Pete Thomas Outdoors

Killer whales thrill boaters by riding, leaping in vessel's wake

Killer whales are the undisputed masters of the marine universe. They're powerful and ferocious, but also graceful and, at times, playful. The accompanying footage shows a pod of up to 20 killer whales, or orcas, riding and leaping in wakes created by a speeding dive boat off La Paz, Mexico.

 

The footage was captured by Rich and Laura Howard, who were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary on a dive trip outside of La Paz, in the Sea of Cortez.

They were understandably excited because this was an extremely close encounter involving apex predators that rarely ride in the wakes of boats.

However, it has happened before in the Sea of Cortez. Last June and October, to the north of La Paz off Loreto, boaters aboard the same 70-foot yacht enjoyed similar encounters and captured some extraordinary images.

In those images, as in the Howards’ video footage, the orcas definitely look to be playing and enjoying themselves.

'Delta' the blue whale taxis into Southland waters; sporadic sightings off California date to 1987

A blue whale affectionately nicknamed Delta because of the peculiar shape of its fluke made quite a splash on Facebook last week after being photographed off Dana Point.

The whale earned the nickname because both ends of its fluke are turned upward, like winglets on an airplane wing. Facebook users posting comments shared where they had seen--or thought they had seen--the whale.

According to Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Washington, two blue whales with similar fluke formations have been photo-cataloged in the eastern Pacific. The image captured last week off Dana Point, by Frank Brennan of Dana Wharf Whale Watch, was matched to a whale cataloged as #135 (see video).

 

Annie Douglas of Cascadia stated via email that the first known sighting of  #135 (Delta) was on October 7, 1987, in the Gulf of the Farallones beyond San Francisco.

Before last week's sighting it had been encountered 15 different years (including two years off Baja California) and 29 times, based on photo matches. From 1987 to 2005 most encounters were off northern Central California but, interestingly, according to Cascadia's records, all known sightings since 2007 were off Southern California.

About 2,000 endangered blue whales ply California waters seasonally, with the 2013 season apparently just getting underway. Delta, it seems, is among the early arrivals.

It's not clear whether the shape of the mammal's fluke is because of a birth defect, but the right tip appears to be more upturned than in previous years.  Also, Douglas said, the sex of #135, or Delta, is not known.

--Pete Thomas

--Note: For more on this story see Dana Wharf's Facebook page and Pete's post on GrindTv's Big Blue blog

Volvo Ocean Race announces daunting new route for 2014-15

 

The Volvo Ocean Race has unveiled a daunting new route for the 12th running of the around-the-world sailing competition, to be held in 2014-15.

Competitors aboard 65-foot racing yachts will begin this nine-month, 40,000-nautical-mile marathon on Oct. 4, 2014, in Alicante, Spain.

From there stops include Brazil, United Arab Emirates, China, New Zealand, United States, Portugal, France and Sweden.

"This route has never really been part of any ocean race any time before," said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad. "And when you have that element there’s a new strategy, there’s a new route, there’s new weather, there’s new challenges for the sailors.

"That is exciting, not only for us but for the sailors because no-one can claim they’ve done this before."

The top features Frostad describing the new route, and the bottom is a shorter animated version highlighting the route.

 

 

 

 

Orcas surprise Baja anglers, emerge just inches behind boat

For Bryan MacGowan and friends, a recent Sea of Cortez fishing trip will remain memorable not because of what they caught, but what they saw: several large killer whales that emerged off the stern of their 31-foot boat, two of them just inches away, at times seeming to inspect the anglers and crew.

"As the stern dipped in the waves, they would peer into the cockpit," MacGowan said. "It was intimidating--they are big!"

The encounter, involving at least 12 killer whales, or orcas, occurred off Baja California's East Cape region as the anglers were cruising offshore to hunt for marlin. There were no lines in the water during the encounter.

Two were immediately behind the boat when MacGowan captured the top image, revealing a killer whale practically within touching range. "There was another orca in the prop wash on the other side, but my camera could only capture the one," he said.

MacGowan captured a second image (posted below), showing a killer whale "playing in the stern wash, after the close ones dropped out."

It was startling because everyone had been looking forward until the captain spotted the mammals and shouted for everyone to turn and look.

The top image first appeared Saturday on the Pisces Sportfishing blog and Facebook page, with a post that reads: 


Look very carefully at this photo, sent to us by Brian MacGowan from Newport Beach, California, who is out today on the Tracy Ann. He was fishing at the East Cape recently, when the captain yelled for him to look back... he did, glad the lures were not in the water, he could have had the fight of a life time on his hands.

The captain told MacGowan that he sees what he thinks is the same pod two or three times a year.

Boaters farther north, off Loreto, enjoyed a similar encounter last fall. Perhaps those were from the same pod or family group.

--Pete Thomas

Killer whale's sudden appearance behind boat startles anglers

Imagine cruising along in a fishing boat and turning to gaze off the stern and spotting not a sunning marlin, leaping tuna or ray--which anglers might not be too surprised to see--but a large killer whale riding in the boat's wake only a few feet away.

This was Bryan MacGowan's experience recently in the Sea of Cortez, in Baja California's East Cape region.

MacGowan on Saturday was fishing farther south off Cabo San Lucas and showed the photo to Pisces Sportfishing general manager Tracy Ehrenberg.

She posted the photo to the Pisces Facebook page in late afternoon, and by about 7:30 p.m. it had been viewed by 30,000 people and shared more than 300 times.

Ehrenberg's post reads:

Look very carefully at this photo, sent to us by Brian MacGowan from Newport Beach, California, who is out today on the Tracy Ann. He was fishing at the East Cape recently, when the captain yelled for him to look back... he did, glad the lures were not in the water, he could have had the fight of a life time on his hands.

--Editor's note: Pete Thomas Outdoors tried reaching MacGowan by telephone, to obtain more details, but at the time of this post he had not returned the call.

Guadalupe Island great white shark enters Southern California waters; journey is unprecedented

**Update: On Friday morning the shark's position was to the north past San Miguel Island

A great white shark tagged in 2012 at Guadalupe Island, west of Baja California, is closing in on Southern California and is the first known adult white shark from the Mexican island to have entered California waters.

The adult female white shark, which was tagged by Michael Domeier and the Marine Conservation Science Institute, on Thursday had passed Cortes Bank and was closing in on San Clemente Island (see graphic posted below). Cortes Bank is about 100 miles west of Orange County. Guadalupe Island is 165 miles west of Ensenada.

The adult female shark (pictured above) is named Arden Grace.

"Have you got a SCUBA trip lined up at San Clemente this weekend? If you do you might want to watch your back," MSCI posted on its Facebook page.

Another post reads: "This is a strange time of year for her to be in the coastal region. We've never had a female in our cold winter waters at this time of year, and we've never had one of our Guadalupe white sharks swim to California...

"She's headed towards San Diego now! Will she make it or turn around?"

(Those who wish to follow the movements of sharks tagged at Guadalupe can do so via the MCSI's Expedition White Shark app, available through iTunes.)

Great White sharks in the northeastern Pacific are known to have site fidelity during the fall and early winter to either Guadalupe Island or Northern California elephant seal rookeries, such as the Farallon Islands west of San Francisco.

During this time of year, however, the vast majority of adult white sharks from both aggregation regions are hundreds of miles offshore, in areas stretching as far as Hawaii.

Interestingly, sharks tagged at Guadalupe Island have never visited Northern California white shark aggregation sites. In 2008, an adult female white shark tagged near the Farallon Islands was tracked to Guadalupe.

--Pete Thomas

Gray whales more than a little romantic off Dana Point (video)

 

Get a lagoon!

Passengers aboard a Southern California whale-watching boat on Sunday enjoyed a rare sighting: that of two gray whales courting and possibly mating while they migrated past the the Dana Point region.

About 21,000 gray whales migrate about 6,000 miles annually from Arctic feeding grounds to Baja California lagoons, and the vast majority of breeding-age whales wait until they reach those lagoons to cavort and begin the process of making babies.

(Note: A version of this post also appears on the GrindTv.com Outdoor blog.)

But sometimes, apparently, the wait is just too long. Those aboard Capt. Dave's Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari's catamaran were witness to quite a show: one that included courtship and lots of rubbing together, some tail-thrashing and even an odd-looking spyhop.

"You don't normally see the mating taking place up here. It usually happens down in the lagoons in Mexico where they breed," Capt. Tom Southern tells his passengers. "But you are actually seeing it happening right here... We have two gray whales that really like each other here."

As for the bottlenose dolphin that appears next to the whales in the footage, it needs to learn some manners.

Humpback whale off Redondo Beach needs some space

The allure of humpback whales is incredible, especially when the gregarious cetaceans are lingering close to shore and easy to locate. For the past week a lone humpback whale has been feeding just off Redondo Beach, and the atmosphere has been circus-like.

People have been visiting the whale on paddleboards, jet skis, kayakas and boats of all sizes, and this type of curiosity is not good for a whale that's simply trying to feed. Nor is it safe for people who could be killed if the whale suddenly decides to breach, or if it decides to lunge feed, which entails powerful body thrusts.

(Note: A similar version of this post appears on the GrindTv.com Outdoor blog)

There appears to be evidence of whale harassment, if not in these images then in some of those being passed around on Facebook. But so far NOAA has not made arrests, having chosen instead to pass out guidelines advising people to stay at least 100 yards from the whale.

Clearly, people are not heeding the guidelines. While some of the paddlers have merely ventured out to watch, others have hurried to wherever the whale surfaces for a breath.

It's not illegal to be close to whales, but it is illegal to harass them in any way, or to alter their behavior.
Humpback whales feed on krill and small, schooling fish, and when they find a large food source they often remain in that area until they've had their fill. One cannot help but wonder whether so much human activity is altering the whale's feeding behavior.

Naturally, marine mammal enthusiasts are fuming, and venting on Facebook. "It's a good thing this whale isn't lunge feeding," one of the comments reads. "Although the Darwin Award winners have not been named and these are all candidates."

NOAA's Monica DeAngelis has seen many of the photos and last week said she had contacted the federal agency's Office of Law Enforcement.

But in summer-like weather over the weekend, the crowd around the whale was bigger than during last week and the only noticeable attempt to deter people from getting too close came from commercial whale-watching captains talking on loud speakers. Coast Guard and Harbor Patrol vessels have been present, at times, but did not keep people at bay.

But this appears to be one tolerant whale. If its feeding has not been interrupted by the constant presence and buzz of people that would be remarkable.

That nobody has been hurt is equally remarkable, given that humpback whales are powerful and unpredictable wild animals that can weigh up to 40 tons. As researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger stated last week when a paddleboarder was photographed close to a fin whale, "One flip of the tail and there they go, and the headline would be 'Whale hits man.' "

Many are hoping that the whale leaves before somebody gets injured, or that the weather takes a turn for the worse, preventing small vessels from accessing the whale. Rain is in the forecast for Friday, but on Monday the sun was bright and the humpback whale search continued.

--Photos: Top three were captured over the weekend by Eric and Cody Martin. Bottom image, from the same area last week, is courtesy of Bernardo Alps

Baby gray whales begin showing up off Southern California

 

January is prime time for whale watching in Southern California, not only because it's the peak period locally for the southbound migration of about 21,000 Pacific gray whales, but because it's the best month in which to see the babies.

And during the past week they began to show for the first time this season.

On Saturday aboard the Privateer out of San Diego Whale Watch, Melissa Panfili Galieti photographed a mother gray whale and her calf, which was perhaps only a day old. Galieti's images were widely shared on Facebook and two were featured on this website.

"Mom and calf were swimming with a couple of common dolphins. The calf repeatedly threw flukes into the air. We even saw it nursing for a brief moment!"

On Sunday, the crew of the Dana Pride out of Dana Wharf Whale Watch videotaped a cow-calf pair and estimated the calf to be no more than a few days old (see top video). On Monday, the same crew videotaped another cow-calf pair (bottom video; calf appears at 34-second mark).

The ACS/L.A. Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project, which operates from the Point Vicente Interpretive Center on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County, had counted six gray whale calves through Tuesday.

The whales, of course, are headed from Arctic waters to nursing lagoons along Baja California's western shore. It's estimated that about half of gray whale births occur north of Carmel, Calif., and obviously some are born off Southern California and in Baja's lagoons.

 

'Stampeding' dolphins steal the spotlight off Dana Point

Another dolphin stampede has been filmed off Dana Point, Calif.

The incredible footage provided by Capt. Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari shows an enormous pod of common dolphins engaged in a massive romp alongside the landing's catamaran.

 

There are even underwater views, captured from the boat's unique viewing pods.

Capt. David Anderson states in the video description that the stampede was "like a herd of wild horses."

He adds: "The line of wild dolphins could be seen from miles away churning up the water and, to the delight of whale watching passengers, the dolphins turned and stampeded directly over to the boat."

Interestingly, the term "stampede," while it accurately describes a phenomenon during which several sub-pods join up in collective feeding or playing behavior, is not widely used by researchers. 

But it's certainly catchy.

When Dana Wharf Whale Watch captured a similar event last February, and referred to it as a stampede, the footage went viral. Many of the comments, however, were sharply critical because some viewers were under the impression that the captain was running over the dolphins with the 95-foot boat.

But no dolphins were struck by the vessel. In fact, common dolphins are famous for charging toward boats and swimming in their wakes, though typically in smaller pods.

There have been no documented cases of a whale-watching boat striking the swifter, agile mammals.

To be sure, being surrounded by dolphins, despite the size of the pods, is often the highlight of a Southern California whale-watching adventure.