Whales, Whales, Everywhere Whales!

Jay's Post: One of the questions we are frequently asked is if we see whales as we sail. The answer is yes, predominately three types: Blue Whales, Humpback Whales and Gray Whales.

Blue Whales are found usually in the open oceans. In the Pacific ocean they migrate from South Chukchi Sea in the Pacific Northwest to Panama. In the waters of Mexico they mate and give birth to their calves. Their diet consists mainly of krill, a tiny shrimp-like animal. They each consume 2-4 tons of krill per day. When feeding they travel at 1-4 miles per hour, but can achieve bursts of speed up to 30 miles per hour. Blue whales are the largest known animal on the planet reaching 105 feet in length and weighing up to 196 tons. They are blue-gray in color. When they spout they shoot a vertical spray of water up to 40 feet into the air.

Humpback Whales are found primarily along the coast from the Bering Sea to Southern Mexico. In the waters of Mexico they mate and give birth to their calves. Their diet consists mainly of krill and small schooling fish. They are known to concentrate their food by forming a “bubble curtain”, created by swimming in circles while releasing air bubbles beneath the water's surface. Humpback Whales often “sing”, vocalizing a long series of repeated phrases. They can grow up to 53 feet in length and are mostly black in color with white undersides. They often leap clear out of the water and may slap their flukes on the water's surface.

Gray Whales are found primarily in shallow coastal waters from the Bering Sea to Baja California, Mexico. In the waters of Mexico they mate and to give birth to their calves. When born, the calves can swim immediately, but depend on their mothers for a diet of milk for at least 6 months. The adult's diet consists mainly of gammarid and amphipods which they grub off the sea floor. They are gray in color and can grow up to 46 feet in length. When spouting they do not shoot out a distinctive spout of water.

Peggy's Post: Fortunately, we are able to report that we have only seen Blue Whales from a distance. It is our goal to stay as far way from these “monsters of the deep” as possible. Frequently we see Humpback whales spouting as we move along the coast. We can see their spouts from a great distance as they shoot up into the air. A few times we have come upon their “bubble curtains” as they feed on fish they were rounding up. During these times they would either see us or hear us coming and would submerge as we sailed closer leaving only the disturbed water in their wake. Once, as we were leaving Abreojos, Mexico, a Humpback Whale breached right in front of “Little Lara” less than 100 feet away, startling us both. “Little Lara” rocked from side to side by the waves left behind. Sadly, we did not have our camera nearby, so we missed a great photo opportunity.

Though we have seen whales both in the Pacific and in the Sea of Cortez I convinced Jay into taking a whale watching tour. I had heard from some other cruisers that it was a new and completely different experience. So when we had the rental car, we drove back over to the Pacific side of Baja California to Lopez Mateo, near Bahia Magdalena, where the Gray Whales come to calf. We hired a panga (a small fishing boat) and were lucky to be the only passengers aboard, so we had a fantastic view of the spouting Gray Whales. This was very exciting as we got closer and saw their baby calves. We followed them along as they surfaced and then dove. As these whales disappeared below the surface of the water, our panga driver would spot another whale in the distance, and off we would roar over the waves. The best part was toward the end of our tour when we met the friendliest whale. She would come up to the side of the boat...and we were only an arms reach from the water. I swear, she wanted to be petted and she loved it! And we weren't feeding them so it wasn't food bringing them to us. She would go to one side of the boat, dive under, then come up on the other side for another head rub. Then she nudged her calf over for some attention from us. I was so surprised at how soft their bodies were. It was an incredible, once in a lifetime experience! You have to see the videos above and below to gain an appreciation of what we were able to experience. Enjoy!