Whale incident in Cabo

[Cheechako]

Yeah, wondered about the bottom paint myself! The underbody of a sailboat does look a bit like some sort of creature!


I saw a couple blues in the Sea of Cortez... didn't get very close, but wow... when they broke the surface and rolled/diving... the body just keep rolling by on and on....... really long!

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by dannc

There is only one animal show at Animal Kingdom and those are birds. It is hardly a circus like atmosphere for the birds. If those birds were treated poorly they would simply leave since they are allowed to freely fly.

Disney spends a fortune tending the animals at Animal Kingdom and while Disney does not like to call it a zoo, it is a zoo with amusement rides. Animal Kingdom is one of the very few accredited zoos in US were less than 10% of over 2,000 zoos accredited. Animal Kingdom is involved in conservation activities and shares the same accreditation status with the NC state zoo which is really nice facility. The NC zoo, which is an amazing place, can't hold a candle to Animal Kingdom. The NC zoo does not have Disney's money and they do a great job with what they have but Animal Kingdom is something else and it goes beyond just money. To imply that Animal Kingdom is a circus or a "reprehensible fiascos'" is flat out wrong.

Later,
Dan

Dan,
The encounters that Cheech, Tayana and Stu had were genuine natural encounters with wildlife. They were unplanned and spontaneus. There is a great difference between that scenario and the others described above. But, is the experience at Animal Kingdom valid? Would these birds have migrated to this facility in the wild? Are they being fed or is this a sports bar for birds?
And why do they charge an entrance fee? Most people believe that Nature Parks and Zoos and the animals who are forced to live in these cages are there for their entertainment and amusement. It's our right . . . correct? This is where you and I disagree. Good luck and good sailing.

[pbmaise]

While adrift with no winds aboard a large sailboat, a lone whale suddenly surfaced on starboard. Ten people scrambled for fins and masks and dove off starboard hoping to see it underwater.

I dove off port and swam away from the boat. The few aboard jeered at me I was on wrong side.

I must think like a whale. The whale indeed came around to port and it came within 50 meters of me.

[svmariane]

Whale encounter, nighttime, middle of nowhere, South Pacific.

Me asleep, didn't see a thing.
Wife on watch.
Whale comes alongside.
And stays there.
Rolls slightly.
Checks out the boat.
Or, according to my wife, simply stared at her.
And time stood still.

I wish I had the words to describe the soft, calmness of voice and the haunting, far off expression that comes over my wife's face when she relates the story.


James

[Gone2long]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

I am very sorry someone had to die, but this is inevitable as people crowd around whales wherever they go. It is ridiculous up in the PNW. I treat them as celebrities- know where they are and don't get in their way. Mind your own business. Stay away from wild animals bigger and stronger than your boat.

So strange and sad to hear about the crowds and event, as the last time I was in Cabo was in the early 70s. The paved road was still unfinished, and we climbed down the pitons at the end of Cabo to snorkel. A cute, playfully curious, sea lion came out to inspect us, but he suddenly jumped out of the water and barked. In a minute, half a dozen other inhabitants from a nearby colony came swimming over, under, and all around us. We took the hint and casually swam back to the beach.

Near the pitons, part of the shoreline fell off quickly to deep water, and as we were resting there taking in the beauty of the place, a whale surfaced and swam by, not more than 100 feet off the beach. It was truly amazing.

From the descriptions you folks are giving, lots has changed down there in the last 40 years. Sad to hear it, actually.

G2L

[groundtackle]

Had a humpback tailslap in Alaska that bent the pushpit. We were stopped and they were playing. I never felt it was on perpose, I believe it was a mistake.
ce

[Gone2long]

Originally Posted by pbmaise

While adrift with no winds aboard a large sailboat, a lone whale suddenly surfaced on starboard. Ten people scrambled for fins and masks and dove off starboard hoping to see it underwater.

I dove off port and swam away from the boat. The few aboard jeered at me I was on wrong side.

I must think like a whale. The whale indeed came around to port and it came within 50 meters of me.

... was crewing aboard a 40 foot morgan in 1976, headed to Bermuda following the tall ships race. A sperm whale and pup headed straight for us off our starboard bow. The skipper yelled "get the camera" and ordered me to the bow.

The whale and pup kept coming and I kept shouting, "She's gonna hit us; She's gonna hit us". He kept saying "She's gonna dive"; so I kept snapping, and, just as she was off our bow by no more than 20 feet or so, she dove, and I actually got one of those now, somewhat clichéd photos.

The skipper, now probably deceased, has hopefully passed that remarkable shot onto younger kin folk. Lets just hope that they will cherish it as much as they do watching such stuff "live" on the Discovery channel. : ).

Take care,

G2L

[fuentes]

In may,2015 on our way north from La Paz to San Felipe in the Canal de Ballenas off Isla Angel de la Guarda, four whales going southeast came towards us. Three stayed away quite a distance, but one came a stones throw from our boat. I had never seen a whale much less this close. She swam parallel to the boat and then off she went. I am very ignorant about whales, so I never felt threatened. I have read "Moby Dick".
Earlier that morning I saw a dark wave approaching from the west. Concerned (scared)(we had hit a panga at night with no lights in the bay of panama, avoided tree trunks in that bay, been bushwhacked on the Panama-Acapulco leg off of Papagallo by a chubasco), I called out to the other members. As the wave got closer and we were able to see what it was, we were astonished to see 100 to 300 dolphins coming toward us. All of a sudden we were surrounded by them. It was an unbelievable sight. They would jump out of the water and "twirl". I am a semi-retired farmer and know little about sea life. One of our members said they were "barrel dolphins"? After a while, off they went!
This year we were anchored in El Refugio on the north end of Angel de la Guarda, when a "pod" (I have now read a little about whales) of 5-7 came into the bay. We were anchored on the east side of the bay in shallow water (about 20ft deep). They kept going up and down in deeper water. By late afternoon we wanted to move further west into a better protected part of the bay so we decided to motor over very slowly staying in shallow water figuring they would not approach. I guess one of them did not get the memo! It angled and was coming in front of our boat. We managed to turn to starboard and go around it. I am not sure whether it was curious, or showing us who was boss. Maybe it was a taxi driver in another life!
On our way north the next morning, they were right outside the north outlet to the bay. They were all around us for a while. We continued to motor very slowly. All of a sudden a great big one (30-40 ft.?) completely cleared the water (like in that insurance ad) about 200-300 ft. parallel on our port side. The swells it made rocked our boat! I kept thinking to myself "I sure hope he is not related to Moby Dick and holding a grudge".

[zeehag]

if you are scared of whales donot sail south in pacific ocean.
on my way south we saw no fewer than 4 different types of whales, in pods, all migrating. they do this. we were never truly close to their track-- but able to watch from a few hundred feet away.
\we were able to see the migration from afar, so we were able to avoid the pods.

[sailorcherry]

I love marine life encounter threads! Here's mine.

Im about 20, racing and some local cruising as crew in the SF Bay for about a year now.
It's my first offshore passage.

I am on watch, about 1230/1am. 35' sloop. 3-5kts of wind, glassy seas with a lovely starry night with shooting stars. We are somewhere near the Farallons trying to heading offshore and south to race the Coastal Cup (Monterrey to Santa Barbara).

Captain is below, smoking a bowl, lol! I holler at him that I hear water rushing (like small waves hitting a rocky jetty) and I am seeing green sparkles. Did I mention he is quite the toker?!
He starts loosing it, I think he is being paranoid (but being a newb I had no clue about the dangers of whales and boats). He is getting all freaked out, waking up the other two crewmembers. He is scrambling with the charts, looking for rocks or obstructions.

Then I say - I think its a sleeping whale. The view of the bioluminescence blowing up into the stars and trickling down into the flat Pacific was something I will never forget. To top it off, it was a Momma whale with her baby sleeping next to her (baby closest to us). The water rushing and crashing noise was from their breathing and the water hitting their backs.

We coasted right pass them within 10-15', way, way too close. But Capt did not want to startle them by turning on the engine. Momma was definitely longer than us.

This experience got me hooked and I made a promise to myself to become a liveaboard and eventually a cruiser.

[brianlara 3]

Great story SC. About 6 years ago 3 miles east of atemans Bay (oz) a 50 ft Southern Right mother bought her calf in for a rest. The were about 50 ft from me and parrallel. The mother was motionless but the baby was doing pirouettes along the mothers back for over half an hour.
I have the video, some of it very tight tele lens, on my laptop.
I'm a bit of a luddite but I can burn a dvd if someone REALLY ( !!!!!!!!!!) needs to see it.
It's nothing short of priceless.
Only people who will die if they don't see it should apply within.

[brianlara 3]

BATEMANS BAY ..... sorry.

[Heg]

We were lucky enough to snorkel with humpbacks in Niue. The most incredible
experience of my life.

[boom23]

We snorkeled with them in Tonga. It was a breathtaking experience.

One pup surfaced right next to me. The mom was about 60 feet down looking at us. We plan to go again...

[Gone2long]

Originally Posted by fuentes

In may,2015 on our way north from La Paz to San Felipe in the Canal de Ballenas off Isla Angel de la Guarda, four whales going southeast came towards us. Three stayed away quite a distance, but one came a stones throw from our boat. I had never seen a whale much less this close. She swam parallel to the boat and then off she went. I am very ignorant about whales, so I never felt threatened. I have read "Moby Dick".
Earlier that morning I saw a dark wave approaching from the west. Concerned (scared)(we had hit a panga at night with no lights in the bay of panama, avoided tree trunks in that bay, been bushwhacked on the Panama-Acapulco leg off of Papagallo by a chubasco), I called out to the other members. As the wave got closer and we were able to see what it was, we were astonished to see 100 to 300 dolphins coming toward us. All of a sudden we were surrounded by them. It was an unbelievable sight. They would jump out of the water and "twirl". I am a semi-retired farmer and know little about sea life. One of our members said they were "barrel dolphins"? After a while, off they went!
This year we were anchored in El Refugio on the north end of Angel de la Guarda, when a "pod" (I have now read a little about whales) of 5-7 came into the bay. We were anchored on the east side of the bay in shallow water (about 20ft deep). They kept going up and down in deeper water. By late afternoon we wanted to move further west into a better protected part of the bay so we decided to motor over very slowly staying in shallow water figuring they would not approach. I guess one of them did not get the memo! It angled and was coming in front of our boat. We managed to turn to starboard and go around it. I am not sure whether it was curious, or showing us who was boss. Maybe it was a taxi driver in another life!
On our way north the next morning, they were right outside the north outlet to the bay. They were all around us for a while. We continued to motor very slowly. All of a sudden a great big one (30-40 ft.?) completely cleared the water (like in that insurance ad) about 200-300 ft. parallel on our port side. The swells it made rocked our boat! I kept thinking to myself "I sure hope he is not related to Moby Dick and holding a grudge".

Great stories.
thanks 4 sharing