We had a wild sunset trip. We began with calm seas and clear skies. After passing through the Mission Bay Channel entrance, we noticed an amorphous white mass of moisture on the horizon: Fog! San Francisco residents have given it a name, Karl the Fog. We passed through it for a good 30-minutes while heading West. Just before we got out of the fog, a pod of inquisitive Long-beaked common dolphins visited our boat (motor vessel Privateer). Right on time for the “Human Watching Tour”.
We headed north and soon got out of the fog. We spotted some splashing out toward the distance horizon to the northwest. There was a feeding frenzy. We saw a spout and caught up with a humpback whale. We got some good looks as it stuck to a 6-minute dive profile. On our way back, a spectacular “green flash” at around 6:11 PM sunset. The afterglow and twilight was sublime as we came back to shore.
Just on the other side of Quivira Basin, we saw, heard and smelled the marijuana during the final part of the BayFest music festival. Come join us on a whale watch soon! -Naturalist Greg McCormack
