I was hoping only for calm conditions to go out on my stand-up paddleboard as I pulled into the parking lot next to the pier at Goleta Beach, Ca. one morning last March. The giant telltale puff of steam less than 100 yards offshore immediately followed by a smaller, more delicate blast told me all I needed to know: Whales! This was spring and so I was already pretty sure that they were gray whales. Yet so close to the beach…
I have never entered the water so fast and as I paddled out I was sure that I’d missed them. I decided to slow myself and put out a calm vibe; something that has worked well for me when approaching marine mammals on a paddleboard or kayak in the past as they seem to pick up on how we are feeling and will avoid an over-eager paddler thrashing towards them. The fronds of the kelp bed that parallels the beach at this spot swayed lazily on the surface of the glassy water in the small swell as I paddled on.
Distracted momentarily by fish darting from the shadow of my passing board, I was surprised by a sudden whoosh of air very close by. The water that had sat on the whale’s blowhole was vaporized from the rushing air leaving a sparkling mist that rainbowed towards me in the early morning sun not 50 yards away. I could see the mottled patterns on the skin of the whale caused by colonies of barnacles and parasites as it turned towards me and slid regally beneath the water. A much smaller head popped up and I saw the tiny spout clearly as this very young calf took a quick breath and hurried after mom staying tucked in close to her side.
I found myself holding my breath as both whales swam gently under my paddleboard. With barely a ripple, their silver-spotted shadows slid under and passed behind me. The size of these visitors made me feel very small and vulnerable. For a moment it seemed as if a reef or submarine was moving under me. Pivoting my board so that I could face them once more, I was rewarded with yet another spout cycle as they logged serenely on the surface a few dozen yards away. Then, as I watched, the 45 foot long mother followed by her little 15-20 foot long calf turned towards open water and with an arch of the back slid under and away from me. I stood on my board breathing fast and watched them as they headed out and west on a line that would take them past the pier and eventually out towards Point Conception and the next leg of their long journey towards Alaska and the cold Bering and Chuckchi seas thousands of miles away. I wished them safe passage knowing how difficult the journey can be.
Whalers in the 18th and 19th centuries called gray whales Devil Fish on account of their fierce and desperate attempts to protect their young and each other from the plunging harpoons. Many a whaler met their end from the thrashing tail of a gray whale as they pursued these magnificent creatures in small row boats. Sadly, the whales were the real victims; their numbers decimated by man’s desire for oil and baleen as hunting methods improved including explosive-tipped harpoons in the mid-20th century. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) states that the Eastern Pacific gray whale population is now a fifth of what it was pre-whaling. Thankfully, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of the 1970’s and the moratorium on commercial whaling in the mid-1980’s by the International Whaling Commission has brought the gray whales back from the brink of extinction. Although their numbers are still much lower than they should be, the Eastern Pacific gray whales were removed from the Endangered Species List in 1994. Not so the Western Pacific gray whales which migrate past Russia and Japan whose total population is estimated at less that 300 individual whales.
Each fall when the waters of the far north become colder (is that even possible?) Eastern Pacific gray whales travel south from the Bering and Chuckchi seas following the North American coastline until they reach the welcoming warm waters of Baja, Mexico where they spend the winter months breeding or giving birth. The females and calves are renown as being friendly and will approach small boats and even allow themselves to be touched.
As spring approaches, the whales begin to migrate back north in order to feed in the rich, frigid waters from which they came months before. This migration is estimated to be 10,000 miles long in total and is fraught with danger. Many females give birth either on the journey or down in Mexico and have to run the gambit of predators such as great white sharks and orcas, as well as avoiding boat and ship collisions, abandoned fishing nets, and pollution (water and sound). Amazingly, even though the mothers are fasting, each day they manage to feed their young about 50 gallons of a 50% fat calorie dense milk, almost the consistency of yoghurt which encourages the rapid growth of protective blubber. Imagine gaining about 60 pounds of weight each day…Sadly, although now protected, the ocean is still a harsh place and not all whales make it through the annual migration safely. Yet, gray whales, especially the mothers, do whatever they can to keep their young alive and one such strategy-staying in very shallow water, brought this particular pair to my favorite place to paddle.
Over the next few days, my wife and I saw several pairs and small groups of whales slowly make their way past our little stretch of coastline. Mostly less than a couple of hundred yards from the beach, from our vantage point on the bluffs we could watch them for long periods at a time as they took respite in the protected waters and lazily interacted with each other. I was humbled by getting so close to such calm and wonderful creatures and although something of a cliche, thought that the term, gentle giants was truly apt. This year, I’m again hopeful of another chance to visit.
Note: The world’s oceans are more than just home to the creatures that live in them-the majority of our atmosphere’s breathable oxygen and carbon dioxide absorption results from the process of photosynthesis by untold numbers of small phyto-plankton floating in the ocean. This crucial interaction for life on Earth is under threat from climate change while other creatures also struggle with the effects of pollution and commercial fishing. If you are interested in helping make positive change, below are some resources which may help:
One Green Planet (linked page highlights organizations protecting oceans)
Ways to reduce carbon footprint
Google carbon footprint tracker Apple carbon footprint tracker
