Month: April 2012

04-27-2012: First Known Orca/Gray Whale Calf kill this year, Plenty of Humpbacks in The Bay, Rough Weather

A male orca surfaces after a long morning of gray whale calf hunting and feeding. Photo: Sack 04-27-2012

We almost canceled today’s trip. We knew the conditions would be challenging from the beginning and would only get worse as the day moved on. But, as always, we were hoping for something close-in before the conditions really picked up. It’s one of those hit or miss propositions. You can throw the dice and hope for the best. Or not go out and definitely see nothing. That much we know. If you don’t go out, you will definitely see nothing.

We also had another visit from a large Steller’s sea lion again.

Our frequent visitor the Steller's sea lion shows up again at the Moss Landing "Sea Lion dock."

On days like this it usually goes one of two ways: One, we can find animals within an hour or so of the time we leave the harbor and get great looks. More often than not this time of year that usually means orcas. Or, two, we run for an hour and a half or two and the weather picks up so that there are white-caps everywhere, the boat is bouncing all around, no one can be on the bow and it is near impossible to tell an animal splash from the thousands of white-caps everywhere. So we took our chances and it paid off. Sort of.

We did have some great looks at orcas and a couple of glimpses of a gray whale calf carcass. Apparently, the orcas had made the kill quite a bit earlier in the morning. A report from a fisherman put the attack at around 6:30 A.M. So by the time we were on the scene, the pod of three orcas were pretty well done doing what they were going to do and began to move out west after about 45 minutes to continue their transient ways. When they decide it’s time to leave, they really move out. They’ll easily cruise along at 10 knots. And when there is high wind and swell, following them is tough. So we headed out to see if we could find either more orcas or some humpbacks. We had reports of plenty of humpbacks from a fisherman associate that was a few miles into weather from our position. We tried to get out there. But after looking into the steep faces of a few 6′ slabs of near breaking chops, we realized that we weren’t going to be able to get out there. So we turned and hoped for the best as we rode the weather back to harbor.

Most of the orcas we see here in the Monterey Bay are known as “Transients”. They pretty much cruise up and down the California Coast. Some have been photo-identified as far south as Baja and as far north as Alaska. They are pretty much always in transit. Stopping for brief periods to hunt and feed on marine mammals. We have occasionally seen the same pod here in the Monterey Bay for days at a time. But then they leave as quickly as they come and we may not see them for months or year or more.

This is the second orca whale kill we know about this year. The first was a minke whale calf a couple of weeks ago. Now is definitely the best time of the year to see orcas in the Monterey Bay. Our log books over the years show that increased orca sightings between mid-April and the end of May and into June. But we see them pretty much year-round.

The Monterey Bay is notorious as an orca ambush point on gray whale calves. We witness these attacks a handful of times each year during late April and May.

If you want to see orcas, your chances increase around this time of year.

04-26-2012: Very Friendly Mother and Calf Humpbacks Nursing next to the Boat, Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Remarkable Day

Humpback calf hangs out with us and does some human watching. Photo: Sack, 04-26-2012

Today was absolutely incredible. Things started out very rough. Rain, wind and very ugly conditions. Early on we thought we going to have turn around and call it a day. But there wasn’t a whole lot of swell so as the wind picked up early in the trip it was still doable. So we hung in there. Small white-caps everywhere. But we kept inching along. Then I noticed a blow about a mile from our position. So we headed in that direction. But after about a half hour I didn’t see it again.

Then one of the passengers yelled spout and they saw a tail fluke. It was a gray whale and we never saw it again because of the difficult conditions.

After about another half-hour, we got a report of a mother and calf gray whale about four miles from our location. The weather started to ease, I listened to the updated weather forecast and it was looking like we were going to be able to pull this off. So we set a course for the reported humpbacks. By the time we got on the scene, the wind eased up and the swell backed off and the sun came out. It was almost like some kind of miracle. Seriously. The weather on the Monterey Bay never fails to amaze me. Absolutely incredible how quickly it changes.

So after a while, this mother and calf humpback pair starts making their way over to our boat. The next thing we knew, the mother appeared to be nursing the calf. Within 25-feet of the boat! Then they would both come up to the boat and just float with their heads out of the water within 4-feet of the boat. It was remarkable. They were would just float their and look at us. It was a very moving experience. They were so interested in us.

And then there were the Pacific White-sided dolphins. Probably about 1,500 of them spread out over a mile area. And they kept cruising by the humpbacks. What a remarkable day out there. Stay tuned for what is likely some of our best video of friendly humpback whales. Including a calf nursing on it’s mother.

04-24-2012: Glassy Calm Conditions, Surface feeding Humpbacks and Surface Feeding Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins

Humpback whale does a lazy slow motion dive as it feeds just below the surface. Photo Sack, 04-23-2012

The last few days have been beautiful. It’s been starting out questionable conditions. Today we had drizzly wet air and fog just before the trip started with a small lump on the ocean surface and a threatening southwest breeze fixing to blow. But by the time we got underway, it just got nicer and nicer. It’s so relaxing when the sea state calms down and I don’t have to white knuckle the helm the whole trip just keep the boat steady. What a nice day. No wind or swell to speak of. Just Awesome cetaceans, surface krill and jumping salmon.

We had at least two lunge feeding humpbacks living the good life at the surface about five miles outside of Moss Landing. They were hardly down for more than a couple of minutes at a time. Excellent dive cycle intervals for whale watching. So that’s always nice. We had some great looks at nice blows and regular tail flukes. And when we got downwind from these mighty, gentle beasts we all got to know what whale breath smells like. Some suggested a cross between rotting brussels sprout and week old anchovies.

Occasionally they were doing what I call a lunge feeding tail fluke. That is where their tail flukes kind of go sideways as they do some underwater lunge feeding. Then they were also doing these very slow motion partial tail flukes. We really get a sense of how graceful these animals are when they do this.

After a couple hours hanging with these humpbacks, we decided to head out and do some exploring to see if we could find some other animals. After about 45-minutes of cruising, we came across a huge pod of scattered Risso’s dolphins and Pacific white-sided dolphins. Mostly Pacific white-sideds. They looked like they were feeding. Because they were just kind of circling around working the surface feed along with a small flock of Shearwaters and gulls.

As we came upon the Pacific white-sided, they did what they usually do: Come cruising up along side the boat and start riding the bow and hoping out of our wake. It’s the neatest thing to see. They really seem to enjoy this. It happens almost every time we come across them. So everyone gets on the bow and when they look down, their are these beautiful Pacific white-sided dolphins jumping out of the water at the bow and moving along underwater going back and forth in front of the bow. Very cool.

They just kept following us as we headed back over toward the Soquel Canyon where we saw the humpback whales earlier. The were with us for almost 30-minutes. So now I we were on the hunt for orcas. Hoping to find them over where we last saw them a few days ago.

Unfortunately we didn’t find them. But I did notice this odd reddish tint to the water all around us as we were cruising along. Then I realized these were huge patches of surface krill. So we stopped and collected a full net’s worth for a krill researcher that we help out with field samples.

It was really neat for passengers to see what these whales eat. Krill are these tiny shrimp-like creatures. Usually during the day they are believed to spend most of their time underwater. Not at the surface like we observed today. I think it could have been because it was so overcast. But it was really neat to see.

04-20-2012: Nursery Pod of Risso’s Dolphins, Humpback Whales, Second Day Straight of Incredible Orcas and Another 6.5+ Hour Trip

A young orca spy hops next to the boat to check us out. Photo: Sack, 04-20-2012

Things started O.K. Sunny conditions, tolerable sea state. Pretty routine. But after we got in the zone about 45 minutes into the trip, all we could say to ourselves was “what a difference a day makes.” Yikes.

The next thing we knew we were in thick fog, no more sun and pesky, steep lumps kept the boat rocking and rolling. There was also a bone chilling 10-12 mile per-hour wind getting in the way. At first we were thinking this isn’t going to work. We had a few looks of what we could barely tell were whale blows and tail flukes. It’s hard to tell when you only have about 20 yards of visibility.

One of at least 50-60 breaches we witnessed today from this very active group of orcas. Photo: Sack, 04-20-2012

It was quite something to see how quickly the fog came in and how quickly the weather can change on the Monterey Bay. Within minutes it went from nice sunny conditions to near zero visibility. Somehow we were able to stay with these two humpback whales during brief moments of limited clarity. But they were excellent looks.

Then it cleared enough for us to at least stay with the whales and continue to get some great looks. So after about an hour of hanging with these animals in limited visibility, choppy seas and cold conditions, we decided that was about as much as we could take and moved on to see if we could get out of the fog. We had reports that there was no fog to our west.

Another one of the many "spy hops" we observed today. Photo: Sack 04-20-2012

Sure enough, after about 20-minutes of running, we were out of the fog and on the hunt. There was still a bit of wind and chop. But nothing that would get in the way of our quest for cetaceans.

Then we received a report of orcas about 3-miles from our current position. Game on. It didn’t matter to me that it was almost 2:00 p.m. That puts us into the four-hour time limit that most whale watching boats have. Some are even less than that. We usually don’t have time limits. That’s why when we are with orcas, or other animals that are giving us an incredible show, we don’t go in. We figure for most people, this is a once in a lifetime experience. So why cut it short.

Especially with this particular pod of orcas. Turns out that this is the same pod of orcas we were with yesterday. They are known as the “Friendly Pod.” Not only are they friendly, but they are also quite aerobatic. We had these animals jumping out of the water two and three at a time. Doing multiple, simultaneous “spy hops”. See photograph above to see what a “spy hop” is. They kept coming up to the boat doing swim-by’s and going under the boat back and forth. It’s really hard to explain the incredible experience of being within two to three feet of these magnificent animals. It just leaves you in awe.

I really didn’t want to leave. But for most people, 6.5 hours on choppy seas can be a bit much. Most of the passengers were almost as excited as I was. But not quite. And some were actually sitting in the back not that excited at all. Maybe they weren’t feeling well. I don’t know. But every time I was about to turn the boat and go in, we would have a breach or spy hop or a close-in swim-by. So I had a hard time going in. But I knew we had to go in at some point. So I bit the bullet and headed for port. It’s so hard to leave frolicking orcas.

We finally pulled into the slip just under 7-hours from the time we left. As I usually say when I’m helping the passengers off the boat: “I hope you had a good time, I know I did!”

Captain Mike

04-19-2012: Breaching, Tail-lobbing, Lunge Feeding, Pectoral Fin Slapping Humpbacks All Around, Drive-by Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Cruising Risso’s Dolphins, Friendly Orcas, Excellent Marine Conditions

Lunge feeding humpback about 10 miles southwest of Moss Landing. Photo Welch, 04-19-2012

It just keeps getting better and better. Today was truly one of the most absolutely incredible days we’ve had out there. Of course, I live for days like today. Both Dorris and I have chosen to make showing folks the awesome Monterey Bay marine wildlife our main focus in life.

Today was one of those days where we exceeded our goal. Of course, we like seeing the marine wildlife more than anyone. So we were just beyond ourselves today. We really didn’t want to go in. But, you know, for most normal people, 6.5 hours on The Monterey Bay with the most incredible marine wildlife in the world is a bit much. Most people will never see what we saw today in a lifetime of trying.

A young orca shows it's excitement after a sea lion kill. Photo: Welch, 04-19-2012

Once I get all the video processed, you’ll see what I mean. This week has likely been one of the most incredible weeks we’ve had on the Monterey Bay. I have so many high quality photographs and video since Sunday, I haven’t even been able to process it. Between running the boat and keeping up with maintenance, reservations etc., it’s hard to imagine what is involved and how much quality footage I’ve shot over the last few days. So stay tuned over the next week or so and you will see some excellent orca and humpback whale media we produced from the Monterey Bay. Just amazing.

A happy humpback shows us what a "pec-slap" looks like. Photo: Welch, 04-19-2012

It’s hard to put into words the incredible experience we all had today. But I’ll try.

It started out with the humpback whales. The first pair we were with showed a couple of blows and that was about it. Not very impressive really. So we decided to move on to some reported Risso’s dolphins. We could also see whale spouts all around the area. So we knew it would make sense to check out some dolphins before we got into the humpbacks.

On the way to the Risso’s, we also had a nice glimpse of a couple of gray whales. The Monterey Bay has really come alive with marine mammals over the last week or so! Once we got into the zone, they were everywhere. Gray whales, humpbacks, Risso’s dolphins, Pacific White-sided dolphins, black-footed albatross and reports of orcas back toward Moss Landing. It doesn’t get a whole lot better than this for marine wildlife enthusiasts. Truly an experience of a lifetime. We’re out there every day and today was just something else. And we expect the sightings to just get better and better as we move into the late Spring and Summer.

One of the many humpback "tail lobs" we witnessed today. Just incredible. Photo: Welch, 04-19-2012

After checking out some Risso’s, we headed over to where we noticed some humpback spouts. That was a good move. Next thing we knew, these animals were launching tail lobs every few minutes if not less. We had to have seen 20-30 tail lobs in less than a half-hour.

A tail lob is when one of these 40’+ animals launches it’s tail out of the water and smacks it down on the surface of the water and makes this massive splash. Stay tuned for the video coming soon to see what I’m talking about. They also were doing what we call “pectoral slaps”. This is when they slap their massive 15′ pectoral fins on the surface of the water. And on top of that, we also witnessed some massive lunge feeds. This is where they come up out of the water with their mouth wide open and take a big mouthful of krill.

Then, as we were trying to leave to find some orcas, one of these massive humpbacks decided to breach. This is were they launch their entire body out of the water. Probably one of the most spectacular things we see out there. Imagine a 45′ animal coming completely out of the water. Just amazing.

So after a few hours of whale and dolphin behavior overload, we decided to head to back toward Moss Landing, which is where 90% of the orca sightings occur. I mean why not? We were on a roll. Might as well keep it going.

And sure enough, on the way back, a few miles outside of Moss Landing, there they were. A friendly pod of between 8-10 orcas. Just amazing. I wish I had the strength to process and edit the video tonight. But I need to get some sleep so that we can do it all over again tomorrow. I just keep getting more and more incredible video footage each day. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. Likely more incredible video footage and still photographs.

04-16-2012: Gray Calf and Mother Pair Just Outside Moss Landing, Large Mixed Pod of Risso’s and Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Plenty of Humpbacks to go Around

Another fantastic day on The Bay. Five minutes into the trip we had our first whale sighting. They were the first mother and calf pair we’ve seen this year. So far so good. I love it when that happens. And with all the orcas in The Bay yesterday, it’s no wonder they were within 1/2 mile of shore just outside the surf zone. This is a fairly regular route for a gray whale mom and calf pair. They seem to hug the coast when they get to the Monterey Bay.

Most of the mature gray whales generally head straight across and make the run over the mouth of the deep Monterey Bay submarine canyon. We believe that the mother and calves stay close to shore to avoid predation from orcas out in the deep. The orcas seem to prefer deeper water and generally avoid the surf zone. But if they find a mother and calf close to shore, they likely won’t be holding back.

After spending about fifteen minutes observing this mother and calf pair, we decided to head to deeper water where we had reports of many feeding humpbacks a mixed pod dolphins. Conditions were perfect. Sunny and warm with smooth seas. After about 45-minutes of running we spotted our first spouts. Pretty much about 5-6 miles right out in front of Moss Landing. But as we got closer to the area, we didn’t see them again after about 10-minutes of waiting. Because we weren’t far from at least three or four other pods of humpbacks, we didn’t stay with these animals. Watching what we call a 15-20 minute whale makes for more whale waiting than whale watching. So we moved on.

And it’s a good thing. Because within a few minutes we saw the obvious sign of dolphins. When it’s smooth like it was today it’s easy: Hundreds of splashes in the distance. So we headed over and had found at least a thousand scattered Risso’s dolphins and a couple of hundred Pacific white-sided dolphins. We thought we even saw a some common dolphins breaching. Excellent dolphin sighting. As we cruised through the area we had a few of the Pacific white-sided dolphins buzz the boat and ride the bow. That’s always fun.

After about 30-minutes of dolphin amusement. We figured we had better get back to the whales. So we headed back out the humpback zone. The weather turned pretty quick. It went from smooth calm water to lumpy wind chop in about 30-minutes. At first it was no big deal. But after about 45 minutes of being with the whales, it because quite bouncy affair. By that time is was already almost 2:00 P.M. and time to head back to the barn. So we rode the weather and enjoyed a nice surf back to Moss.

Excellent weather and marine conditions are forecast for the next few days. We also getting into the time period we start to see the largest variety of marine wild species and encounters. Looking over the log books, historically, we get a large number of Orca sightings during the next couple of months and we are also most likely to witness orca and gray whale encounters.

So book a trip and we’ll see you out there.

04-15-2012: Three Separate Orca Sightings, One Whale Kill, Humpbacks Feeding En Masse, Mola Mola, Black-footed Albatross feeding on Whale Kill Leftovers

A young orca breaches with joy after a kill. Photo: Welch, 04-15-2012

Today was epic. Right up there with the best days I have ever had on The Bay. Truly one for the record books. It started out early for me. We had a college group for a private charter learning adventure depart at 5:30 A.M. We had early reports from a fishing associate of two humpbacks not far from Moss Landing. So we headed in that direction. But after we got on the scene we couldn’t find the whales. Plenty of bait and birds. But no whales. We searched around for about an hour with no luck. I started to get worried. Because we had to be back for a 10:30 A.M. whale trip. So the clock was ticking and the pressure was on.

I decided to give up on the reported humpbacks and head out to deeper water to see if I could find more humpbacks or even a passing gray whale or two. Then after about 20-minutes of running we spotted my favorite sight: An almost six-foot high dorsal fin of a male orca. Game on. That’s when my heart starts pumping and I get a bit of an adrenalin rush. It’s hard to explain. But it’s quite addictive. So we slowed down to access what we had. We soon saw another three females and calf.

This is what was left of the minke whale that this pod of orcas had their way with. This was likely a calf or very young minke. Note the black and white pectoral fin. That along with it's narrow "V" shaped snout is how we can identify the animal as a minke whale. Photo: Sack, 04-15-2012

Then another male and a couple of more females. We hit the orca jackpot. There were probably between nine and ten animals in total. Then we started seeing them breaching and tail slapping. This usually always means they’ve made a kill. After a while this large male brings up what was clearly a whale. It had the whale gripped just under it’s throat and propped the snout of the whale out of the water. Incredible. We believe it was Minke whale. Then the birds started showing up.

Mostly black-footed albatross. I shot some incredible video footage today. I haven’t had a chance to process it yet. But stay to tuned to see what is likely some of the best orca footage I’ve taken. Unfortunately, we had a 10:30 A.M. trip so we couldn’t stay with the animals and had to go in. It was so hard to leave this scene. I actually ended up a half hour late for that trip. Oops.

One of the many humpbacks feeding in the area we were at today. Photo: Sack, 04-15-2012

On the second trip we had at least 10 humpback whales surface feeding all around. The season is definitely on. I love it when you can just look all around and see spouts popping up. We can pick and choose which pod we want to hang with. Amazing.

After about an hour of this, we decided to do some exploring and see what else we could find. Within about an hour we came on to a nice pod of about 50 Risso’s dolphins. So that was nice to add some variety. After about 20-minutes we started making our way in. When we were within two miles of the harbor, we came upon another pod of orcas. This time they were feeding on what we believe was a sea lion.

So we stayed with these animals for about an hour before we figured we had better get everyone in because we had already been out for more than five hours. But I still hadn’t had a enough. Because the orcas were so close to the Moss Landing harbor, we decided to drop all the passengers off and come back out to do some more observing, filming and generally do what we like to do most. Watch and be with orcas.

So we finally got back on the scene by around 5:30 P.M. We got a few looks, but these animals were being very stealth. Just as I was about to drop a line and do some salmon fishing, we got another report of more orcas about a mile from our position. And they were with another kill. We’re not sure what they had, but it was quite large and didn’t have any skin or fur. So it was hard to tell. But the orcas were quite happy. They were tail slapping, spy hopping, jumping around and generally being very active.

So that was an excellent way to end the day. I love my life. I was out on the water watching amazing cetaceans and pelagic birds from 5:30 A.M. until we finally tied up the boat around 7:30 P.M. What a day. Stay tuned for some amazing video and a full gallery of the stills we shot. There are so many. It’s hard to get through them all. We shot a couple hundred stills and a lot of video and more preparation and likely more material from another trip on Monday. Stay tuned. The Monterey Bay is in full-on marine wild-life viewing mode. This is when The Bay really comes alive and we often see the most that she has to offer.

Don’t miss it. Book a trip soon and enjoy the wonders of one of the most productive marine wildlife environments in the world.

Our first mola mola sighting of the year. Photo: Sack, 04-15-2012

We saw this Mola Mola right out the gate. Probably within 15-minutes of the trip. These are very peculiar looking animals. They are also known as the giant ocean sunfish. Most are between four and six feet long. But have been known to exceed 14 feet. This one we came across today was probably about five feet long. They have few natural predators. But sea lions, orcas and sharks have been known to harass them and sometimes consume them. They mainly eat jellies and we generally see them in the late spring and summer months.

04-12-2012: Surface Feeding Humpbacks, Incredible Upclose and Personal Encounter

This was one of about six humpbacks that were feeding all around the boat. This animal went under the boat and popped up on the other side. This photo gives you an idea of what it's like to look down the blow holes of a humpback whale. It's pretty neat to see these 45'+ animals cruising so close to us. Something everyone should experience at least once in their lives. Photo: Sack, 04-12-2012

Wow! What an amazing day out there today with these feeding humpbacks. I would have to say that this was right up there as an all-time humpback encounter! We had at least six humpbacks feeding all around the boat. We saw many different types of behavior today. We saw some decent lunge feeds, pectoral fin slaps, tail lobbing and a lot of tail flukes. The krill they were feeding on was quite shallow. So their tail flukes were sometimes sideways. Like they were just kind of lunging sideways as they dove. We also had a friendly come up under the bow of the boat, then turn over upside down and just kind of sat there for about 10 seconds. It was very cool.

Humpback whale tail lob
One of the humpbacks we were with just suddenly throws up this massive tail lob. I love when they do that. Photo: Sack, 04-12-2012

We also had a scattered pod of about 50-60 Pacific white-sided dolphins that were in there feeding right alongside the humpbacks. That was quite a site to see. What we think was going on was that the humpbacks were feeding on krill and anchovies while the Pacific white-sided dolphins were feeding on anchovies that were feeding on the krill. The ecosystem was happening out there today.

We also had quite a number of downwind whale spouts come our way. And let me tell you, it’s very clear when your in the midst of a whale spout. The odor is quite foul. But it’s still a pretty cool thing to experience.

This is a sideways / upside-down lunge feed one of humpbacks did repeatedly next to the boat. Notice the white rings. Those marks are from where barnacles used to live. Some marine biologists believe one of the reasons these large animals breach is to loosen up or break off barnacles. This animal obviously did something to get those barnacles off it's chin. Photo: Sack 04-12-2012.

04-09-2012: Great Views of a Pod of Six Cooperative Northbound Gray Whales, Over Twenty Albatross Floating Together, Steller Sea Shows up Again at Moss Landing Sea Lion Dock

An uncommon look at a large part of this adult gray whale as it heads north to their feeding grounds in the Bering Sea. Usually they just show a small part of their back. Photo: Sack 04-09-2012

Today was another beautiful day on The Bay. Very calm conditions with a slight offshore breeze and flat seas. We had some excellent views of what appeared to be around five large northbound gray whales and one yearling. They were giving us great looks and staying up almost as much as they were under. Tail flukes every time, nice blows and unusually good looks at large sections of their backs. Often we only get to see a small part of their nostrum and about five or six feet of the front part of their body before they throw up their tail flukes.

The gray whales are remarkable. They have the longest migration of any mammal. They travel over twelve thousand miles round-trip from their feeding grounds in the Bering Sea to their breeding and birthing grounds in the warm water lagoons of Baja California. And they don’t really eat for the entire time. Although, some of them are thought to do some feeding off of Bodega Bay north of San Francisco.

We usually start to see them show up in December on their southbound migration and then again on their northbound migration in late February and early March. The peak northbound migration has already happening.

The first confirmed sighting of a gray whale calf and it’s mother were reported today. This also usually means that we will start to see more orcas in The Bay. The Monterey Bay is notorious as an ambush point for orcas attacking gray whale calves. So keep checking back for updates and media related orca encounters over the next couple of weeks. We’re pretty well getting into our most frequent months for orca encounters. April and May give passengers the best chance to have encounters with orcas in the Monterey Bay. So book a trip now and you just might have the experience of a lifetime.

Gray whale tail fluke at the mouth of the Monterey Bay. Photo: Sack 04-09-2012

We spent quite a bit of time hanging with these grays. They were very far out at the mouth of the Monterey Bay. About thirteen miles southwest of Moss Landing. So it took us almost an hour and a half to get on the scene. After about an hour of checking these cooperative migrating north-bounders, we decided to do a little exploring and see if we could find other animals.

Part of a twenty-bird flock of the critically endangered black-footed albatross about 8-miles out in the Monterey Bay. Photo: Sack 04-09-2012

Then we came upon a sight we haven’t seen very often here in The Monterey Bay: More than twenty black-footed albatross sitting in the water in a tight group with a handful flying around the area. It was very cool. These birds are remarkable. They fly all the way from the Hawaiian Islands. They are very well adapted for what they do. They actually lock their wings in place and ride the wind. They are so well adapted for flying long-distances that their heart rate is actually lower when they are flying than when they are sitting in the water.

Close-up of a black-footed albatross floating in the Monterey Bay. Photo: Sack 04-09-2012

We also had another sighting of a Steller sea-lion hanging out on the Moss Landing sea-lion dock. I can’t be sure if this is the same animal we’ve been seeing over the last month or so. But we’ve definitely had more frequent Steller sea-lion sightings in Moss Landing than we had last year.

Steller sea-lion soon after climbing onto the Moss Landing sea-lion dock. You can tell because he is still wet. Photo: Sack 04-09-2012
This Steller may look like he's getting gnarly on us. But he's actually just yawning and showing a mouthful of fish-eating teeth. Photo: Sack 04-09-2012

04-08-2012: Warm and Sunny with Smooth, Calm Water and Excellent Views of Cooperative Humpbacks, Bow-riding Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Feeding Risso’s Dolphins

Humpback whale 10-miles southwest of Moss Landing goes for deep dive while feeding on a massive krill patch. Photo: Sack 04-08-2012

It’s been hit or miss lately with the marine conditions. But today was fantastic. Which made for outstanding views of feeding humpback whales. They were pretty much just hanging out, circling around, feeding on an abundance of shallow krill patches. I could see huge balls of krill on our sonar. Mostly between 10 and 60 feet deep. At one point one at least one of the whales went under the boat as I could see a very large, solid, black target thirty feet under the boat. Then the animals popped up just behind the us.

We observed these two humpbacks for well over an hour. They’re dive cycles were consistently between three and five minutes, sometimes less. This means they were only spending a few minutes at a time under the water feeding. This makes for great whale watching. More often than not, their dive cycles are between 5-10 minutes and they sometimes pop up as far as a half-mile away. This is usually because they are searching an area for food. But today all the food they wanted was all around and under the boat.

After about an hour and a half of checking out these graceful animals doing what looks like slow motion tail-fluke dives, we noticed a scattered pod of about two-hundred Pacific White-sided dolphins throughout about a two mile area. They just kind of came through the area buzzing the nearby feeding humpbacks.

Pacific White-sided dolphins are always crowd-pleasers when they come through in good numbers. They seem to enjoy riding the bow of our boat and our wake. They leverage the energy created by our wake and just kind of buzz along side and in front of the boat. It’s really a neat thing to see. They cruise along and jump out of the water just in front of and beside the boat. So everyone gets on the bow and these beautiful dolphins are jumping just a few feet below passengers giving them very close-up views.

So we cruised the boat along at about five knots heading northeast for about 20-minutes while the Pacific White-sided followed along. After that they lost interest so we decided to go do some exploring and try to find some other animals.

A Risso's dolphin slowly cruises along side of the boat. Photo: Sack 04-08-2012

After about 20-minutes of exploring we came upon a very friendly pod of about 20 Risso’s dolphins. They also seemed to feeding. Often times when we see the Risso’s they seem to be traveling in a specific direction. Consistently surfacing, blowing and then just cruising a few feet underwater. They take on a different appearance when they are just under the surface of the water. They have an almost fluorescent whitish-green look about them. Which is why they have been nicknamed the “Phantom Dolpins.” They look like a ghost cruising through the water.

A pod of Risso's Dolphins circles around as they feed on shallow squid. Photo: Sack 04-08-2012

04-07-2012: More Feeding Humpbacks, Black-footed Albatross all Around

Humpback Whale 8 miles southwest of Moss Landing makes a shallow dive as it feeds on the abundant krill blooms in the area. Photo: Sack 04-07-2012

Excellent day on The Bay. Both Friday and today. Just beautiful. That makes two days in a row with feeding humpbacks and calm sunny conditions. Massive Krill blooms about 8 miles southwest of Moss Landing. Plus plenty of Krill a few miles out of Moss as well. So we’re off to a great start to the summer whale season with clear signs of abundant whale food.

Salmon season opened today and it was probably the best opener in more than ten years. Some are saying even longer. I talked to some of the salmon fisherman on the dock today and they said it was obvious the salmon have been eating Krill. So that’s a good sign because most of the salmon fisherman were only about two miles outside of Moss Landing Harbor. So we’re hoping that the whales start moving in closer. We were on the humpbacks within an hour from leaving the harbor today. They were giving us great views with a a lot of surface time and tail flukes on every dive. I could see the Krill they were eating on my sonar and it was only about 10-30 feet under the ocean surface.

Black-footed albatross cruises above the humpback whales we were with looking for left-overs. Photo: Sack 04-07-2012

We also have been seeing more black-footed albatross than we’ve seen in a long time. They were everywhere on Friday. At least 10 flying around the area.

04-05-2012: Hard Blowing Winds and Lumpy Seas, Trip Cancelled Today

The last week has again been rough for whale watching. The winds have been really churning things up out there making for poor marine wildlife viewing condtions. That’s the bad news. The good news is that this is exactly what we need for abundant krill development. You know, whale food. With the strong winds and sunny conditions, we should start to see some large krill blooms. With that usually comes more humpbacks and blue whales.

So we’ll see what happens on Friday. But so far, Friday, Saturday and Sunday are shaping up to be fantastic days out there. Nice sun, calm conditions and hopefully abundant marine wildlife. Although, I should tell you that Saturday morning trip is sold out and Sunday we only have a handful of spots left.

If the conditions are going to be as good as we think for Saturday, we are likely going to do an afternoon trip. So give us a call if you want to go out for an afternoon trip on Saturday. It will likely be a three-hour trip. That means our price for the Saturday afternoon trip will drop to $40.00 for adults and $30.00 for children. So give us a call if you want to go out on Saturday afternoon.

Stay tuned to the Captain’s Log for what we see on Friday. It could be good.

04-03-2012: Orcas Nail a Young Sea Lion Just Outside of Moss Landing, Close-in Gray Whales, Young Elephant Seal Mad-dogs a Cod

Moss Landing Orca
An orca "spy-hops" after a violent sea lion kill just outside of Moss Landing Harbor. It was quite spectactular. After the small pod of three attacked and consumed the sea lion, this animal came over to the boat to take a look at us. Photo: Sack, 04-03-2012

Wow! Another incredible day on The Bay. And it’s a good thing. Conditions were beginning to wear on me. We’ve had pretty dismal conditions over the last week. The weather has been getting in the way. Wind and steep swell one day and fog the next. It’s been hard. So much so, I haven’t been motivated to write any updates to the Captain’s Log over the last week. Sorry about that. Today changed all that. I had a nice attitude change.

Although over the last week we did have some OK looks at a handful of gray whales and a couple of Minke Whales. But let me tell you about Minke Whales: They’re not exactly whale watching material. More like whale glimpsing. But at least it’s kind of cool to get a glimpse of a species we don’t see that often. Although Minke have been known to breach and spy-hop. But we personally haven’t seen it here in the Monterey Bay. Usually we’ll see a dorsal fin that looks like a small dolphin. But the animal is clearly much broader in girth and length. Some are known to get 35 feet long. Then they’ll be gone. If we’re lucky, they’ll show themselves a couple of times.

Steller Sea Lion has been making regular appearances at the "sea lion" dock just below the Sea Harvest restaurant over the last week. The beast doesn't seem to mind the other youngsters hanging all over him. Photo: Sack, 04-02-2012.

And we have also been getting regular visits from a massive Steller Sea Lion all week. So that’s always cool. They look like some kind of giant freak sea lion when they’re next to the other sea lions. They’re typically three times the size of our regular California Sea Lions.

We also had some decent looks at a nice pod of common dolphins last week. But the wind and swell was quite bad. So we had a hard time staying with them. So overall it hasn’t been the best week of whale watching. But we have had some nice boat rides before the winds and swell forced us to abandoned our search.

Then there was yesterday: Stellar conditions in the morning. Warm, no wind, minimal swell; just beautiful. We had a film crew charter the boat wanting to see pretty much only orcas. So we spent 9 hours looking for orcas. But did we find any? No we didn’t.

The ocean and marine wildlife is funny that way. Things just kind of happen. Most of the time there is no planning anything out there. This is the second time this film crew came out with us.

We looked real hard yesterday. Then, today, 15-minutes into the trip a passenger spotted the obvious dorsal fins of a mother and calf pair. And there they were, just outside of the Moss Landing Harbor. So we checked them out for a while and watched them hunt. Then we noticed another. So now there were three. It looked like one of them may have been a young male.

And just when we least expected it, a massive splash of white water off our starboard side. A large female orca partially out of the water, and a sea lion launches 15 feet into the air and 20-30 feet sideways! It was mind boggling to see. That was about it for that sea lion. The critter was pretty well bloodied up after that and didn’t last a whole lot longer before the group took it under and consumed it. Then one of the animals came up to us and “spy-hopped” to check us out. See the picture I took above. I love when they do that. It pretty neat. They seem to be interested in us and actually come up out of the water to check us out.

It was also nice to have a couple of gray whale just outside of Moss Landing also. But these two were pretty stealthy. So we didn’t great looks. They seem to get a bit skiddish when there are orcas in the area. I guess I would too.

We also had a good look at an elephant seal mad-dogging a cod just outside the harbor as well. So that was cool. Overall, another great day on The Monterey Bay.