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 Whale Sighting in SF Bay		  New Topic  Topic Locked
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Phredde
Navigator

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125 Posts
Initially Posted - 02/27/2014 :  15:14:49  Show Profile
Sorry this took a while to post, but thought I would share the story: It was MLK day in mid January. At the time we were in the middle of a long dry spell, and pretty warm weather for SF in January (e.g. mid to high 60's). We went out of gas house cove in the mid afternoon for a trip across the main bay towards Sausalito and back by way of the GG bridge. The downwind leg going by Crissy field around sunset is always so beautiful. For those of you from out of the area its roughly the spot where the windward mark was for the America's cup.

We had seen a couple of porpoises that day, which is always a rare treat - though becoming more common (or maybe we are just getting better at spotting them). Anyway, on our way in, the admiral says: hey I just saw something really big. I turn around and saw a whale moving past. I only caught about a 3-4 second glimpse of about 20 feet of it's back, but it was really quite impressive. Looked like a grey whale, probably 30-35 feet long in total. There were quite a few barnacles alongg it's spine. It was headed in the opposite direction towards the golden gate about 30 yards off of our port side. Before we knew it the whale was gone and we didn't see it again. I was relieved later that we weren't on a collison course as it was moving pretty fast and looked pretty powerful.

We were guessing that he or she must have been feeding on the bottom or something, because there were hundreds of gulls in a feeding frenzy in its wake.

I know a few of you sailors out there are lucky enough to see this kind of thing frequently. But for us it was a first after almost 20 years of sailing on the bay. Occasionally the local news gets wind of sightings and will run a story, but even that is pretty rare.

It was really pretty neat, I am still excited about it more than a month later. Looking forward to getting out more often in 2014 and we will be keeping our eyes peeled!

Phredde
Phredde
Catalina 25
San Francisco
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indyshelley
1st Mate

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USA
45 Posts
Response Posted - 02/27/2014 :  18:04:35  Show Profile
Thank-you for sharing that awesome experience. I am envious.
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Russ.Johnson
Commodore

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USA
855 Posts
Response Posted - 02/27/2014 :  23:42:54  Show Profile
We've taken friends though the central bay a few times.
We usually see seals, sea lions, sometimes porpoises, but never a whale.
Normally sail from Richmond to Clipper Cove.

Thanks for sharing.

Russ
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Ben
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1234 Posts
Response Posted - 02/28/2014 :  09:15:18  Show Profile
Wow, that is so cool. :)
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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9081 Posts
Response Posted - 02/28/2014 :  19:45:36  Show Profile
Very cool! If I see something like that around here, I immediately think "submarine!" (...and then the gunboats arrive.)
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bigelowp
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1779 Posts
Response Posted - 03/06/2014 :  20:35:15  Show Profile
Be careful what you wish for . . . great to think about seeing a whale, but, I bet you . . . for just a second . . . . thought " what if I get in the way . . . "
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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.