Part 2 - the Way Back Home
After our time with the giants, we decided if Claudette was going to make it to work on time we better head back in. We were about a 70 or 80 minute paddle back to shore at this point.
On the way back in, we pass a Stand Up Paddler. There were many out on Friday, but none were as lucky as this person. She was screaming and hooting like she won the lotto! It was pretty neat.
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After the shots of the Stand Up Paddler, we continued to dig for home. We were now what I’d consider “on the inside” – we were about even with the first nav stick. I saw something in the water, and paddled over to it, and a very large juvenile whale literally came up under my boat.
I can’t believe this thing is this close to the shore while all his buddies are still another 20 or 25 minutes further out! He was totally “logging” – just hanging out on the surface. While I’m shooting, I don’t have my paddle in the water, so I get pushed around a bit – which is OK, as the whale totally adjusts so I’m never too close to it.
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Then an amazing thing happened. He dropped below the surface – he didn’t dive, he just dropped. A moment later he came back up in front of me again – heading towards shore! The same way we were heading. So I got some shots of his powerful back as he was heading in.
He took another breath as he made a turn – deciding better against joining Claudette on our way back into the harbor! As he turned I got a great look into his blow hole – amazing sounds as he breathes out and breathes in, surging through the water.
Just before he sounded and left us, he arched up high right next to my boat. It was amazing to see how the water behaved as it moved down his back. I could also see his small dorsal fin had been chewed by something – as the top half was missing.
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After this experience, we were pretty much breathless – and we still had another 30 or 40 minutes to get back to the harbor. We dug in and pushed back into the harbor at full speed. We jumped out of the boats, pulled them up onto the dock and ran to get the trucks (she was going to be late if we didn’t hurry…)
I re-lived this 3 hours over and over again all weekend. I’ve seen lots of whales from boats of all sizes – from the large Catalina Express boats to large live-aboards to smaller private boats. This is the first time I’ve ever paddled out to find them, and then paddled out even further to find the larger ones.
HUGE thanks to Claudette - your love of adventure, your respect for the sea and for these creatures is inspiring. You are fit, you are fun, you are fierce, you are one in a million.
More thanks to the BWE community. You guys inspire weekend paddlers like us to go out and get close to this stuff.
Many thanks!
-Ken