Whale watching trips offer close encounters with ocean giants
By Alex Wilson 07/23/2009
Some of the largest creatures that ever roamed the earth make the Santa Barbara Channel their home each summer, and a recent whale watching trip elicited plenty of oohs and ahs.
Volunteers for the Channel Islands Naturalist Corps represent the Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary on such trips, and help educate passengers about local wildlife.
The wildlife encounters began just after the speedy Island Packers catamaran Islander left Ventura Harbor and circled a buoy covered with barking sea lions jockeying for space in the sun.
We then cruised among playful dolphins. Many rode the boat’s wake, and others leaped out of the water, to the delight of passengers.
Farther out, we encountered humpback whales feeding on orange patches of krill, and the volunteer naturalists scooped some of the shrimp-like creatures from the surface for a closer look. Humpbacks skimmed along the water, sucking up krill like giant vacuum cleaners. As one popped its head into the air, we had the thrill of seeing into its mouth.
The humpbacks sometimes lifted their tails completely out of the water for a dive, and a mother and calf surfaced next to the boat, to the excitement of passengers.
The blue whales we spotted farther out in the channel were a more sublime spectacle. When one surfaced for a breath of air, we could sense the enormity of the creature under the water, even though we could see only a tiny portion of the largest mammal species that’s ever lived.
A love of nature inspired Santa Barbara resident Toni Bailey to volunteer with the Channel Islands Naturalist Corps.
“I love to talk about the animals that live in the channel, the whales and the dolphins and the seals and the sea lions. And I find from my everyday life that not enough people really seem to know about it,” says Bailey. “It’s my hope and my belief that once they understand what’s in the channel, they’ll begin to love the channel and want to help protect the channel.”
Bailey says, even though she’s seen lots of whales, she gets a thrill every time. “I still get really excited. It’s that anticipation when the captain says, ‘Oh I see a blow. There’s a whale around here,’ so everybody’s looking, and it builds up a little bit of excitement looking for the whale. And then everybody sees the blow, and people say ‘ooh.’ It’s exciting to see the whale,” says Bailey.
In addition to serving on the whale watching trips, the volunteers also engage the public through educational events at schools, fairs and Earth Day celebrations. More information about volunteering is available on the internet at www.channelislands.noaa.gov.
The trip concluded with a close-up look at Santa Cruz Island, where we traveled deep into colorful Painted Cave, believed to be the world’s largest marine cave, which completely enveloped the Islander. Along the coast, we saw hundreds of seabirds and rare endemic plants found nowhere else on earth.
The official tally on the trip was six blue whales, nine humpbacks and more than 1,000 dolphins.
Krishna Alladi of Camarillo said he enjoyed the trip. “It’s very exciting to watch. It’s amazing how they live in the sea for such a long time. It’s very inspiring,” says Alladi.
Alladi also had good words about the staff and volunteers aboard the Islander. “The boat is fantastic. It’s very comfortable,” says Alladi. “They’re doing a good job explaining exactly how the whales live and how they migrate.”
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