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
Once again, beautiful pics.
“And that was the only whale tail we ever saw.”
Obviously you were ever ready and got the lucky one shot. Well done BZ!
Great photos, BZ. The seals are something else and it’s too bad you didn’t get closer to the whales but it looks to me like the trip would’ve been worth it either way!
cjh
Pretty neat BZ. The only thing in florida to see are the snow birds, and they seem like they wear high tube socks, a sun burn, and a fanny pack. We also have whales, but its usually their wives though.
Chris: okay, you win Comment of the Week!
BZ
Great shots of beautiful country. I spent some time up in the northwest many years ago and the coast line is fantastic. Chris is right about the snow birds in FL. I lived there for many years and spent several days each week on my small boat and enjoyed watching the manatees and dolphins and their was some great “wild” life to be seen at the beaches also!
How do you like the new bridge?
The Redneck had a hand in building it. We loved it Fort Bragg.
So glad you had a good time and got some great pictures!
Great photos. I really miss getting underway like when I was in the Guard. I never saw a whale, though. I’m putting up some cool pics that I just took of the whale sharks down at the Atlanta Aquarium this weekend.
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Organized whale harassment should be against the law… 😉
Ron: there’s “wild life” here but, predominantly, it ranges in age but tends to be a lot hairier. . .
Jennifer: wow, that is way cool! I see that the bridge has its date marked in concrete: “2005.” How great to be able to say you helped build something like that!
Tim: where’d you serve with the Coasties? And a whale shark? I’ll have to go see.
FJ: you’re right; it’s improper to harrass whales like me. . .or zeppelins.
BZ
Did bootcamp in Alameda, CA. “A” and “C” schools in NYC on Governor’s Island, and an icebreaker (Mackinaw) and a buoy tender (Bramble) both on the Great Lakes in Michigan. Finished out my enlistment at Base Detroit. I put in for California and they sent me to my home state. I guess they thought they were doing me a favor.
Great shots, glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve been enjoying reading your blogs about the Noyo Harbor. Thanks for sharing your great photos and thoughts.
Cate
http://www.womanonwater.blogspot.com
The whale at Sea World second’s the motion.