> .TODAY...S WINDS 10 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 2 TO
> 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

I'm on the tail end of a cold, and didn't think it was safe to
dive, but Linda had some bicycling friends visiting from Canada that she
had promised that we would take the whale watching. We warned
them we might not get to see any whales. We launched the whaler
at the breakwater and headed for Pt. Pinos with nice flat conditions.
We got to Pt. Pinos, no whales, but I could see a cluster of whale
watch boats about 1.5 miles NW so we buzzed out there to have a
look. They were watching several humpbacks. We just shut down and
drifted. Suddenly there about three humpies right next to the
boat. Not 10' away, RIGHT NEXT to the boat. One dove under the
boat and bumped it ever so gently. After a bit, I decided I wanted
out, and when the whales were just in front of the boat, I backed
out.

So the whales then go over to Star of Monterey and circle it at just
as close range for about about 15 minutes. Finally Star of Monterey,
the last whale watch boat there, heads back for the harbor. So the
whales come back over to check us out, and we are again surrounded
by whales at zero range. One dove under the boat, rolled on his
side and eyeballed us. After a couple of minutes, I took an
opening to get out of the middle again (I really didn't like whales
that close, esp. when we are all in street clothes and the whale watch
boats had left.)

These pictures were taken at 80mm with a Nikon D70 (cropped sensor):

Humpback dorsal fin: http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/pictures/CT2008-05-25-153106.JPG
Humpback blow holes: http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/pictures/CT2008-05-25-153136.JPG

I told Linda's Canadian friends that the whales must like Canadian
accents, eh?

• http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/pictures/CT2008-05-25-153106.JPG

• That's amazing! Eric S 20:59:59 05/27/08 (0)