Reds and oranges filled the sky as sunrise peeked through a hazy horizon just south of Santa Catalina. The Gulf of California was smooth as glass and those of us on the bow could see for several miles in all directions. The Sierra de la Giganta mountain range began to take a slight reddish cast with shadows forming in every crack and arroyo.The sea itself was teeming with activity, as a myriad of animals large and small became visible in the early morning light. Small explosions of water could be seen all around the SEA LION as squids pumped water through their siphons and moved about on the surface of the water. In the distance we could see a group of dolphins moving towards our boat as she traveled slowly west away from Isla Monserrat. These gorgeous backlit cetaceans moved effortlessly, through the water in a continual search for food!The morning sun rose slowly, adding heat to the day and casting more light on land and sea. With ideal whale watching conditions it was not soon before a blow was spotted in the distance. Slowly the SEA LION approached and for one and a half hours many of us remained on the bow watching a very cooperative and large Blue whale breath, dive, returning to the surface to take six to eight breaths. Then this eighty-five foot whale, the largest mammal in the world, would dive exposing a fluke that measured at least twenty-six feet across!!! Again and again our officers' crew positioned the SEA LION so that we were moving in the same direction as the whale, following at some distance but able to hear each blow and observe this blue whale surfacing and completing yet another dive.
Soon it was time for our northern journey to resume, and the SEA LION returned to her original course heading for Isla Carmen. We returned to the bow and resumed the customary pose, with binoculars poised as we searched for more inhabitants of this rich salt-water ecosystem.
With such wonderful visibility we waited a very short period of time, and word came from the bridge that splashes were spotted approximately a thousand yards away. Two large black marine mammals were spotted in a full body leaps out of the water! Yells were heard in the bridge and on the bow as a sighting of a super pod of bottlenose dolphins was confirmed. The SEA LION picked up speed and moved towards what appeared to be at least 150 animals all swimming together. These dolphins often gather together in extended family groupings to mix genetics across families, there by keeping inbreeding at a minimum.
Once again the SEA LION began a zigzag journey in the Gulf of California moving in and out and through this enormous shoal of dolphins! Soon there were as many as twelve bottle nose dolphins riding the pressure wave created by our ship. Marine mammal researchers speculate that for thousands of years dolphins of all types have ridden the pressure waves created by larger marine mammals. The dolphins dropping their tails and letting the pressure wave created by the much larger whales push the dolphins effortlessly through the water. The SEA LION continued this tradition for the dolphins, giving them a free ride and a chance to gaze in our direction. We watched in the customary position of heads over the bow looking into the eyes of several dolphins, who were indeed looking back…..two groups of sentiental beings, one group of land mammals carried by a small ship, one group of marine mammals carried by that ships pressure wave; each watching the other in utter delight!
