Whale Watching for Inspiration

Just like the whales that migrate along our coast, I too am a creature of habit. Every year I resolve to write more, but unlike those magnificent mammals, I never finish what I start (as you can see by the fact that the first and last blog post I did was SEVEN years ago). But two things happened to boost my resolve; I was laid off my job (which freed up plenty of time), and my daughter gave me a pep talk on developing a writer’s discipline. Having written several books, I once had this discipline, but writing is like a muscle, it atrophies without use. Roxy assigned me the task of writing anything that pops into my head for at least 20 minutes a day, so here we go!

  

Winter on the north coast brings an abundance of rain, mushrooms, and whales. It’s raining now, the chanterelles have been picked, so that leaves us with whales. If you want to talk about sticking to a routine, what better inspiration than the California Gray Whale. From about November through March, they migrate from Alaska, where they spend the summer eating, to Baja in Mexico, where they go to mate and have their babies. They make this 12,000-mile roundtrip every year, all without eating again until they return to Alaska. What a lesson in stamina and endurance!

A walk along any of Mendocino coast’s amazing coastal trails during winter will likely reward you with the view of a whale spout or three because grey whales like the shallow coastal waters. I just let my eyes rest on the water about 10 miles offshore, then scan patiently till I see a spout. If I see one, I whip out the binoculars for a closer look. The other easy way is to just watch other walkers who are pointing a finger out to sea—they usually have their sights on a whale or some other marine mammal you'll want to see. It's easy enough to whale watch from the shore, but you can also book a whale watching boat trip out of Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg to get closer to them. 

Greys are by no means the only whales off the coast; you might see a passing humpback, orca, or blue whale. If you want to whale watch like a pro print out a chart that lets you identify the whales by the shape of the spout (grey whale's spout is heart-shaped). And should your patience reward you with a bit of whale frolic, you may see these behaviors:

·      Whale breaching—the whale gets some speed underwater then propels its head and part of its body above the water and then lands with a crash and a splash.

·      Spy hole—the whale head appears above the water’s surface, just enough so the whale’s eye can gaze out.

·      Lob-tailing—the whale raises its fluke and slaps it down on the water, creating a vibration and sound that is believed to be a form of non-verbal communication.

For more about whale watching, visit the Noyo Center’s Crow’s Nest location on the Fort Bragg coastal trail. They have trained docents who can help ID your sightings, plus powerful binoculars on their deck. At their downtown center they have a spectacular articulated Orca skeleton that is not to be missed!

Didn’t get to see the whales? Don’t despair, there is another way to enjoy our love of whales, check out part 2 of this post, Whales on Land Scavenger Hunt.