A selection of Cetaceans

[rcvesselstyn]

We love sailing. One of our greatest joys of sailing this area is seeing the sea life. This 26 mile stretch of blue water between the mainland and the island hosts a wide variety of creatures. We alternately get warm currents up from Mexico and cold currents down from Central California. We see many organisms that we are told we should not see....

1.jpeg.JPG (118.16 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

2.jpeg.JPG (194.29 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

Very big and summer sky blue, the largest creature on Earth. This Blue Whale was going the opposite direction. It turned around and headed straight for us, curiosity perhaps. It slowly veered off as it came close and continued on its way...

3.jpeg.JPG (236.1 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

4.jpeg-001.JPG (227.95 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

5.jpeg-001.JPG (217.48 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

6.jpeg-001.JPG (183.48 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

7.jpeg.JPG (191.91 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

Common Bottlenose Dolphin. Only sometimes playful. We see them cruising in small groups and occasionally they'll hitch a ride on our bow wave....

8.jpg (35.26 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

9.JPG (195.33 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

11.JPG (167.41 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

16.JPG (279.81 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

18.JPG (192.8 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

19dolphin tatoo.JPG (225.01 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

22.JPG (125.47 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

23.JPG (146.03 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

24.JPG (156.81 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

25.JPG (143.77 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

26.JPG (236.46 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

27.JPG (158.67 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

28.JPG (133.35 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

29.JPG (168.72 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

30.JPG (141.75 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

32.JPG (120.05 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

38.JPG (233.34 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

39.JPG (150.84 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

41.JPG (170.75 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

50.JPG (97.87 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

Grampus , or Risso's Dolphin, notice the tall dorsal fin. Usually we see them in slow moving small groups. They don't seem to like us very much...

51.JPG (98.95 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

52.JPG (88.92 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

58.JPG (100.02 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

60.JPG (105.49 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

63.JPG (113.19 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

64.JPG (96.07 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

66.JPG (172.81 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

67.JPG (121.26 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

78.JPG (61.78 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

Pacific White-sided Dolphin. 10 to 20 in a group and always very fast and exuberant ...

79.JPG (77.67 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

80.JPG (83.42 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

81.JPG (57.92 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

82.JPG (142.32 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

A happy Humpback. Probably our favorite critter. We had a couple hanging around for two years near the Redondo deep, a 600 to 800 feet deep canyon off of Redondo...

83.JPG (172.87 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

84.JPG (124.56 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

85.JPG (201.19 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

86.JPG (225.13 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

87.JPG (231.82 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

88.JPG (145.22 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

89.JPG (170.13 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

90.JPG (162.94 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

91.JPG (202.85 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

92.JPG (172.05 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

93.JPG (204.82 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

94.JPG (213.67 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

95.JPG (182.56 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

96.JPG (113.37 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

97.JPG (233.44 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

98.JPG (106.39 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

99.JPG (104.58 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

100.JPG (103.56 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

102.JPG (215.86 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

103.JPG (83.72 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

104.JPG (71.64 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

105.JPG (156.64 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

106.JPG (192.42 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

108.JPG (169.99 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

109.JPG (156.69 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

110.JPG (178.79 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

111.JPG (154.65 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

112.JPG (319.98 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

We sometimes see these guys coming down to maraud the Gray Whales that are headed up the coast with their calves. It's a real problem now up by Monterey. The Gray Whales have been heading further out to sea to avoid them. The pictures were taken off of Tofino, Vancouver Island, British Columbia when we were up there and, suitably, off of Orcas Island in the San Juans. These pods are all fish eaters. The Killer Whales that visit us locally are Transients from Central California or ETPs up from Mexico. Both groups are dolphin eaters. The visitors are here and gone before we can get a decent photo...

152.JPG (86.82 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

131.JPG (41.88 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

134.JPG (142.12 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

135.JPG (212.35 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

137.JPG (162.34 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

145.JPG (185.16 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

146.JPG (137.05 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

147.JPG (157.22 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

149.JPG (134.45 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

159.jpg (145.28 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

160.JPG (107.76 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

Short-Beaked Common Dolphins and Long-Beaked Common Dolphins we usually see them in large groups, sometimes with youngsters. The youngsters will do high jumps and then slap their tail on the way back down....

161.jpg (159.34 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

162.jpg (194.26 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

163.jpg (199.12 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

164.jpg (188.46 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

165.jpg (161.86 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

169.jpg (137.97 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

170.jpg (169.25 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

177.JPG (89.95 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

181.JPG (42.61 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

182.JPG (36.41 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

184.JPG (57.78 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

185.JPG (56.35 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

186.JPG (56.6 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

187.JPG (58.88 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

188.JPG (49.06 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

192.JPG (247.82 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

193.JPG (177.93 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

198.JPG (183.39 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

201.JPG (186.6 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

202.JPG (154.69 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

205.JPG (190.73 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

211.JPG (357.17 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

212.JPG (263.67 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

218.JPG (284.88 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

220.JPG (218.97 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

236.JPG (203.59 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

239.JPG (239.04 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

245.JPG (148.07 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

248.JPG (141.72 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

250.JPG (127.91 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

251.JPG (164.79 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

In the past trying to figure out exactly what type of animal we saw we consulted experts. Some of these would tell us that we did not see what we saw. A lifetime of diving and sailing this area we have witnessed behaviors and animals that had not been documented in the scientific literature. Unfortunately in relating the information to experts there were many that would just deny the validity of our observations. Thankfully over the years there has been an evolution in their acceptance of eyewitness accounts. Now, with the prevalence of a camera in everyone's hand, events that we witnessed years ago are being proven and documented. Just one example of many cases, on a 1967 trip across we witnessed a huge pod of dolphins numbering over a thousand individuals. We were surrounded with enthusiastic leaping dolphins for over a hour. Our account was dismissed as a flight of fancy. Relatively recently there has been photographic documentation of super pods off the San Diego coast. How unfortunate that some of the scientific community used to dismiss data from the people who were out on the water....

254.JPG (98.72 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

256.JPG (169.76 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

257.JPG (103.03 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

258.JPG (98.52 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

259.JPG (157.68 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

260.JPG (142.12 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

261.JPG (121.77 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

262.JPG (102.98 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

263.JPG (149.31 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

264.JPG (172.99 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

265.JPG (133.41 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

We see so much during our sailing only 5% of it gets documented with a photograph. On a quick day sail or on a 3 1/2 knot long crossing it lightens our heart to see any of these joyful dolphins or even a group of grumpy Grampus.



The Camera Crew :

271.JPG (108.36 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

The Mate; Always a perfect shot....

272.JPG (202.66 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

Not The Mate; just as likely to get a shot of his foot, the deck, the sky, or even accidentally turn the camera off, especially when the whale is only 5 ft away....

273.JPG (163.6 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

The Roxi; able to run down the beach without leaving footprints because her legs aren't long enough to reach the sand....


So now a question for all of you. We saw this behaving like a Mola Mola, but as we approached, it looked unusual. It was six to eight feet across. We guessed it was a Mola Mola in a peacock costume. What do you think?...

266.JPG (93.02 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

268.JPG (109.72 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

269.JPG (139.93 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

270.JPG (124.76 KiB) Viewed 27331 times

[SailingChris]

Wow, thanks for the interesting photos and comments. What a variety of sea mammals. Here in fresh water we get none of that. As to the scientific skepticism, it's usually a good thing except when it is too rigid. My brother is an active reporter to the Cornell "e-bird" data collection. They also tend to question unlikely reports and require the reporter to justify. The scientific approach seems to be that if you can't prove it, it's just an interesting theory. That's generally a good way to accumulate knowledge as long as it doesn't become just a tool for defending established views and excluding anything that doesn't fit.

One thing you won't see on salt water... last night my sister spotted a hen turkey and ten chicks (they raise them communally) and then a red fox that was stalking them.

Chris Campbell
Cal 20 #1220, Martha C