We were lucky enough to have some curious humpback whales hang out with us today! Capt. Rod took us offshore to do some exploring with some limited visibility but I was still able to spot 2 humpback whales in the fog. As we safely approached the 2 massive animals we realized they were headed right towards us. These 2 amazing animals circled us for a good 15 minutes providing our guest with a up close and personal look at a humpback whale. I love these close encounters since it offers a rare opportunity for our guest to see the fine details of these huge creatures. The whales approached us close enough that we could see the tiny whale lice that live on their bodies. Whale lice eat the dead skin off our whales and are often overlooked due to their teeny tiny size. Once we left our 2 new friends we headed towards the shoreline of the bay hoping for some more whales or dolphins. A feeding frenzy was found, that included 3 humpback whales, hundreds of birds and California sea lions feeding upon a school of anchovies. Upon closer inspection we were able to show our guest the tiny harbor porpoise that popped up to feed on anchovies also.
-Eric Austin Yee
A close up of the dorsal fin of a humpback whale. Photo by Eric Austin Yee
If you closely you can see the whale lice on this humpback whales head. Photo by Eric Austin Yee
This humpback whale tail slapped so close to us I could not get the entire whale in the frame.
Up close approaches off the opportunity for our guest to realize how wide a humpback whale is. Photo by Eric Austin Yee
