Spectacular October

Somebody tell these two Risso's Dolphins that according to most people, they're not supposed to come clear up and out of the water like this. Tony, First Mate of The Salty Lady just shook his head and repeated "they just don't do this, they just don't do this..." Risso's Dolphins generally just pierce the water's surface, their large dorsals clearly visible but their beautiful marked bodies only partially seen. Yet last Sunday they were racing and bow riding like last-weekend-of-summer-vacationers.

It wasn't just the Risso's doing the "porpoising" - the California Sea Lions were nearly body surfing. But then they had plenty of reason to hustle. It's white shark season, and that means they are on the menu. Hurry back to the Farallones boys!

Now here's something I'd never seen before - a Tufted Puffin in its winter plumage. Notice that the colorful over-the-ear feathers are no longer colorful. Seldom do you get to see Tufted Puffins like this since by now they generally have moved further out to sea - away from the Farallones. Another bit of October luck.

This big California Sea Lion seems to laugh at the notion of luck - Mr. King of the Hill is safe from the white sharks while high atop a peak of the Farallones - he must be happy. The amazing thing is how an animal his size can shimmy 300ft up jagged rock. The sea lions "haul out" on many sites throughout the islands then climb higher and higher, resting on narrow ledges and even the tall peaks. It is mesmerizing to watch them inch their way up the sides of the islands stopping along the way to bicker and vocalize with one another.

(And yes, even after all that, we also saw Humpbacks! Photos next week.)


Photos by Ed Estes (Thanks Ed!), text by Kathleen Jacques.

A Steller Performance

Northern or "Steller" Sea Lions are relatively rare. Their numbers have been declining for decades and the reasons are unclear. Decrease in their food sources, environmental contamination, competition with increasing numbers of California Sea Lions, all are possibilities. Saturday we saw them in noisy abundance when Captain Roger Thomas took us to the North Farallones.


They're plenty cute but not exactly cuddly at 2,400 pounds and 11 feet long for the males. Svelte females weigh in at less than 1,000 pounds. And if you think the California Sea Lions are loud, the Stellers don't so much bark as bellow - more tuba than trumpet. We heard the Stellers long before we saw them, proving something I'd read - that a large colony can be heard up to 1/2 mile away!

The North Farallones are a group of sharp thrusting rocks, the largest, la-de-da, for a rock, called the "Island of St. James." I never imagined so much vibrant life on these remote, beautiful islands.
Two groups of passengers came aboard to celebrate birthdays - whales and sea lions for the guy who's really hard to buy for - what a great idea! On cue a couple of Humpbacks swam alongside the boat - who doesn't love a birthday party?!


Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

No Blue Whales? How About Some Blue Angels?

It was a good thing we had so many bird watchers aboard last Sunday. They're used to craning their necks up instead of down. Because it was mostly a day for wings. The kind with feathers, and the kind without.

Out on the ocean there were plenty of pelagic flappers: Fulmars, Shearwaters, Petrels, Cormorants and Pelicans. But the Brown Boobies (don't look at me, I didn't name them) we'd spotted last week were nowhere to be seen.

Just beyond the Golden Gate Bridge is a favorite haul out cove for shy and sausage-y Harbor Seals. Perhaps something startled these curious Seals, because they weren't lounging on the rocks as usual, but were bobbing in the water, seemingly each on base.
One of our passengers, 90 year old Verna Alcorn from San Francisco, didn't mind that the whales chose to swim elsewhere this day. Verna sat on the bow's bench seat throughout the trip with a delighted smile on her face. When offered a blanket against the chill, Verna said that she felt thrilled to be in the fresh air, out on the ocean, it was exhilarating, not cold. "I'm perfectly happy just knowing that the whales are out there." And when we made it to the fogged in Farallones, Verna thought they were "magnificent!"


I'm still learning how to identify birds in flight. The Blue Angels make their identification easy - clearly labeling their planes "one" through "six". As our boat slid back under the bridge, the roar of the Blue Angels drew our eyes skyward; we were still enthralled at the wings above us.





Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Who says there are no second acts? 30 tons of pirouette says it ain't so!

There was some whining going on in my last post about missing good breaching whale shots. Heck, I'd just as soon not lug around that heavy camera and simply look at the ocean rather than lament the one that got away. It's not exactly a runway pose I'm asking for, but to be a split second too late when something that big leaps out of the depths...it's not just disappointing...it's embarrassing.

We had been out looking for whales all day and, it being a big ocean, and me being unable to tell my starboard from my port side (see last post)-- not one whale, not one picture of a whale, and it was time to go home. Rats.

Just when Roger Thomas, esteemed Captain of The Salty Lady was about to head back to port, he got a report from (bless-his generous-heart-whoever-you-are) a fisherman that 2 Humpbacks were on the move and putting on a show along the way.

And what a show it was! The Humpbacks were meandering along, not feeding, just having a good time. Up, up, spin and twirl - then the biggest splash you've ever seen! The whale seemed to use its flippers to spin as it lept out of the water so that it twirled in midair and landed on its side or back.

None of the reasons that I had read for why whales breach seemed applicable for this mighty display except the obvious - the whale was having fun.

When the whale stopped leaping out of the water it rolled on its back and waved its flippers back and forth, still playing, still posing for the camera.

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Why do They Leap? Because They Can.

What a crowd, what spirit! Like homecoming weekend at Cal, only for whales - "Whale Weekend." Saturday's whale watchers on the Butchie B saw 9 or 10 Humpbacks, including a juvenile who came so close to the (engine off) boat he might have been playing tag. And then he swam under it!

On Sunday we didn't know where to look - so many whales. "Blow at one o'clock!" "Hey, over here - a fluke!" "Up ahead - eleven o'clock!" "Right behind us, right behind us!" "Another one's about to fluke!" You could get a good view from anywhere on the boat!

I was looking starboard side when a cry went up portside: "LOOK AT THAT--LOOK AT THAT!!" 30 tons of mammal went vertical, 3 million gallons of water went splash. I wasn't quick enough to get the best shots but the sheer energy and force of that whale leaping "breaching" up, and up and up and up again - 4 times in all - burned the image in my mind forever.
There's no consensus as to why whales breach. Possibly to remove barnacles, as an assertion of strength, as a warning to other whales of danger, as a courtship gesture - all these explanations are feasible, including the simple explanation that the whales are just leaping for the joy of it.

Thanks again to Lovely Martha Capt. Frank Rescino and his son Michael the balloon catcher - you saved 2 more turtles today! Congratulations to Dave Frederick, former first mate, and now proud holder of a Captain's license - well done Dave!

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.