April 19, 2010

Post date: Apr 28, 2010 8:01:10 PM

We went on an amazing whale-watching trip when we visited Santa Barbara recently. The offshore Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is so abundant in wildlife that the area is known as "America's Galapagos". Sunny skies and calm water made it a perfect day for viewing.

We saw two humpback whales on our trip. Humpbacks can be up to 50 feet long and weigh over 40 tons. The subspecies of humpbacks off California spend summer and fall feeding along our coast, and then travel south to Baja for breeding in winter. Humpbacks feed by blowing walls of bubbles in a circle to corral small fish and crustaceans. The whales then spiral up through the mass to gulp down their meal.

Humpbacks breathe through twin blowholes on top of their heads. When exhaling, the spray blasts out at 300 mph and travels 10 feet straight up in the air. We laughed at the "fish breath" aroma from the blows!

Male humpbacks are famous for their complex songs with intricate melodies. Each song lasts 20-30 minutes and can be heard up to 20 miles away.

Humpbacks were named for their distinctive shape when diving. The tails are up to 18 feet wide and have distinctive markings like a fingerprint. Three kinds of barnacles cling to their bodies.

Whale watching boats stay at least 100 feet away from whales to protect them. When whales are spotted, the captain stops the boat and silently stays in place. Passengers then start looking in all directions, wondering where the whales might surface next. If you are lucky, the whales get curious and come over to your boat. We were thrilled when a humpback suddenly surfaced right beside us! The immense size and beauty of such a majestic animal is totally awesome!