Gulf of California
The conditions this morning were about as good as they get for whale watching in the gulf, flat and calm so that one could see fins on the water for a long way. We were fortunate to spend our morning with a pod of more than 40 short-finned pilot whales. Pilot whales get their name from the early idea that one of the whales was the pilot or leader of the group. Today, they instead showed their propensity to travel in chorus line fashion, side by side, cruising slowly through the water. At times we became part of the line when a section of the group would break off, swim under our bow and reappear on the other side. Other times we could see the entire body several feet below the surface of the clear greenish water. Although these animals are capable of going much faster than the ship, today they swam at their more typical “slow” speed of 3 – 4 knots. Thanks to the expert maneuvering of Chief Mate Shawn Nettles, we spent an incredible two hours this morning watching and traveling with these animals. We thought we were lucky to find this one group of pilot whales, but it seemed to be the day for pilot whales, as we came across two more groups as we continued north.
As we were finishing another “optional” lunch (which none of us missed since it was homemade pizza), Expedition Leader Ralph Lee Hopkins gave us yet another reason to grab our cameras (and recently emptied cards) and head back to the bow! Here, in contrast to the morning’s relatively short, black, bulbous-headed whales were the largest animals on earth: blue whales! Their amazing, emerald, blue glow could be seen under the water a few hundred yards in the distance as these two massive whales swam just below the surface. They moved in slow motion, allowing our anticipation to build before each surfacing. The peaceful, whoosh of the whale’s exhalations were quickly followed by a staccato barrage of shutters from the bow.
The rest of the afternoon afforded us the time to relax, contemplate and bird watch from the bow as we pushed north to tomorrow’s adventure.
The conditions this morning were about as good as they get for whale watching in the gulf, flat and calm so that one could see fins on the water for a long way. We were fortunate to spend our morning with a pod of more than 40 short-finned pilot whales. Pilot whales get their name from the early idea that one of the whales was the pilot or leader of the group. Today, they instead showed their propensity to travel in chorus line fashion, side by side, cruising slowly through the water. At times we became part of the line when a section of the group would break off, swim under our bow and reappear on the other side. Other times we could see the entire body several feet below the surface of the clear greenish water. Although these animals are capable of going much faster than the ship, today they swam at their more typical “slow” speed of 3 – 4 knots. Thanks to the expert maneuvering of Chief Mate Shawn Nettles, we spent an incredible two hours this morning watching and traveling with these animals. We thought we were lucky to find this one group of pilot whales, but it seemed to be the day for pilot whales, as we came across two more groups as we continued north.
As we were finishing another “optional” lunch (which none of us missed since it was homemade pizza), Expedition Leader Ralph Lee Hopkins gave us yet another reason to grab our cameras (and recently emptied cards) and head back to the bow! Here, in contrast to the morning’s relatively short, black, bulbous-headed whales were the largest animals on earth: blue whales! Their amazing, emerald, blue glow could be seen under the water a few hundred yards in the distance as these two massive whales swam just below the surface. They moved in slow motion, allowing our anticipation to build before each surfacing. The peaceful, whoosh of the whale’s exhalations were quickly followed by a staccato barrage of shutters from the bow.
The rest of the afternoon afforded us the time to relax, contemplate and bird watch from the bow as we pushed north to tomorrow’s adventure.
