Month: June 2014

06/25/2014 Blues Whales have arrived in the Bay!

Today we had a real treat aboard Sanctuary. We started out the day by viewing about 15 humpback whales minutes out of the harbor. After doing a little exploring we found our first blue whale of the season, giving us really great looks. To top it off we had what we believe to be a friendly Sei Whale calf, one of the rarest baleen whale species in the world. The whale watching keeps getting better and better.

06/23/2014 Humpback Feeding Event at Moss

Incredible humpback action today less than a mile from Moss Landing Harbor. We were with between 6 and ten whales for four hours straight while they tightly herded anchovies along with several groups of foraging sea lions and a flock of gulls and pelicans. The action really picked up once all the Monterey whale watch boats went home before noon. Then the lunge-feeding action began in earnest. These whales surfaced lunged over and over, showing off their massive maws and expanded throat pleats as they feasted on a shallow water bait ball of fish. All this within close viewing distance of Sanctuary. To top it off two of the whales had a synchronized tail lobbing session where they slapped the water in random with their huge flukes over 100 times quite close to the boat. This was “one of those days” out on the bay!