06-17-2013: Blue Whales Still Hanging, Unexpected Rough Conditions Prevail

We sure didn’t see this one coming. The forecast called for mild conditions and low winds. We started out in the fog. Which is also where there were two blue whales we missed just outside of the Moss Landing Harbor. When you’re in the fog and can only see 25-yards around you, your first inclination is to get out of the fog and into the clear so you can at least see.

I had reports from other boats that it was clear a little further out. So we kept on going and sure enough it cleared up nicely. So we were encouraged. At least now we could see and the conditions were pretty decent.

But by 11:00 am the winds started to kick in and make the going rough. By 11:30 we were on one blue whale. But by that time, the winds were howling and we were rocking and rolling with 18 knot winds blowing water over the cabin house as this whale was forcing us to run parallel to the now white-capping wind chop. It wasn’t a pretty picture.

But we did manage to get some great looks as this blue whale changed course and came across our bow. We tracked it for awhile but it just got to rough. So we made a course for further in where it was calmer in hopes of finding more whales little closer in. We found them. Two blue whales on the inside just outside of Moss Landing harbor. Where two hours earlier we had come through in the fog. But these were long divers and we only had a couple of looks before the wind wreaked havoc on the ocean conditions. With white-caps everywhere we looked, it was hard to keep track of these two blues. Their spouts must have gotten blown down by the heavy wind. We had a couple nice of looks before we lost them in the sea of white caps. What a difference a day makes.

Hopefully we’ll catch a break tomorrow. The weather has been so unstable lately. Typical Spring conditions.

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