It was a terrible day to be an anchovy! We had excellent lunge feeding on all three of our trips. The humpbacks were north along the sand dunes which made it easy to find them on all of our departures despite fog off and on all day. Slater Moore, our photographer, joined us for our evening tour at 5pm to film a vlog.
The fog has been a constant element this summer while whale watching. It tends to be present for part of the morning tours and comes back in the evening. This marine layer effect happens when the temperatures rise inland. The cool air coming off the cold sea water in the bay rushes toward the hot air on land. When these air masses interact, they create a fog and cloud layer along the shoreline. Cold sea water is a good thing for Monterey Bay, but it does mean you should dress in warm layers to come out on the boat!
We have seen enormous swarms of sea nettles the past few weeks and today we passed over a few patches of super tiny ones! These jellyfish start as small individuals – we see them as small as your thumb. They can grow to have a bell larger than your head and tentacles as long as you are tall!
The jellyfish, sea birds, whales and sea lions for the day are featured in Slater’s vlog. You can view the video here.
