Pete Thomas Outdoors

Hurricane Sandra still a major storm, but will weaken as it passes beneath Cabo San Lucas

Hurricane Sandra, which on Thursday morning was a major hurricane boasting sustained winds of 130 mph, is expected to weaken rapidly later in the day as it begins to veer to the northeast, toward the Mexican mainland.

Sandra is expected to pass beneath Cabo San Lucas, at Baja California’s tip, as a tropical storm (winds of 73 mph or lighter) late Friday.

There were no warnings in effect but the National Hurricane Center issued this caution in its 8 a.m. report:

"INTERESTS IN SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE BAJA CALIFORNIA PENINSULA
SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF SANDRA.  A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MAY
BE REQUIRED FOR PORTIONS OF THIS AREA LATER TODAY."

Sandra, the most powerful Eastern Pacific hurricane known to have occurred this late in the year, was located 495 miles south of Baja California’s tip early Thursday.

–Hurricane Sandra image courtesy of NASA

'An amazing scene' as humpback whale hits boat off Maui

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

Whale watchers aboard a small boat off Maui watched with widening eyes recently as a humpback whale suddenly turned toward them, began to slap her large pectoral fin on the surface, and struck their inflatable boat with its head.

The collision with the 25-foot vessel was more of a shove than a strike, but blunt enough enough to “toss our boat a good five feet when she hit,” said Jennifer Nap, who videotaped the unusual incident while on the trip with her husband, Ryan.

About 10,000 endangered humpback whales are in Hawaiian waters for the winter breeding and nursing season.

The moment before impact; video screen grab

The Naps and their group were with Ultimate Whale Watch and had been following a mother and calf “from a safe distance,” Nap said, when the mother whale suddenly turned.

The crew shut the engines down as the whale “came straight for us, I think to warn us to move,” Nap said.

The calf had veered away from its mom, toward the vessel’s bow. The mom, still on her side and slapping her pectoral fin, glided into the boat as the passengers reacted with trepidation and joy.

“As soon as she was done pushing us aside she dove under, then popped right back up on the other side with her calf,” Nap said.

It remains unclear whether the bump was intentional. Flipper slapping is not typically used as a warning; a whale is more likely to violently slap its fluke, or tail fin, to signal its displeasure.

Plus, as researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger points out, humpback whales almost always trumpet blow to issue warnings, and no such sounds can be heard in the footage.

Lee James, CEO for Ultimate Whale Watch, said the female humpback was also distracted by a male escort who was nearby.

“It is most likely that this mom was distracted with her calf and keeping another eye on a escort that was being a little irritating for the female, as escorts can be,” James said. “We think she simply wasn't paying attention and bumped the boat, then carried on pec slapping like nothing happened.”

Researchers have stated on Facebook that this probably would not have occurred if the engines had been idling, because the noise would have let the whale know the boat was there.

In any event, the whale seemed to be OK and the passengers returned to port with lasting memories.

Said Nap: “An absolutely amazing scene.”

Fin whale videotaped via drone off Dana Point; could this be the beginning of a trend?

The future of capturing whale-watching footage in Southern California appears to have arrived and, yes, it involves drones.

The accompanying fin whale video, captured Monday by Capt. Frank Brennan of Dana Wharf Whale Watching in Dana Point, provides an idea of what could be in store in the coming months and years.

A lot will depend, however, on regulations, whatever they might be, and how they might come into play.

 

NOAA whale-watching guidelines suggest that boaters remain 100 yards from whales, but they're only guidelines. So far, guidelines pertaining to the use of drones for photography have not been drawn up.

But NOAA officials will be discussing this issue in upcoming meetings, an agency spokeswoman said.

Airplanes and helicopters are supposed to stay at least 1,000 feet above cetaceans, but are toy-sized drones such as the kind used by Brennan the same as airplanes and helicopters? (See image at right, courtesy of Gordon Gates.)

They're certainly not as noisy, but flying one too close to a surfacing whale could be perceived as a form of illegal harassment. Fin whales, it's worth noting, are federally endangered.

Brennan's battery-operated Phantom quadcopter, launched from the 95-foot Dana Pride, hovered at an elevation of about 50 feet.

The footage shows an estimated 70-foot fin whale swimming and stealing breaths not far from the Orange County coast. The aerial look provides a unique perspective and enables viewers to see the entire length of these majestic leviathans.

The footage was posted on the Dana Wharf Facebook page Tuesday afternoon, and was being widely shared. It was later uploaded to YouTube.

Brennan has been practicing with the drone for weeks, and at least one other commercial whale-watching business has purchased one.

Dana Wharf, however, is the first local operation to show off footage from what it's referring to as the Dana Wharf Copter Cam.

Meanwhile, people are experimenting elsewhere, too.

Earlier this month off Norway, killer whales were filmed swimming around kayakers, via unmanned quad-copter. Here's a screen grab from that video:

–Pete Thomas

–Images are video screen grabs

Cabo San Lucas boaters enjoy rare killer whale encounter

Passengers aboard the Cabo Mar fiesta dinner cruise boat are always treated to stunning views of Cabo San Lucas and the rock formations at Land's End, but last week their tranquility was interrupted by a pod of energetic killer whales.

In footage uploaded Thursday, the orcas can be seen breaching close to the 65-foot catamaran and seemingly playing to the crowd.

 

Killer whales are not commonly seen off Cabo San Lucas, a popular resort destination at the tip of Baja California. But small pods are spotted sporadically in the area, and particularly in the Sea of Cortez.

When the Mexican orcas are encountered they tend to be boat friendly, and sometimes surf in wakes generated by vessels.

Cabo San Lucas boaters, however, are much more likely to see humpback whales or juvenile gray whales at this time of year.

Baby gray whale encountered off Palos Verdes, within one hour of its birth

If you believe all babies are cute, you will love the accompanying images of "Baby Floppy."

The gray whale calf was born Friday near Redondo Beach, most likely within an hour before it was spotted off the Palos Verdes Peninsula by passengers aboard the Voyager.

The encounter was somewhat rare because it occurred so soon after the birth. Most gray whale births occur between the last week of December and the first week of January, but sightings generally occur after the young ones have gained their bearings.

"It was the coolest thing ever. If we had been there a half-hour earlier, we probably would have seen it coming out of its mom," said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a whale researcher who captured the images on a foggy morning excursion. "You could see the pits in its face and fetal folds in its head." (See the top photo.)

The sighting occurred 1-1/2 miles off Rocky Point, two days after transient killer whales were seen in the same area.

That's noteworthy because transient killer whales prey on other marine mammals, including gray whale calves, so mom and baby appear to have been fortunate.

Schulman-Janiger said the Voyager was en route to an area farther offshore, where whale spouts could be seen, when the cow-calf pair suddenly materialized.

From the boat she posted this description on her Facebook page:

"We JUST saw a brand new calf, less than an hour old! Its flukes are still folded in and floppy and thrash around as it learns how to swim, it pops its head high out of the water to catch a breath! Mom is HUGE and very mellow, slowly surfacing and circling and occasionally holding her calf up to breathe!

"I have been on thousands of whale-watching trips, have seen a few very young calves, but never one just after it entered this world!"

She named the calf Baby Floppy because of its limp flukes.

Gray whales are currently migrating from Arctic home waters to nursing grounds in Baja California's lagoons. Here's hoping that "Baby Floppy" becomes less floppy and can enjoy its first voyage to Mexico, and many more.

–Pete Thomas

–Photos: Top image shows Baby Floppy taking one of its first looks at the world above sea level. Second image shows mom and baby, and third image shows the calf's floppy flukes. Credit: ©Alisa Schulman-Janiger

Killer whale spectacle in Santa Monica Bay is 'like SeaWorld without the tanks'

Killer whales are at the center of a broiling SeaWorld controversy, thanks to "Blackfish the Movie," which shed light on how the iconic mammals are treated in captivity.

Many are boycotting SeaWorld parks. Animal rights advocates have arranged on-site protests, and several entertainers have canceled shows in opposition to SeaWorld's captive killer whale programs.

SeaWorld's shows go on, however, the park insisting that its orcas are ambassadors who foster appreciation of the ocean and critters.

But this week off Los Angeles, four wild killer whales proved emphatically that the most spectacular shows are those performed willingly in the wild, and that fishy treats are not required for them to leap and splash. (Video posted below.)

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a killer whale researcher, and Eric Martin, a marine biologist, on Monday afternoon were witness to a spectacle they'll never forget.

"It was like SeaWorld without the tanks," joked Martin, co-director of the Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab and Aquarium at the end of Manhattan Beach Pier.

The encounter began nine miles west of Redondo Beach, with what Schulman-Janiger described as "a chorus line greeting," and ended an hour later a bit farther to the north.

The killer whales breached and spyhopped, surfed wakes created by the moving boat, and played beneath the vessel.

They even killed a smaller mammal–most likely a common dolphin–and celebrated with more acrobatics.

"They often do that after a kill," Schulman-Janiger said, adding that this marks the third consecutive year this group has appeared off Los Angeles during the holiday season. (Their home turf is Monterey Bay in Central California.)

The orcas are family members that include the matriarch cataloged by Schulman-Janiger as CA51 (age unknown), a 15-year-old male (CA51B), a 10-year-old male (CA51C), and a 3-year-old female (CA51D), who is named Comet because of her unusual eye patches. CA51C has been nicknamed bumper because of his friendly belly-bumping of Martin's boat last December.

They're part of a group of transient killer whales known to be extremely boat friendly, and one that has recently begun to include Southern California as part of its range.

The group sometimes include  CA51's 21-year-old daughter (CA51A), who has formed a separate sub-pod with her two offspring.

Monday's sighting was the fifth in four weeks of the CA51 group off the Los Angeles/Long Beach area. The sighting was first made by volunteers with the ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project at Point Vicente on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

That inspired Schulman-Janiger and Martin to embark on a search aboard his 18-foot boat.

They spotted a tall, black dorsal fin at 3:07 p.m. and 13 minutes later they were surrounded by orcas.

"They approached and came right at us and stopped all together," Schulman-Janiger said. "It was like a chorus-line greeting. They swam under and around our boat and poked their faces out of the water. They did this five or six times."

 

When Martin ran his boat the killer whales surfed in its wake, the largest male a mere inches from the transom. When the boat stopped, the mammals surrounded the boat and resumed playing around and beneath the vessel, occasionally poking their heads out of the water for a closer look at their visitors.

Said Martin: "They were making eye contact with us, not just the boat. They were looking into our eyes, the way humans do. I don't see how it can get any better."

Perhaps this act could be labeled, "Blackfish, Wild and Free."

–Note: Schulman-Janiger is co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project. People who have  photographs of killer whales spotted off California, or information about sightings, are asked to contact the researcher at [email protected]

–Top photo, showing a breaching 3-year-old orca named Comet, is courtesy of ©Eric Martin. All other images are courtesy of ©Alisa Schulman-Janiger. The third image shows the mother and Comet spyhopping together

Mysterious creature spotted off Dana Point; was it part of a large squid?

What's exciting about heading to sea is that you never know when something unexpected will materialize before your eyes.

During a recent excursion off Dana Point in Orange County, with Dana Wharf Whale Watch, the captain's focus was far to the west, where fin whales had been spotted on the previous trip.

But a few people at the bow stared downward in wonder as the 95-foot Dana Pride plowed over a three-foot-long creature that was pinkish-white and trailed what looked like tentacles.

Some were calling it an octopus but my first thought was that it was part of a "Humboldt" or jumbo squid. These mysterious denizens, which thrive at depths of 600 to more than 2,000 feet, can measure up to six feet long.

It definitely looked as though it were part of something that used to be more complete.

Unfortunately, the sighting was very brief. The captain was not alerted and the carcass was not collected. I was fortunate to have gotten a photo before the carcass was plowed over at cruising speed.

We proceeded offshore and saw seeing four fin whales and, a bit later, three gray whales.

When I got home I emailed the image to William Gilly, a scientist at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station, and one of the world's leading authorities on Humboldt squid.

"What the heck is this?" I asked. "Could it be part of a Humboldt squid?"

His response was along the lines of, "I'm not sure because you dummies did not collect the specimen."

He was more polite, of course, stating: "Well, it has eight arm-like things but I don't see any sign of a head or eyes or mouth. Did you collect it? How big? I guess it could be the empty head of a jumbo squid with eyes ripped out, etc., but not really sure."

The photo was posted on a whale-watching group's Facebook page, and one of the comments was from Eric Austin Yee, an educator at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.

It read: "Wow! Hard to say exactly without getting my hands on it, but steering to larger species of squid from this photo. Pretty cool!"

By larger, presumably, he meant Humboldt squid as opposed to much smaller market squid, which are commercially fished and sold as calamari.

But was it for sure a squid, or part of a squid? An alien life form, perhaps?

Alas, we may never know.

–Pete Thomas

–Photo by ©Pete Thomas

Dana Point whale watchers enjoy rare close encounter with great white shark

Passengers aboard a whale-watching boat off Dana Point enjoyed a rare great white shark sighting early Thursday afternoon, about three miles offshore.

Capt. Todd Mansur, aboard the Ocean Adventure out of Dana Wharf Whale Watch, estimated the shark's length at 12-14 feet, possibly larger (see photo and video).

It remained at the surface, off the bow with its fin out of the water, for about 10 minutes.

 

"It had no problem playing near the boat, but I wanted to get closer for a better shot and that's when it darted off," Mansur said, via cellphone, from the vessel. "The passengers were screaming, they were so excited. The conditions couldn't be better."

The sighting occurred during a two-hour noon voyage. Passengers also saw three blue whales, two minke whales and about 2,000 common dolphins.

–Pete Thomas

Sailboat struck by whale off Palos Verdes–'All of a sudden there was this great big crash'

Ian Jory and his wife Jo were idling in the fog Monday afternoon about two miles beyond the Palos Verdes Peninsula when a large whale slammed into the bottom of their 31-foot sailboat, lifting it briefly several feet out of the water.

The initial collision at the port (left) side of the vessel occurred at about 1 p.m., and was followed a moment later by a second collision on the starboard side, perhaps caused by the tail, or fluke, of the same whale.

"We were just sitting there, not moving, and all of a sudden there was a great big crash," Jory, a South Bay resident, said Tuesday by phone. "It lifted the left side of the boat 4-6 feet out of the water."

(The top right image shows where the whale struck the port side of the sailboat, rubbing off bottom paint. The cracks are not discernible in the photo. The blue whale image is generic.)

It remains unclear whether the whale struck the boat intentionally (doubtful) or accidentally while surfacing for air or feeding.

Both collisions left cracks in the hull, toward the bow, and because water was trickling into the boat through the cracks, Jory radioed for help.

He said a lifeguard boat and Redondo Beach Fire Department boat responded to his call, and that a lifeguard jumped into the water to inspect the damage. One of the vessels served as an escort to King Harbor in Redondo Beach.

Scott Thomas, who manages the King Harbor Marine boat-repair yard, said that aside from the cracks in the hull, bulkheads inside the sailboat were separated as result of the whale strikes.

The couple was returning from Santa Catalina Island and had stopped and anchored off Palos Verdes after the wind died and a dense fog swept over the ocean.

They pulled anchor, Jory said, when they spotted a motorboat nearby, moving slowly in an unusual pattern.

Jory started his small motor and piloted his boat over to ask if the motorboat captain needed help, but it turned out he had been watching whales.

The whale strike occurred soon after the motorboat had left, as Jory's boat was idling. "All I have is a small motor and it was in idle, and it hardly makes any noise so maybe it couldn't hear us."

He estimated the whale to measure about 50 feet.

There have been a dozen or more blue whales feeding off the Long Beach-Palos Verdes area during the past several days. There also have been fin whales. Some have been lunge-feeding at or near the surface.

Blue whales, which can reach lengths of about 100 feet and weigh 150 tons, are the largest creatures ever to have inhabited earth. Fin whales are the planet's second largest creatures.

Jory said he and his wife were fortunate not to have been injured, and hoped the same was true of the whale.

–Pete Thomas

–Note: Image showing a blue whale surface lunge feeding is generic, via Pete Thomas

'Jack' the blue whale has another name (CRC 154), and is no stranger to Southern California

A blue whale with a peculiar-looking fluke was photographed Monday off Dana Point by Capt. Frank Brennan, who named the giant mammal "Jack."

But it turns out that Jack already has a name, or a series of letters and numbers, CRC 154, and that the whale has been spotted more than 50 times dating to 1981.

This is according to blue whale expert John Calambokidis, one of the founders of the Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Wash.

CRC 154 is the catalog number given to a whale now being called Jack, Brennan said, "because its fluke is all jacked up."

Brennan was running out of Dana Wharf Whale Watch when he photographed the whale. Its fluke is tattered, or frayed along its back edges, presumably because of injuries suffered long ago.

Calambokidis said there have been verified sightings of the whale from Mexico's Sea of Cortez as far north as Point Arena  in Northern California.

The researcher said he does not know for sure whether it's male of female but added that the leviathan "was reported one year--2011--with a calf by a collaborator, so if true it would mean a female."

That would make Jack a Jacquelin, or Jackie.

Calambokidis, who will stick with CRC 154 as a name, also said that he's not aware of the origin of the apparent injuries to the whale's fluke.

It does not appear to have obvious indications of killer whale bites, ship strike or entanglement injuries.

To be sure, the whale seems to be getting along fine, and with the blue whale season just beginning off Southern California, it's quite likely that Jack, Jacquelin or Jackie will be spotted again soon.

--Pete Thomas

Photos are courtesy of Frank Brennan/Dana Wharf Whale Watch