[CINC] CX Wed 19Aug09

[Kenneth A. Tatro]

Hi folks,

Four Blues, two as a Calf/Cow pair.
Three Humpbacks
Four to five small pods of commons, 50-100 each
Sealions darting in and out and all about.

Low overcast but not too low, still it was all the way to the shelf at  
the SCI-SRI gap before we saw a whale, then, one, then two Humpbacks.  
As they were going through their first breathing cycle, up popped a  
Blue, then another, this one with a calf.  She is the skinny one with  
the bonny back bone, but looking very healthy otherwise.  Then the  
third Humpback show up. taking this in, all together, two more Blues  
appeared.

They were all feeding, at one table, as it were, and just milling  
about to do so.  We did get a nice fluke shot of one of the Blues, but  
that was the only Blue fluke offering.  Several side shots were  
offered, and one with the calf in front of the Mother, offering a dual  
flank shot including the dorsal fin.  Scott Cuzzo on PID said He did  
get that one, so it will be an interesting report to Cascadia.

The Humpbacks were their usual selves, fluking often, tail lobbing  
once and then one got curious about the Condor and came on over  
showing its knobby rostrum very well on three to four surfacings about  
6 feet from the side.

So the numbers were not great, but the showing was very nice, pleasing  
all and the may cameras on board.

Folks from Italy and Turkey were with us including may locals, and  
four friendlies, Naturalist and Ranger with the State Park Service and  
the Monterey Museum of Natural History.

Captain Dave, Dennis, Jaque, and crew did their usual fin job of  
getting us out there and narriating on the PA System.

A calm but very peasant day had by all

Ken Tatro