Fall 1999
Dec. 29, 1999	Gray Whales, Dense Fog & Big Luck
Dec. 25, 1999	A Child Is Born (not that one)
Dec. 6, 1999	Late Fall/Late Part of the Millenium
Dec. 3, 1999	Here they come!
Nov. 4, 1999	A Mystery Solved
Nov. 1, 1999	Halloween Weekend: Humpback Whales, Dall's Porpoises & Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Oct. 24, 1999	Humpbacks, Pacific White Sided Dolphins & Orcas!
Oct. 22, 1999	Update:
Sept. 20, 1999	Fall With the Whales

12/29/99: Gray Whales, Dense Fog & Big Luck
With gray whales scattered all along the coast, we headed out today expecting a good trip. There was one near Point Pinos and our passengers got a distant glimpse of it as it surfaced and sounded a few times, but a couple of boats were already nearby; we didn't want to crowd them or the whale. I announced over the PA system that we'd head down toward Cypress Point where we could surely see more whales and as we ambled that way, a fast-moving, low-lying carpet of fog suddenly blew in from sea like a cement wall. We milled about, hoping to see the whale that had been nearby, but it and even the boats had disappeared into the gloom. I kept chatting over the PA, telling the folks about these marvelous animals as I drove; Steph and Lyle, our deckhand, were up top peering into the muck desperately looking for whales. I described my reason for the course I chose. I spent some time telling them why I was going fairly slow (so we wouldn't pass them up if whales were nearby). I was wishing as hard as I could that I could conjure whales out of nothing, hoping they would choose to surface right next to us, which was the only way we'd see them. And they did!!! Three of the biggest grays of the season arced out of the water and crossed our bow not 100 feet in front of us. It was a gift both for our passengers and for us. The whales surfaced several times and gave these folks a fine show before they sounded and were gone. Thank you, Spirits.

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12/25/99: A Child Is Born (not that one)
Yesterday, Steph, Fluke and I took a busman's holiday and went out on Sanctuary all by ourselves to be with the whales. There was an odd sea lion off Point Pinos. It was circling, tossing its head funny. We sat off a ways and watched it, curious about its behavior. Them we realized it a was a TINY newborn gray whale. Its mother was nearby, hovering just beside or below it. The little whale would disappear, then pop its head up as though to say, "So this is the world, huh?" What a Christmas present. Those two have a long trip, so keep a good thought for them.
Today was warm, sunny, clear and we had a bunch of common dolphins and gray whales out there on the water. Our passengers were spirited, they laughed and took pictures and asked great questions. One woman kept saying, "You get to do this every day." All I could do was grin; she's right.

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12/6/99: Late Fall/Late Part of the Millenium
Yesterday, we had such a beautiful ocean that Steph kept saying it could break your heart. Blue the color of childhood dreams of dolphins, an easy swell passing under us that became spectacular waves as they met the shallow waters near shore. We had a charter for the Stanford School of Business partners in the morning and although a gray whale was spotted, we didn't see it again. Our second trip though, we came upon two grays and were able to amble along with them for over an hour. Only one person in the group had ever seen a whale and every one of them was elated. When you see the grays' big heads, the backward sloping blowholes, their flukes which are as finely turned as any piece of outstanding artwork, it takes your breath away.
The loons are coming back to the bay for the winter and the sea lions have resumed their post on the breakwater. This is our winter. The thought of seeing gray whales in big numbers very soon is as exciting as Christmas! We will start our winter schedule December 18th, when trips go from 3 hours to 2 hours and prices drop accordingly. DO make reservations, even if you're coming alone or in a small party. We don't want you to be disappointed. And make sure when you arrive at Randy's on Old Fisherman's Wharf, where we are based, that you tell them you're here for SANCTUARY!
Sanctuary has already been booked for several whole boat charters and the cost is very reasonable in case you're thinking of bringing a club, school class or other group out to see the grays. Want more info?
Email us!

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12/3/99: Here they come!
Today, we saw our first gray whale on our own boat, with some enthusiastic and very nice people aboard with us. It was special for them because they've never seen whales at all. It was special for us because one year ago, Steph and I were about to leave Neah Bay, Washington. We had been there for 10 1/2 weeks trying to help the Makah go forward, not backward by killing whales again. We helped keep them from killing a whale last year, but they did it this year. We dedicated ourselves to starting a business that takes you out there to meet what we fight for. It was a reunion. To see the barnacled back, the heart shaped blow that is the grays' trademark, to know this whale made it past the northwest tip of Washington, all of this was a source of joy. One year. You can see the gray whales from now clear on into spring, but don't put it off that long. You need this burst of pure, undiluted joy. Everyone does.

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11/4/99: A Mystery Solved
Last weekend on one of our whale watching trips, we had been out with humpback whales and were headed back to Monterey. There were two unusual things seaward of us. To the southwest, mirages were rising and falling with the passing swells. It looked like a long band of squat islands shimmering out where we know there's only ocean.
To the west, however, was a huge mass of large animals jumping out of the water. We figured they were probably dolphins, the clowns of the ocean! Even though they were a couple of miles behind us, we turned to investigate. Passengers lined the rails and as we neared within half a mile or so, we began to see the splashes as the bodies arced into the ocean. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of creatures ahead of us. People loaded film in their cameras and anticipation had us all tingling.
Then they were gone. Not a splash, not one animal breaking out of the pattern like a lone screw-up in a parade. Vanished. Could they also have been a mirage? No. As Steph said to one of the other skippers, "These mirages were jumping out of the water and splashing."
But sooner or later, dolphins have to surface to breathe, so we milled around for a few minutes. We never saw them again. Puzzled, we headed for home. On Monday, I was talking with our neighbor Shorty (who is well over 6 feet tall, which certainly explains his name). Shorty is a charter boat skipper as well and he lives to fish.
"You know what they were?" he asked. "I'll bet they were bluefin tunas; they jump like that, then disappear. They're not like dolphins; they don't have to surface to breathe."
Bluefin tuna is highly prized and the fleet that pursues them is so technologically advanced, many of them have spotter planes that do nothing but fly in search of them. One giant Atlantic bluefin tuna recently sold in Japan for $80,000.00. One fish. With a bounty like that on their heads, it's easy to see how this species is in danger of extinction in our lifetime.

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11/1/99: Halloween Weekend: Humpback Whales, Dall's Porpoises & Pacific White Sided Dolphins
We sent October out in fine style. Our dog Fluke wore a cool Hawaiian shirt, several leis and her tropical visor. I wore a waist length white and mylar wig that is really me (so much so that I'm thinking of shaving my head and Crazy Gluing it to my scalp). I had on a tropical tank top, black tights and a rainbow tinsel hula skirt to complete the effect. Steph donned a World Whale Police T-shirt (the real one, before someone claimed it was a legitimate organization and trademarked the name), his World Whale Police badge that Mary and Andre' made for us while we were encamped at Neah Bay last fall and of course, very dark glasses.
Picture this scene as we led our passengers down to the landing to board. One sweet guy was so delighted, he called me a beautiful mermaid and used up most of his film before we ever got out to the whales. Everyone had a great sense of joy and anticipation and it paid off in handsome rewards. We saw Pacific white sided dolphins on our way out and the humpbacks were a ball to watch. Same thing on the second trip, but this time we saw Dall's porpoises on our way to see the whales. The weather was spectacular with blue skies and great visibility. Yesterday, a whale breached as close to us as I've ever seen a breach (maybe a few hundred feet away). Whew! A great way to send October on its way and to welcome in November.

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10/24/99 Humpbacks, Pacific White Sided Dolphins & Orcas!
Today was about as exciting as it gets. On our first trip, we had a bunch of folks from England who are bicycling from Canada to Mexico. Isn't that serendipity for you, them finding us and going out with the only man to have paddled from Canada to Mexico?
"Talk us through it," one of the bicyclists said to Steph.
"Well, he responded, "I had to paddle like hell and you are going to have to peddle like hell!"
We had a report of humpbacks well offshore, so we went for it and were rewarded by two whales in such stop-your-heart clear water that their white flippers glowed under the surface with that ethereal blue-green we usually see only with the gray whales. It was a religious experience seeing that color. We saw several more humpbacks heading in and also were joined by a nice pod of dolphins which shot around the boat a few times. We had a couple from Sacramento with us who had learned about us on the Internet. It is really fun meeting people after corresponding with them by email. I hope you agree, Gail!
The wind and swell rose on our second trip, but on it we were treated to a large amount of killer whales. There are mammal eating groups of killer whales and fish eaters. According to researchers studying them out there, these were the fish eaters. There were groups of 5 one direction, a large male the other way, two ahead of us, then 4 astern of us. One passenger remarked it was too hard deciding which ones to watch. What a happy dilemma, hmm?

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10/22/99 Update:
Today, we had an excellent opportunity to see humpback whales lunge feeding. Golly (I pronounce that "Gollll-eeee"), that is really something to see! A pair of whales came up several times around us and once, they were just 150' away or so when they burst out of the water! One of the whales had such a distended throat from all of the water and bait fishes that it appeared quite pink. I was driving on this trip and didn't get a shot of it, but one of our passengers did and she's pretty confident it will be a winner. I think I have a neat breach shot on a roll of film still in a camera, so I know how she feels, wanting to finish that roll NOW! We sure do have a great time out there.
Little can compare with the thrill of seeing some of the world's largest mammals on the open ocean. To hear their mighty blows, to see them thunder through the water and to watch as they feed, breach or slap their flukes on the surface is to experience life at its richest.

We never tire of seeing whales in their wonderful, undulating world and neither will you. The peak times to see the California gray whales is during their southbound migration. The months of December through March are exceptionally good because the grays travel close to shore as they pass by on their way to the lagoons of Baja. From March into May, the grays are heading north in our waters and again, we have the opportunity to witness their fantastic migration.

This is the most ancient of the surviving great whales and it is the species we feel the closest to. The gray whale is under threat throughout its migratory route. On its feeding grounds in the Bering Sea, massive harvesting of krill by the Norwegians and others is reducing the food left for wildlife. The Makah Indians of Northwest Washington have resumed whaling after a hiatus of over 70 years and in a pathetic and shameful manner, have turned our once proud anti-whaling nation into a mockery. To the south, Mitsubishi Corporation has joined hands with the Mexican government and is attempting to build the world's largest salt extraction plant in the inner reaches of San Ignacio Lagoon, a major nursery for the gray whale mothers and their newborn calves. To learn more about these threats, go to the section for In the Path of Giants on this web site (click on the whale icon on left).

The Monterey Bay also attracts many other whale species. Humpbacks, fin whales, killer whales and more frequent our waters. In June of 1999, we saw two blue whales, the largest mammals on earth, less than a quarter mile from shore. We saw two more blue whales very close to shore on Sunday, October 3rd!

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And yet, the threats to these great creatures continue. Go to the section for In the Path of Giants (click on the whale icon on the left) and read the Advocacy update. It is enough to make you crazy, but there are ways to help. Make yourself heard and complain to our government about whaling. Pitch a fit over the Russians slaughtering Beluga whales to sell to the Japanese, that tiny country that consumes so incredibly much of the world's great whales.

And when it comes time to shop for that new television, VCR or car, make sure it isn't a Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi is an enornous corporation with strong ties to commercial whaling, as well as the plan to turn Mexico's San Ignacio lagoon, one of the gray whales' last remaining nurseries for their babies, into nothing but the world's largest salt extraction plant.

Shame on Japan, but shame on us if we support Japanese corporations involved in the death of the great whales or the degradation of their critically important habitat.

We have a lot of Japanese passengers on our cruises, but one family stands out. They have been to America several times and when their little girl was very young, they went to Sea World in San Diego. She saw the killer whales and was entranced. Ever since then, she's wanted to be a marine biologist and work with whales. Now, she's a young woman. The whole family thoroughly enjoyed their cruise, bringing clam chowder and wine with them from the wharf and chatting merrily on the trip out. But once we got out with the whales, things changed. The daughter sat on deck on the bow and was transfixed. Her family clapped when they saw the whales and took pictures, but the daughter was in her own world. We learned about her passion for whales on the ride in and it made us wonder how Japanese folks like this feel when Japan's whaling is mentioned. Perhaps they feel much the same as we do when the Makah whaling is mentioned. Angry with their government and mentalites who see whales as nothing more than hamburger.

Labor Day Weekend brought such wild sightings with the humpback whales on the Monterey Bay that we feel like ragdolls. Each day was fantastic, each trip showed us something new. We watched whales that lingered on the surface for very long periods of time. We found a whale despite pea soup fog and it delighted us all as we were leaving by lob-tailing, throwing its flukes and 1/3 to 1/2 of its body clear out of the water and then smashing them onto the surface in remarkable displays of exhuberance. It did this over 20 times. Our passengers were beside themselves and so were we.

We ran one more trip Monday afternoon at 5:00. We were the last whale watching boat out of Monterey. We wandered back to where we'd been watching a very sedate pair of whales earlier and halfway through our time with them, I guess they finally woke up. The large juvenile breached so many times, occasionally coming all the way out of the water, that I have 1 1/2 rolls of film alone with a breach in every shot! I went through my film, then the boat's film for sale. Still these whales played. They rolled, threw their flippers out of the water and into the air. They swam on their backs. They spyhopped again and again. The adult, a very large whale, started to feed and before we left, it lunged up behind us with its mouth wide open! By the time we left, we were all cold and tired. But every one of us was smiling and smiling a lot. As one little girl told me several times, "I won't forget any of this, EVER! Nor will I.
The pictures I took are just up on the site, with more to come. (By Heidi)