ALL ABOARD! Our passenger guests were excited to start our afternoon trip on the M/V (motor vessel) Inspiration. We saw about a dozen California sea lions and several hundred birds, including pelicans, cormorants, great egrets, Western and Heermann’s Gulls. We saw many different vessels, including recreational and commercial fishing boats. We also saw ships of the United States Navy, including an aircraft carrier, perhaps the USS Ronald Reagan or USS Carl Vinson, both of the Nimitz Class.
After a voyage toward the northwest and getting in deeper water, we saw a dark outline of a whales back, followed by a smooth patch of water and a dorsal fin emerged, that of a “mustached” whale or baleen whale. We got great looks at a Minke, the smallest of the 14 Mystecetes or baleeen whales at 35’ in length. We saw a rushed lateral lunge-feed and later the whale went underneath our bow. Most of us even got blasted by what is known as the “stinky” Minke breath, even thought it doesn’t produce a spout. The view of the La Jolla coastline was delightful, as was our trip back to the dock. Come join us for a whale watch soon, we have had excellent weather and sightings of late. You never know what we’ll see on a trip! Naturalist Greg McCormack
