Fascination with Whales..

As humans, we certainly seem to have more than just a passing interest in whales. As demonstrated this past week, the entire country was captivated by the plight of a mother whale and her calf, who had taken a wrong turn into the Sacramento River and were in danger of losing their lives.

While hundreds of ordinary people lined the shores and bridges, experts tried several man made methods to coax the confused pair of humpback whales to turn around and get back into the Pacific Ocean.

Noting the outpouring of concern, the media got involved and kept all of us informed, almost hourly, even if we weren't West Coast residents. Dubbed 'Delta' and 'Dawn', the mother and daughter apparently slipped back into the Pacific sometime late last week and it appears that this story had a happy ending.

The route back to salt water safety was through the San Francisco Bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge....the very bridge Linda and I sailed under, with some friends, one winter afternoon a few years ago.

The country has breathed a sigh of relief and, as an additional bonus, it seems whale experts were able to gain some valuable data about the species during this ordeal. Win - win.

I can understand our fascination with whales, as this past summer, Linda and I spent some time on the Pacific Ocean watching these magnificent creatures.

It was quite a thrill visually scanning the horizon hoping to catch a glimpse of a whale swimming in its natural habitat....and when that first whale was spotted, off in the distance, the feeling was indescribable.

As we approached the pod of Orcas (or maybe they approached us...I'm not sure), the adrenaline was really pumping through the veins.


When they started surfacing right near our little rubber boat, the excitement was almost too much to take. I almost dropped my camera overboard and, as you can see, nearly missed the shot.

All told, we saw dozens of whales, who almost seemed to be performing for us. It was quite an experience and, hopefully, one we can realize again in the not so distant future.

Steve

PS....'Delta' and 'Dawn' were not among this group, as they are humpback whales, and this pod were Orca whales or probably better known as 'killer whales'. Although they didn't seem too threatening to us, I'm not really sure I wanted to 'jump in' and frolic with them. We did, by the way, also see several humpbacks, however they weren't close enough to get any really good photographs.