I love sailing, we've done a lot of it over the years, the trouble is sailing doesn't like me!  We once spent 2 weeks on a sailing course in the Mediterranean and the skipper told me that sea sickness usually goes away after 3 days max.  I threw up everyday for the whole 2 weeks!  The only time I wasn't seasick was when we were ashore and as the moving feeling stays with you even when you are on dry land I'm not even sure I was completely well even then.

I guess you could say I am a dedicated land lubber!  So what was I thinking when Michael and Rosanne asked me if I wanted to go with them on a whale watching trip?  In retrospect I wasn't thinking, I was completely out of it or I would have said no, but as I wasn't thinking I said yes!

Actually it wasn't too bad, I took sea sickness pills as soon as I got up hoping they would be throughout my whole system by the time we stepped on the boat.  I got a bit green around the gills by the time we got back but otherwise I didn't have much of a problem at all.

It was a huge catamaran which is pretty stable which is why they use them for these kind of trips and we went in the morning which was also good as the sea is much calmer then.  The first thing we saw was just outside the harbor and it was a Grey Whale.  It has been in the news quite a bit lately as she arrived in Dana Point about 6 days ago and was very distressed.  Apparently she had nets and ropes wrapped around her and after spending hours cutting them off she swam out of the harbor. 

Unfortunately she was back again in a couple of days and was pretty lethargic, the skipper of the boat we were on said this time of year they are all migrating to Alaska to mate and eat and the area round Dana Point is pretty sparse in the way of food for a Grey Whale.  They eat by skimming the bottom and sieving the water for small crustaceans or in Alaska where food is plentiful they just sieve the water.

Click on the picture to go to the Los Angeles Times where you can read more about it.

Photo: Eric Otjen from SeaWorld San Diego and Dean Gomersall from the Marine Mammal Center work to untangle a gill net and rope lines from the body of the gray whale on May 12. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

Here's my photo:

Grey Whale with Kelp

Not exactly riveting photo's but pretty cool none the less.  The sorry thing is seeing her at all, she should have left the harbor and carried on her migration to Alaska not come back.  At this rate she will starve to death, not a happy prospect.

Apart from seeing this whale we didn't see anything else which the skipper said was very rare, he was so upset that we didn't even see a dolphin he gave all of us a copy of his video on whale and dolphins which has not only won awards but cost $22.95 in the gift shop AND he said as we were all in the computer everyone who wanted to come again could do so for 50% off the price. SCORE!

He was a really nice skipper with lots of pictures and whale bones and sharks teeth and stuff on his boat.  I would definitely recommend him if you want to go whale watching anywhere south of LA and north of San Diego. (and no I do not get any money for saying this darnit! ;o)

Blue Whale Tail picture taken from Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari Catamaran (click on the picture to go to his web page)

Sonja and Lauren Whale Watching

Michael, Rosanne and Lauren Whale Watching

Lauren in her nana's hat