Time was I'd go out on a couple whale watches a day as a naturalist... and I'd go every day if I could. Some nights I'd go home and crawl into bed land sick. That's when it feels like the stationary world, in this case my bed, is rocking like the swells of the ocean. I would gladly live on the water. I felt energized, happy, alive.
Over the last few years, being away from it more, I've found it less thrilling to be on the water at times. I wasn't sure at first if it were my blood sugar making me feel a little off, but yesterday's trip made it pretty certain. Oh, I didn't use the little bag, but I asked for one. I was seasick.
The swells were pretty minor. A lot of people were sick that day, but it wasn't anything close to what I've experienced in the past. The difference is some change in me. Age? Health condition? I don't know. At some point I was a little sad that what I was going to see that day (had the Blue whales moved on?) was very much the same as what I'd seen other days. It was colder out than I anticipated, I was tired (also a reason to be vulnerable to motion) and the trip was physically taxing (more on that in a bit)
The thing is, about halfway through the trip I realized that the long drive down, the cost of the tickets, parking, and gas, just didn't feel worth it anymore. Part of it was knowing that the company I go out with, a company that does a lot of research and is used by a number of scientists in the field whom I know, is looking to hire a naturalist/deck hand. I want that job. Or I wanted that job, until I realized that (a) I'd have to move again, (b) it's too darn cold for me there in winter, and (c) this new occurance of seasickness might not be a one time thing. It made me feel a little empty, like I've been deprived of some central part of myself... a hole scooped out of my very being (yeah, I know it's a bit dramatic, but that's how I felt).
If it was going to be "only humpbacks"... "only" because I see them so often, then I wanted to see and photograph a full scope of behaviors. Humpbacks do a lot of things that make really great photos. Specifically I wanted to get some photos of vertical lunge feeding.
I got photos of vertical lunge feeding, a bunch of them.
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| Humpback vertical lunge feeding, with second humpback horizontal lunging at surface |
I also got to see a cow/calf pair, which I hadn't seen with humpbacks before.
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| mom and baby flukes |
A couple times one of the adult whales came right up to the boat, in one case diving right under the stern, and coming up by the bow, and treating us to a close up of a fluke.
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| Starting the dive... |
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| FLUKE! (that's the rail at the portside bow of the ship in the lower right corner) |
I came home sorting through about 600 photos in all. We also saw a couple harbor seals, a lot of sea lions, and a moon jelly, as well as a bunch of Risso's dolphins.
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| Risso's dolphins |
Baby whale did a peduncle throw (tail and part of body slap out of the water, like a cetacean version of a headstand) and I missed it, but there were so many great moments on that trip it was hard to feel bad about it (and by that time, I was furiously chewing ginger and hoping that I wouldn't have to use my baggie).
I definitely don't see myself going down to Monterey too much anymore. The 2.5 hour drive down and the 3.25 hour drive back are killer. Generally I have to be up at 4am to get ready and walk the dog before driving down (we have to leave by 6, earlier if we have to stop for gas or a potty run on the way) and while the whale watch is the entire point, we come off the boat pretty tired, walk down the wharf to the car, and have another 3 and a quarter hours of driving, we're lucky to be home by 6. My legs and hands cramped up so badly on the drive home we had to pull over for a while for me to walk it off, which also added to the travel time.
I think, however, that I'm likely to go out on at least one trip with the Greater Farallones Association... an 8 hour trip, because there are quite a few animal species (both marine mammals and birds) which I haven't seen at all yet, and I'd love to go out of San Francisco Bay and see what's around. And honestly? For the price we paid in gas and parking we could have spent 8 hours on a boat and an hour driving instead of 3 hours on a boat and 6 hours driving. It's a hard thing for me to say. My heart has been in Monterey these past couple years, but after almost leaving my stomach there, too, I figure it's time to move on.
I definitely don't see myself going down to Monterey too much anymore. The 2.5 hour drive down and the 3.25 hour drive back are killer. Generally I have to be up at 4am to get ready and walk the dog before driving down (we have to leave by 6, earlier if we have to stop for gas or a potty run on the way) and while the whale watch is the entire point, we come off the boat pretty tired, walk down the wharf to the car, and have another 3 and a quarter hours of driving, we're lucky to be home by 6. My legs and hands cramped up so badly on the drive home we had to pull over for a while for me to walk it off, which also added to the travel time.
I think, however, that I'm likely to go out on at least one trip with the Greater Farallones Association... an 8 hour trip, because there are quite a few animal species (both marine mammals and birds) which I haven't seen at all yet, and I'd love to go out of San Francisco Bay and see what's around. And honestly? For the price we paid in gas and parking we could have spent 8 hours on a boat and an hour driving instead of 3 hours on a boat and 6 hours driving. It's a hard thing for me to say. My heart has been in Monterey these past couple years, but after almost leaving my stomach there, too, I figure it's time to move on.
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| Pectoral wave... (bye!) |
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