The first sighting came before breakfast. Larry Hobbes and several of the staff spotted tall, columnar blows and broad flukes far off on the eastern horizon. Third mate Jill Russell took the Sea Lion quickly in that direction and as we approached the whale was seen once more and then disappeared completely! For the next two hours we cruised the waters south of Isla Carmen, discussing the geology and history of the region while diligently searching for any trace of this elusive marine mammal. Finally, in the middle of the morning we sighted a huge column of mist and a long dark back breaking the calm surface of the sea. This time we were able to approach closely before the whale sounded, watching as it made a series of shallow dives and blows and confirming that it was a blue whale!
Larry taught us the identifying marks of this largest of all whales, including the grey-blue color, very tall blow and a long, long back ending in a tiny dorsal fin. As he put it, "When it begins a terminal dive, you see the back roll up, and roll and roll, and you go to get a cup of coffee and come back and it's still rolling, and finally you see the teeny weeny dorsal fin and, if you are very lucky, the flukes. We were very lucky indeed and this whale, which was making deep dives lasting ten to fifteen minutes, lifted its tremendous flukes each time it began one of these long terminal dives. While we waited for it to reappear, Larry told us more about its ecology, including its ability to engulf a ton of tiny shrimp-like krill in a single gulp. Every fifteen minutes the whale would reappear, we would slowly approach and watch it take a series of breaths and then raise its tail to begin another long dive. We spent all the rest of the morning in its company, thrilled to have such a great opportunity to observe this huge, graceful animal.
Happy birthday Bette Lu! Thanks for sharing your present with us.
