saying hello."

"They were coming at us in groups of 3-5. Whales were breaching fully out of the water, slapping their tales repeatedly on the surface, a behavior known as “lobtailing”. They were laying on their sides and slapping their pectoral fins on the water, usually this signals a social display. The whales seemed to be feeding because of their social nature and abundant displays. We saw a couple of calves with their moms. Instead of having a grey saddle patch located below their dorsal fin, it was pink in appearance."

"These whales stayed with us for over two hours. We were the only boat as far as the eye could see. Surrounded in a blue soup of Orcas. I talked with Ken Balcomb principle director for the center for whale research in Puget Sound, Washington that day and he was curious to see if they were the resident population missing from those waters since February. After a few days they were positively identified as resident fish-eating Orcas from Washington State.”

Thanks also to the Marin Independent Journal for its great newspaper story of SFBay Whale Watching's big day.

Photos courtesy of David Leslie. Narration by Trish Mirabella; text by Kathleen Jacques.

Have You Ever Seen the Golden Gate Bridge from Underneath?

2009-01-03T20:04:00.000-08:00

Of course you’ve seen photos of the Golden Gate Bridge; walk across it any day of the week, in any month in the year, and you’ll see photographers clicking digital cameras or trying to steady themselves for YouTube-worthy video footage. Add those images to magazine, newspaper, movie and television coverage of the bridge’s orange towers, sweep of cables and suspender ropes, and just try not to hum “I left my heart in San Francisco”. Surely, you are acquainted with the great bridge.

Yes, you can close your eyes and still see the Golden Gate Bridge from on-high, but have you ever been under the bridge? I think the underside of the bridge is beautiful and every bit as photogenic as topside.

Moreover, the underside (call it the ‘working-side’) of the bridge seems to more readily conjure up the brave men who built the bridge between 1933 and 1937.

Come aboard an SF Bay Whale Watching trip and bring your camera because there is much to marvel at and record as you travel under the bridge on your way to the whales.

If you like rivets the size of walnuts (each riveter “endured noise, discomfort and a pitiless production quota. We riveted 8 hours a day, 350 rivets a shift.”), you’ll love all that riveted geometrically-patterned steel holding up the roadbed.

There’s never a time when I pass underneath the Golden Gate Bridge on an SF Bay Whale Watching excursion that I don’t think about what it must have been like to be up there actually building the bridge. Maybe that’s why each and every hand-set rivet seems like an introduction to the man behind the rivet gun.

Any glimpse of a whale is fantastic, but an opportunity to see whales is the icing on the SF Bay Whale Watching cake - we give you the Golden Gate Bridge too! Up close, from underneath, as you’ve never seen it before.

For photos and stories of the bridge under construction I urge you to see Spanning the Gate/The Golden Gate Bridge by Stephen Cassady. Meanwhile, I’ll let riveter George W. Albin have the last words (as reported in Mr. Cassady’s book): “You had to make sure the rivets were the right size- they changed with the plate thicknesses of the metal you were working on - and you had to make sure you were sticking it in the right hole."

"If you screwed up, it would only screw everybody up - the heater, because once you fire up a rivet you can use it only once, and the rest of us, because you would lose time and get behind. It was pitch black inside those cells (in the towers), and the ventilation was poor. You couldn’t hear a thing except the noise of the riveting guns and the echoes. And there was many a time the light in your hard hat would go out.”

I’ll thank George the next time I pass underneath his bridge...

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Humpback Harmonies

2008-11-30T15:42:00.001-08:00

By now, most North Pacific Humpback Whales have passed through our region on their annual migration to warmer tropical waters where they will mate and deliver their cute little 1,500 pound, 15 foot-long babies.

In a reverse of what we post-Thanksgiving humans do, the whales don’t feed in the winter, but live on the fat stores they piled on during all that krill, herring, etc., chowing-down that we observed out by the Farallon Islands (and up in the higher latitudes; colder water being more nutrient rich).

I always miss them. And it’s a big event when the first northward Humpback raises its flukes in salute - what an entrance! Sometimes when the Humpbacks are seen in our region (a good part of the year actually, sightings are most abundant in the summer but they’re seen in spring and fall also), and especially when we’ve cut the boat’s engine because curious whales have drifted towards us, we can hear clicks and whines, moans and groans, creaks and squeals - the Humpbacks are singing!

Until you’ve been way out to sea, beyond sight of land, with the distinction above and below the horizon barely registering any difference as the grey sea mirrors the grey color of the sky, you won’t understand the impact of those rumbling whale sounds that lets you know that it is the sea that holds the mysteries, that its deepness is the infinite space, and that you are the alien in a world belonging to them, you are the accidental guest.

I thought about all of this when our friend, Pierre Lavagne of France, came for a visit recently and demonstrated his “Shelltone” whale-call invention that replicates the sounds of Humpbacks (our local San Francisco ABC station, KGO-TV, ran a story with Pierre and Verne Bryant, SF Whale Watching’s owner and patron saint, demonstrating the Shelltone: Invention Mimics Humpback Whale Sounds.

Right now, in those warm southern waters where the Humpbacks are breeding, the songs of amorous males can be heard more than 20 miles away from the spot where they vie for the female’s attention.

Female Humpbacks sing too, but it is males who produce distinct “melodies” as they do their courting. Of course, scientists also surmise that there is a dark side of love, and that the serenade is rivalry between potential mates.

Individual songs are composed of many tones and notes and are repeated for hours or days. Researchers don’t really know how the sounds are produced since Humpbacks don’t have vocal chords, and their mouths don’t move as they sing. Theory has it that air circulated through passage-ways and chambers in their respiratory systems produce the sounds.

So as we await the return of the Humpbacks and this season’s calves, it’s fun to think of them singing and socializing in tropical waters. Those thoughts, and these shots of varied Humpback activity, taken throughout peak season near the Farallones, will hold me over until spring...

Photos and Text by Kathleen Jacques.

Whale Fan Club

2008-10-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

If you were reading this blog back in June you may remember that Google chose Sea Worthy as a “Blog of Note” (see “Blog of Note” - Thanks Blogger”, dated June 6, 2008), causing tens of thousands of reader hits from all over the globe.

The recognition was exhilarating, but more importantly, the spotlight connected us here at SF Bay Whale Watching to all those whale lovers out there.

Now Blogger has added a new feature to its hosted blogs and if you look at the bottom of the right sidebar you’ll see our new “followers” widget, captioned "Whale Fan Club" (oh heck, why not...). This is a place where like-minded whale fans can trumpet their support.

You may really enjoy reading their blogs too or just enjoy knowing that people from all over the world have the same “ooh..ahh” response to whales, sea lions, porpoises, seabirds, and spooky islands, as you. Please join our Whale Fan Club and come back often!

In the spirit of giving you more reasons to “ooh and ahh” I offer some of photographer Ed Estes’ photos from recent trips. As usual, Ed has some great bird shots from out at the Farallones, and a new-to-me vantage point shot of Point Bonita Lighthouse.

As for what we are seeing these days - Humpback Whales and more Humpback Whales, putting on a show for their fans...

Photos by Ed Estes. Text by Kathleen Jacques.

October - Perfect Whale Watching Weather in San Francisco

2008-10-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

Did you know that average October weather in San Francisco is warmer than that of June, July or August? In fact, the only month of the year where the average San Francisco temperature exceeds October’s is September.

Add that to generally calmer seas, lots of migrating Humpback Whales, plenty of dolphins, porpoises, seals, sea lions, and sea birds, and you have the ideal time to take an SF Bay Whale Watching expedition.

Humpbacks are still plentiful even as the southward migration season approaches. Last week there was even a Blue Whale sighting although nobody managed a photo.

And even though the seabird breeding season has largely finished, there are still plenty of birds resident on the Farallones, as well as some migratory songbirds passing through!

Did I mention that with breeding season largely finished at the Farallones, the Farallon flies and Eau de Farallones have mercifully abated?!

With mild temperatures, calm seas, and diminished fog, September and October, somewhat paradoxically, are peak White Shark season at the Farallones. While you may not see a White Shark feeding off the Farallones this Fall (and then again, you might...), consider that one may be waiting, watching from below for that sea lion silhouette and an opportunity to strike! These Tufted Puffins are safe from the sharks - not enough fat or meat!

The September/October pay-off was abundant for SF Bay Whale Watching passengers on recent trips, as photographer Ed Estes’ shows in these “San Francisco’s version of summer” images.

Photos by Ed Estes. Text by Kathleen Jacques.

Humpback Whale - Sleeping Like a Log?

2008-09-14T18:15:00.001-07:00

You’ve heard the expression “slept like a log”, well consider a 90,000 pound log floating in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, flanked on each side by another 90,000 pound log - a Humpback Whale of a log. Well, SFBay Whale Watching’s newest naturalist Trish Mirabella gave last week’s passengers a vivid lesson about Humpback Whales sleeping like a log.

Out by the Farallon Islands Trish and the passengers spotted three Humpback Whales “logging”, that is, floating near the water’s surface, dorsal fins and enormous backs exposed.

Photographer Ed Estes, who took all of these great photos takes up the story: “You and I have seen this before and I have heard others talk about the way whales sleep, but my conversation with Trish was the first time anyone discussed sleeping patterns related to the Humpback's logging.”

“I knew that they were resting during this behavior but did not know that the whale in the middle is resting the deepest and with each dive that follows a period of logging, the whales change positions, so that one of the whales that had been on the outside takes the middle position in order to rest.”

It seems that the whales each take a turn in the middle position where they can sleep the soundest, while the flanking whales take the “look-out” positions.

“Once before I saw this pattern of logging when three whales dove and came back up in a different order, and then repeated the exercise over and over. And now I know why!”

Welcome Trish - you’re a great addition to the SFBay Whale Watching family!

If you’ve ever wanted to go whale watching, this is a terrific time - Humpback Whales are abundant and as you can also see from the photos of Tufted Puffins (bravo Ed; these are the best puffin photos yet!), Risso’s Dolphins (my favorites), and California Sea Lions (gotta love those faces!), there is plenty to see and as a bonus Trish will supply great stories.

Photos by Ed Estes. Text by Kathleen Jacques.

A Couple of Favorite Trip Stories

2008-08-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

Carol Keiper, senior Naturalist for SF Bay Whale Watching, sent in reports from a couple of recent trips. Here are a couple of her favorite stories and also some of photographer Ed Estes favorite recent photographs. “A young girl, around 10 years old (wish I knew her name!) came up to me as we were checking everyone in and expressed her wish to see a Brown Pelican on the trip! I replied, sure, no problem, because I knew they were in the area this time of year. We had a great ride out to the Farallon Islands - saw thousands of seabirds - but only ONE pelican! She was nevertheless thrilled.”

“However, we had a nice surprise on our return trip - just as we were approaching the Golden Gate Bridge there were feeding flocks of cormorants and Brown Pelicans - about 10 of the pelicans were plunge diving off the side of the Kitty Kat - she was beaming with joy and this literally made her whole trip!”

“She was jumping up and down and clapping! This is the first time ever, in my 20+ years of experience as a Naturalist, that one of our young guests expressed such joy with her connection with the natural world via pelicans!”

Also from Carol: “Another first time ever experience for me: trying to find the whales by smelling them!"

“We had thick fog all the way out to the islands. However, there was very little wind and a flat ocean. About half way out we passed through some foul-smelling whale breath! Because the air was so still, the breath of the whales was lingering - so we shut off the engines and dropped the hydrophone, hoping to at least be able to hear the whales (because we couldn't see them!)”

“I'm certain that if we had greater visibility, we would have been able to see them. Well, we didn't hear them - and all I could say was "We know the whales are here, because we can smell them - humpback halitosis!"

“Well - as we approached the islands, the fog lifted and we got our usual spectacular views of the islands and amazing wildlife. The visibility was much better on our return trip and guess what? We were able to see the whales we had smelled earlier!”

Photos by Ed Estes. Text by Kathleen Jacques.

A Great Day at Sea!

2008-07-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 12, 2008 SFBay Whale Watching hosted members of "Seaflow" aboard the Kitty Kat for the third of four scheduled trips. Seaflow is a nonprofit organization that works to curb ocean noise pollution. Passengers got a chance to listen to vessel and marine mammal sounds from hydrophones lowered off the boat. Seaflow discussed the findings of their prior testing and their efforts to protect marine mammals from loud, life threatening noises.

It just so happened that six California Sea Lions were ready to leave their sanctuary at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito that day too. It was time for the rescued and rehabilitated juvenile sea lions to return to their home at sea.

Lucky whale watching passengers got acquainted with the young sea lions as deck space was shared on the way to the Farallon Islands. Sounds like a party to me.

Carol Keiper, senior Naturalist on the trip, gave her usual fascinating descriptions of animals encountered along the way and shared some real baleen (the filter inside the whale’s mouth that strains gulped food from the water) with the passengers.

As if hydrophones and hitchhiking sea lions weren't enough, there were the plunge-diving-off-the-stern Brown Pelicans and the just-off-the-bow Sea Nettles.

Photographer Ed Estes got these extraordinary pictures of the Sea Nettles right below the water’s surface.

Sea Nettles can be hard to spot in the water and even harder to photograph, but conditions were just right and passengers got yet another treat.

For more of the Seaflow story have a look at the article the San Francisco Chronicle published the next day. And I'll be posting more of Ed's photos from the trip too; it was an exceptional day also for photographers! Oh, and did I mention that we saw too many Humpback Whales to count...

Photos by Ed Estes. Text by Kathleen Jacques.

Grays Give Way to Humpbacks

2008-07-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

Over the next several weeks we'll see more Humpback Whales than Gray Whales out near the Farallon Islands in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. About now the Grays have mostly passed by on their way north to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea. We often see them pass awfully close to the Farallones during their northern migration, providing us with a nice backdrop for photographing a "blow" (the visible plume of moist air expelled from the lungs).

It's harder to spot a whale's blow when there is no contrasting backdrop and when you're scanning a seemingly endless horizon. Somehow it seems downright neighborly of the Grays to be so obliging.

Gray Whales are "mysticetes", commonly referred to as "baleen" whales. Baleen is an amazing feeding system whereby these 40 plus foot-long marine mammals can feed on masses of tiny schooling fish and krill by filtering gulps of water and prey through the built-in strainers in their mouths. It is hard to imagine that early whalers thought of Grays as ferocious given the baleen feeding system and their well documented curious and gentle approach to boats.

On this recent SF Bay Whale Watching trip passengers saw both Gray Whales and Humpback Whales. It seems that once the Humpbacks come our way during their northbound migration, we see more of them than the Grays during their migration. Maybe the Grays travel solo more often or maybe they just have fewer numbers, but for one reason or another the Humpbacks seem more plentiful.

The 2 Humpbacks in the photo above were traveling together, unlike the Gray who traveled alone. Now that the Humpbacks are coming through our waters, we'll surely see solo travelers but we're also apt to see small groups as well as mother/calf pairs. There is something extra thrilling about seeing three or four 90,000 pound Humpbacks cruising through your neighborhood.

(Humpback Whale above; Gray Whale below.)

The fishermen tell us that there is plenty of whale food in the Gulf of the Farallones this summer so Grays or Humpbacks, whales should abound.

Photos by Ed Estes. Text by Kathleen Jacques.

Ed's "Photos of Note" (my favorites)

2008-06-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

Since the June 4, 2008 selection of Sea Worthy by Google's Blogger as a "Blog of Note", more than 15,000 people from 137 countries have stopped by to take a look. Many people have sent messages of praise and encouragement. It's been amazing.

To every comment writer, I say thank you again for your kind words. And thanks too for introducing me to your fascinating blogs, I'm having a ball vicariously traipsing around the world.

Most of the comments praise the blog's photos and marvel at the beauty of the wildlife to be seen aboard an SF Bay Whale Watching trip.

The praise must be shared with Ed Estes, the fantastic photographer who took many of the images throughout the blog. Scroll through the blog entries and you'll see lots of Ed's images - look at the credits at each entry's end.

Many times when I've been unable to go out on the boat Ed has been the one to juggle the heavy long lens and balance through the swells to capture the perfect whale flukes, the Farallon Islands, a feeding Great White Shark, bow-riding Pacific White-sided Dolphins, and birds, lots and lots of birds.

Ed's bird images always astonish the rest of us because it's so hard to get his clarity and focus.

We know there is a lot of luck involved in capturing bird images -it's not everyday that an albatross or Brown Boobie comes into view. Sure enough though, Ed will get the shot.

Seeing his beautiful images is the next best thing to having been aboard for me (even takes the sting away from missing the big shot).

Choosing among my favorite of Ed's images was really hard with so many great possibilities - so look at the blog archives for more.

Next time I'll get back to blogging about what is currently going on out at sea on SF Bay Whale Watching trips.

Here's one more sincere "thank you" to all those Blogger viewers who stopped by - maybe through Ed's images you'll see through his eyes and vicariously enjoy the ride. Better yet, come see for yourself. Join us!

Photos by Ed Estes. Text by Kathleen Jacques.

"Blog of Note" - Thanks Blogger!

2008-06-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be a blog about the fantastic sightings lately of groups of Humpback Whales seen passing through the Gulf of the Farallones Marine Sanctuary. On the way to that blog something special happened - Google’s Blogger Team selected Sea Worthy as its’ “Blog of Note” for June 4, 2008. By the end of the day 4,529 people from 101 countries had viewed the blog! It was a good day.

I found out because my email was full of messages that comments to the blog were coming in. It was great fun reading kind remarks from people all over the world and then having a look at their blogs too.

To each of you who took the time to comment and congratulate, I sincerely thank you. If you weren’t so scattered all over the map I’d schedule a special SF Bay Whale Watching trip for all of you!

Verne Bryant, owner of SF Bay Whale Watching always says that it is a privilege to see the whales. He also says that the people who come aboard our trips are always interesting, and spending time with them is especially rewarding.

I’ll add that the combination of the whales and birds, etc, the natural beauty of the marine sanctuary, and these interesting people toting cameras makes for blog-heaven.

The photos here are some of my favorites from past trips: Humpback Whales - acrobatic, agile giants; California and Steller Sea Lions - each face so different and expressive.

Brown Pelicans - prehistoric-looking plunge divers, formation fliers with wings 6.5 feet across; Risso's Dolphins - cross-hatched with scars from tussles with squid.

Lucky for you that I didn’t include hundreds of pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge (cables/railings/rivets/south view/north view/from atop a tower/from underneath/with fog/without fog...I've got 'em all!)

Thank you to Blogger for providing this free platform and for the recognition. The power of the internet always intrigues me but never so much as last Wednesday when the world came to look at our whales.

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Fickle Fog

2008-05-23T19:39:00.001-07:00

The weather was unusually warm and the skies uninterrupted blue as we set off under the Golden Gate Bridge on last Saturday’s whale watching trip. Even the sea between the bridge and Point Bonita known as the “Potato Patch” was calm (the Potato Patch is a shallow area prone to rough seas, supposedly named for the tossed and floating potatoes from overloaded boats delivering produce to Gold Rush era crowds.)

Maybe half-way on the 27 mile trip to the Farallon Islands things began to change, there were swells instead of total calm, and toward the west a canopy of low hanging clouds seemed out of place but undeniable. Jackets started to be pulled out of backpacks, zippers started to be zipped. Doggone it, summer fog had arrived ahead of schedule.

According to Weather Of The San Francisco Bay Region by Harold Gilliam, a terrific book unlocking the mysteries of the Bay Area's micro climates, the type of fog we witnessed was neither early nor unusual. “Wind from the northwest, skimming thousands of miles of ocean, absorbs great quantities of moisture that has evaporated from the surface.”

“The moisture is suspended in the air...(it) comes into contact with the cold, upwelled waters and is cooled off, causing vapor to condense into visible droplets. The result is the great fog bank that envelops most of the California coast intermittently during the late spring and summer.”

Lessons learned: 1. dress in layers for your whale watching trip, 2. tell your friends that you meant your photos to have this edgy, atmospheric effect, and 3. be prepared for the unexpected - think on your feet (sorry, that photo needed a caption).

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Gray Whale Seen Inside The Gate

2008-04-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

Here at SF Bay Whale Watching we encourage you to "Get Outside The Gate" - travel with us beyond the Golden Gate for a chance to see whales and other marine mammals. Last Thursday the tables turned and a Gray Whale decided to venture inside the Gate, most likely in search of an easy meal. (See SFGate story from April 25, 2008)

When I read about the Gray Whale seen under the Golden Gate Bridge and just beyond Crissy Field last Thursday I remembered that this happened last year too. See Sea Worthy Blog entry dated March 11, 2007 where a reader reports seeing a whale near Crissy Field on May 6, 2007. That earlier blog has information about the Grays' shallow water feeding habits, and in retrospect makes that visit inside the Gate logical.

As Gray Whales migrate towards their feeding grounds at the Bering Sea at this time of year we often hear about sightings near Sausalito, Tiburon or other spots in the Bay. Sometimes we're asked what kind of whale they're seeing.

The easiest way to differentiate a Gray from a Humpback for the casual observer would be to look for a dorsal fin - you won't find one on a Gray. So when the whale dives, and its' back arches you'll see something more like "knuckles" along its backbone. Another ID give-a-way are the whitish spots (... the Gray's coloration reminds me of a linoleum pattern.)

It is assumed that the Gray that was seen inside the Gate last week had a nice meal, took in the sights and safely resumed his or her 5,000 mile migration north. Such was not the harmless idyll for another Gray Whale that wandered about 12 miles from the mouth of the Eel River, off California's north coast.

Students and a professor from Humboldt State University freed the Gray that was snarled in and trailing about 50 feet of crab-pot lines and several marker buoys. (See SFGate whale rescue story from April 27, 2008, and Sea Worthy Blog entry on whale rescue techniques dated December 16, 2006.)

Chances are still much better that you'll see a whale (and without cargo) outside the Gate.

Photos by Ed Estes. Text by Kathleen Jacques.

Alcatraz Island - Home of the West Coast's First Working Lighthouse

2008-04-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

Alcatraz = lighthouses? Not exactly the association that first comes to mind, is it? Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, or maybe Robert Stroud, The Birdman of Alcatraz, sure, but who even notices that old lighthouse? In fact, the original lighthouse on Alcatraz Island was the first of eight lighthouses authorized by the US Congress as a response to Gold Rush era maritime traffic. What a relief it must have been on June 1, 1854 when the Alcatraz Island Fresnel lens first beamed its light toward the Golden Gate.

You’ll get a good look at Alcatraz Island on your way out of San Francisco Bay at the start of your whale watching trip. Generally, there’s not much boat traffic in the Bay at that hour so maybe it’ll be easier to recall Alcatraz’s early history without the distractions of modern marine and urban bustle. The 84 foot tall light tower you see today was a 1909 replacement for the first light house after it was both damaged in the 1906 earthquake and rendered ineffective by the encroaching new military prison being built alongside.

The original lighthouse sat centered atop a two story keepers’ cottage. Imagine a tower sitting on the roof of one of the old keepers’ cottages on South Farallon Island and you get the picture. In fact, all of the original eight authorized lighthouses began with the same general blueprint. (On the Farallones, the keepers’ cottages sit alone while the disembodied light tower sits perched atop the highest cliff.)

The original light tower itself was 50 feet tall and often insufficient to penetrate the Bay’s thick fog so two bell fog signals were also built, one each on the North and South sides of the island. Why giant 4,000-pound fog bells were used instead of a fog horn system is unclear. The bells were suspended from the porches of small outbuildings. No “turn the music down or you’ll ruin your hearing” option for that generation of lighthouse keepers’ children - imagine the tinnitus!

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Special Farallon Island Birdwatching Trip Scheduled for Wed. April 2, 2008

2008-03-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

To celebrate and highlight the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco's Wednesday, April 2nd, 8pm Forward 50 Speaker Series presentation: "Jonathan Rosen on Birdwatching", SF Bay Whale Watching has scheduled a special birdwatching trip to the Farallon Islands from 10:30am to 4pm on Wednesday, April 2, 2008.

According to the JCCSF's press release an estimated 46 million Americans are birdwatchers. In the JCCSF lecture series on Wednesday evening, New Yorker and New York Times contributor Jonathan Rosen "brings an engaging perspective to this popular pastime, born out of the tangled history of industrialization and nature longing. For many species of birds, this may be our last chance to look towards the sky to watch them!"

The evening presentation is open to the public as is this special mid-week opportunity to travel to the Farallon Islands and visit the largest seabird colony in the Continental US. Approximately 250,000 seabirds, during peak breeding and migrating periods, populate the Islands and surrounding waters of the Farallones. Come join us on Wednesday, April 2 for an opportunity to see the Farallones during their "green" phase, when the normally stark rocks are covered with spring growth, and thousands of Common Murres and other birds crowd in for April egg laying.

The egg laying will go on regardless, but please remember to call SF Bay Whale Watching the night before the trip at (415) 331-6267 to ensure that weather conditions do not disrupt the best laid plans!

SF Bay Whale Watching's special April 2, 10:30am Farallon Island birdwatching trip cost: $80.00. Order your tickets online at sfbaywhalewatching.com or call (415)331-6267.

Tickets for the April 2, 8:00pm JCCSF Forward 50 Speaker Series presentation "Jonathan Rosen on Birdwatching" cost: $8.00 for Members and $10.00 for the public. Order online at www.jccsf.org, or call (415) 292-1200.

(by the way: no extra charge if we should spot some whales on the way out to the birds...!)

Photos by Ed Estes. Text by Kathleen Jacques.

Vessel Watch Project - Seaflow and SFBay Whale Watching Offer Special Trips

2008-03-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

Join SF Bay Whale Watching and Seaflow for the Vessel Watch Project - special whale watching trips on May 4, June 15, July 12, and August 3. Come listen to the underwater world of sound, learn about ocean noise pollution and the impact large vessel traffic has on The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

Seaflow is a non-profit organization that provides public education and advocacy outreach to protect whales, dolphins, fish and all marine life from high intensity active sonars and other sources of human generated ocean noise pollution. Members of Seaflow will be coming aboard SF Bay Whale Watching trips to view whales, monitor the acoustic environment with hydrophones, and monitor maritime traffic in the shipping lanes.

We are delighted to have them aboard and hope that our other passengers take the opportunity to engage Seaflow members in conversation. There is much to learn about the effect of noise pollution on marine life and public awareness is vital in order to implement necessary protections. Participants in the Seaflow Vessel Watch Project will record their visual and acoustic observations, the speed of observed cargo vessels, and issue a press release and public notice documenting their findings on www.seaflow.org.

Our oceans are now filled with many human-generated, intensely loud and disturbing sounds. Major sources of human-generated intense underwater noises are seismic airguns, used to prospect for offshore oil, and military sonar. Low frequency active sonar is loud enough to be heard over a distance of 1000 miles. According to the Navy’s own test results, high intensity active sonars can have harmful effects on humans who swim or dive in nearby waters.

A growing body of scientific research confirms that the intense sounds produced by active sonars can inflict a range of adverse effects on marine mammals. These effects include death and serious injury caused by lung hemorrhage or tissue trauma, strandings and beachings, temporary and permanent hearing loss, disruption of feeding, breeding, nursing, communication and sensing, and other behaviors vital to survival.

For those passengers who come aboard an SF Bay Whale Watching trip on May 4, June 15, July 12 or August 3 it will be a special chance to listen to the underwater sounds of vessels and the sounds that whales may make. And it may be further proof that the raucous barking of sea lions that you may hear from ashore the Farallon Islands, also goes on below the water - yes, sea lions bark underwater! (see blog entry dated Sept. 21, 2006)

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Sea Lions - (with a bark, not a roar)

2008-02-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

Will you just look at that face?! In case you think (like I do) that the face of a Steller Sea Lion (also known as a Northern Sea Lion) rivals the sweetest domestic pooch’s face, remember - this fellow is no household pet. When he’s fully grown he’ll weigh in at an un-beagle-like 2,400 pounds and measure almost 8 feet in length.

When our SF Bay Whale Watching boat travels by the buoy where Steller and California Sea Lions haul out we always slow down for the show. Several sea lions are often seen swimming around the buoy waiting for the swells to tip the buoy so that they can leap aboard.

It doesn’t seem to matter if there is actually any available room aboard when they attempt that leap - they just dislodge whoever is already there.

Here’s something you’ve got to hear as well as see - a “raft” of sea lions.
Scores of mixed species just hanging out, miles from shore, barking, nosing each other, diving, swimming barely under the surface, playing, moving in unison, disappearing underwater then reappearing as a group several yards away, coming right up to the boat as if they are going to take your picture, or suddenly turning en mass and heading off in the opposite direction as if they are late for an appointment. Sea lion rafting is one of my favorite spectator sports.

At SF Bay Whale Watching we know that you are eager to see the Farallon Islands. Probably you associate them with the lore of the “Devil’s Teeth” myths and White Sharks, Killer Whales, perhaps the Gold Rush era “Egg Wars”. Few San Franciscans have seen the islands so naturally you are curious. Here’s another reason you should be excited to see the Farallones - the sea lions will be perched high, really high, up along the ridges and peaks of the islands - its a grand sight.

You ask yourself how those big tubs (with the cute faces) lug themselves all the way up those craggy slopes - how?! The why is obvious - remember you are looking at the infamous "Devil’s Teeth" - think White Sharks, Killer Whales...

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Mating Season (for Gray Whales, that is)

2008-01-24T18:20:00.000-08:00

Well, that got your attention. The Audubon Guide to Marine Mammals of the World states that the California stock of Gray Whales migrates from its summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea to its winter mating and calving areas off the coast of Baja California between November and March. So this is prime time to catch sight of the Grays on their amorous way south.

Gray Whales are notoriously curious - the old whalers invented the term “spyhopping” to describe the whales' practice of poking their heads out of the water for a look around. Spyhopping is a funny thing to observe because it seems so deliberate, like a “periscope up” command, not the joyous abandon of a full breach (leap).

I’ve heard lots of anecdotes especially about the curiosity that baby Gray Whales have shown regarding boaters - swimming alongside whale watching boats, allowing themselves to be petted even. It’s hard to imagine that whalers actually referred to Grays as “devil fish” because of their ferocity (once again, according to Audubon). (I wish I had a photo of one of those curious baby Grays but I don't so I offer you a photo Ed took of some cute and very curious Harbor Seals hauled out near Point Bonita Light House that we saw on the way to the Grays.)

Female Gray Whales will have a baby every 2 to 3 years, carrying the fetus for 12 to 13 months. Once the Grays get to Baja competitive groups of males will form, all seeking the attention of a single female. A similar phenomenon is described regarding the mating of Humpback Whales in the just released February, 2008 issue of Smithsonian Magazine (www.smithsonian.com).

It might be winter, but the whales are thinking spring break, so come aboard an SFBay Whale Watching trip and wish a Gray Whale safe passage to Baja (and come see the Farallon Islands in winter - they are especially beautiful).

Photos by Ed Estes and Suphanni Jacques. Text by Kathleen Jacques.

The Golden Gate Bridge - 70 mph Winds: Built to Take It

2008-01-06T17:21:00.001-08:00

The winds hit 70 miles per hour across the Golden Gate Bridge on Friday, January 4, 2008. Even so, Golden Gate Transit reminded people on its website that the Bridge has only been closed three times in 70 years due to high winds. Still, buses and trucks were banned for a period. Hard to imagine, but a blown over rig was feared to be a real possibility.

Needless to say, SFBay Whale Watching sat out the storm. Migrating Gray Whales, resident Harbor Seals, California Sea Lions, and other marine mammals are far better suited to riding wild storm swells than we are. But the weather report is improving - I’m counting on it, I’ll be on board next weekend.

When the storm abates and we head out to the whales in a few days, our boat will pass under the Golden Gate Bridge - and once again I’ll marvel at it’s beauty and resilience. The bridge’s statistics are fairly well known: completed in 1937, 4,200 feet long, 746 foot north and south towers, 260 feet between the roadbed and the water, designed to sway 27 feet from east to west in a high wind or earthquake.

Most of our passengers will photograph the bridge as we pass under it at the start and the end of our trip. Locals treat it like a revered member of the family - people from all over the world seem thrilled to see it up close after so many movie glimpses. But when I next pass underneath our great bridge, I will, as always, reflect on the brave men who built it. Men who built it to withstand 70 mile per hour winds.

Men like construction worker Pete Williamson who was so desperate for a job to feed his family during the depression that he worked in the middle of the evolving span, “walking along those girders with nothing to hold on to, balancing myself on 8-inch I-beams with only net and water underneath. I learned quick that when the wind was blowing, which was all the time out there, you had to carry lumber on the side away from it. If you didn’t, it could blow you right into the drink.”

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Point Bonita Lighthouse - Helping to Provide Safe Passage for 152 Years

2007-12-23T14:46:00.000-08:00

The whales we hope to spot on an SFBay Whale Watching trip are likely to be seen several miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge, on the way to the Farallon Islands. So what is there to see enroute? Aside from the world’s most famous bridge, that is? How about the Point Bonita Lighthouse, whose beacon has been guiding mariners into the Bay for 152 years.

With hundreds of ships entering the bay in the early years of the Gold Rush and by one historical account 23 ship wrecks between 1850 and 1854, Congress recognized the need for navigational assistance and authorized funds for several Bay area lighthouses.

The original 1855 Point Bonita Lighthouse was built higher up from the current location, on a cliff jutting out from the southernmost tip of Marin County, near the entrance to the Golden Gate.

But there was a problem with the original Point Bonita lighthouse that nobody foresaw. Engineers had sited it high upon the cliff, just as they had been accustomed to doing so on the East Coast.

Trouble is, the Golden Gate area experiences a natural weather phenomenon known as “high fog” which meant that the light projected out at exactly the same level as the thick fog and simply could not penetrate it (for both a scientific and elegantly written discussion of this and the rest of the San Francisco area’s crazy micro-climates, I wholeheartedly recommend Weather of the San Francisco Bay Region by Harold Gilliam).

In order to function, the lighthouse had to be moved closer to sea level. The “new” and currently operating lighthouse opened in 1877.

The Point Bonita Lighthouse is the only American lighthouse reached by a suspension bridge. This picturesque bridge, the location of the lighthouse at the end of long rocky spine, the Golden Gate Bridge looming over its shoulder, and the spectacular view from the boat, makes the Point Bonita Lighthouse an extraordinary aspect of your SFBay Whale Watching excursion.

Photos by Ed Estes and Kathleen Jacques. Text by Kathleen Jacques.