Whales, dolphins and… fly catchers?

By Nicole

On passages, sightings of sea critters like whales and dolphins are fairly common.  But sometimes we’re treated to shows that are straight out of Sea World.

While en route to Drakes Bay, just north of San Francisco, we heard the blow of a whale maybe 150’ off to starboard.  We both watched, transfixed, as the whale slowly surfaced and then descended out of sight, only to blast from the water in a breach that exposed nearly 2/3 of its body.  The *smack* of the whale hitting the water was incredible, and it sent out a series of giant ripples toward us.  Amazing!  And a little scary seeing something the size of a school bus leap out of the water so close to our little boat.

Dolphins are known for being playful and love dodging in and out of boat’s bow wakes.  It’s always fun watching them zip around – Aaron managed to capture a pair on video:

Two playful dolphins swimming in our bow wake

Seabirds like storm petrels, murres and gulls are a regular sight on the ocean, but on our sail across Monterey Bay, a tame little bird landed on the boat and stayed with us for a few hours (we named him Charles).

He hopped here and there, checking out virtually every square inch of the deck.  He hopped over my legs, sat on my fingers and didn’t mind when I had to pick him up after he decided to investigate the cabin. 

Bits of crackers, pretzels and nuts were of no interest to him, but when a fly buzzed the cockpit, he swooped up and caught it.  Ahh, he likes flies… Well, it’s a good thing that Aaron went on a fly-killing rampage not a few hours before – our cockpit was littered with tiny fly carcasses, which Charles happily dispatched for us.

Charlie the fly catcher during his indoor adventure

Once we were out of the fog and close to shore, he flew off, belly bulging, to his next adventure.  His visit reminded me of the old John Denver song “Tools,” which I had firmly lodged in my head for the remainder of the day.  Sing it with me now… Tools was a baby rabbit.  He was a friend of mine.  Momma and papa, brothers and sisters left him all behind.  He came into our house, to brighten up a couple of days.  Tools you made me smile a lot, and I wish you could have stayed.