A Whale in Humboldt Bay...
 

Last Sunday, I was paddling around in Humboldt Bay (Eureka, CA) and helping
a friend with her first ever kayak trip. It was a great day with little
wind, calm waters and a friendly tide. Around noon, about thirty yards in
front of me, the water seemed to swell into a large boil of water..with a
humpback whale nearing the surface. I've lived in this area all of my life
until recently...and I've never seen a whale in Humboldt Bay. I fear he is
lost and confused. I'm going back out again tomorrow morning and if I find
him again, I'll see if anyone is planning a rescue of some kind. He keep
running into shallow water and it's only a matter of time before he becomes
beached. He's such a large, magnificent creature that I hate to see him
die. Luckily, we have one of the West Coast's best Marine Biology
departments at the local university...and I'm sure they're involved. I'll
check tomorrow. BUT...what a magnificent "plus" to an already great outing.
I love whales.
Kayaking gets me "up close and personal" to so many forms of life that I
would otherwise miss.

Today, I picked up my Kekotat jacket (the company is nearby Arcata, CA) and
even though I had to spend more than my budge allowed, it's a great jacket
and will serve me well for the upcoming winter kayaking. If I can crawl out
of bed early enough, I'll test the jacket then...before it gets warmer.

Barry

Barry wrote:
Last Sunday, I was paddling around in Humboldt Bay (Eureka, CA) and helping
a friend with her first ever kayak trip. It was a great day with little
wind, calm waters and a friendly tide. Around noon, about thirty yards in
front of me, the water seemed to swell into a large boil of water..with a
humpback whale nearing the surface. I've lived in this area all of my life
until recently...and I've never seen a whale in Humboldt Bay. I fear he is
lost and confused. I'm going back out again tomorrow morning and if I find
him again, I'll see if anyone is planning a rescue of some kind...

What was the outcome?

I'm surprised that whales wouldn't come into Humboldt Bay. Parts of it
are quite deep, aren't they?

Down here whales often swim into San Francisco bay, which due to silt
from hydraulic gold mining back in he late 1800s, is much less deep
than it used to be. The entire south bay is very shallow.

Bill...

It's true that we have some deep channels in the Bay but for some reason,
whales just never show up. I think it's the current off shore...as the
whales seem to be far off shore as they pass by Humboldt Bay only to come
back to the shoreline as they near Trinidad Harbor which is just a half hour
drive to the north of Humboldt Bay. As it turned out, we had a pod of
whales show up...three or four adults and at least one baby.

For those who feel like making the trip north, the annual "Paddlefest" on
Humboldt Bay is set for this upcoming Saturday and Sunday. They are
expecting about a thousand participants. For more into, call (707) 826-9197
or email

I plan on attending and having a great weekend. The weather should be great
and they not only have clinics but races, new boats to try, a tour of Woodly
Island (not accessible to the public usually) and other activities.

Barry


"Bill Tuthill" wrote in message
...
Barry wrote:
Last Sunday, I was paddling around in Humboldt Bay (Eureka, CA) and
helping
a friend with her first ever kayak trip. It was a great day with little
wind, calm waters and a friendly tide. Around noon, about thirty yards
in
front of me, the water seemed to swell into a large boil of water..with a
humpback whale nearing the surface. I've lived in this area all of my
life
until recently...and I've never seen a whale in Humboldt Bay. I fear he
is
lost and confused. I'm going back out again tomorrow morning and if I
find
him again, I'll see if anyone is planning a rescue of some kind...

What was the outcome?

I'm surprised that whales wouldn't come into Humboldt Bay. Parts of it
are quite deep, aren't they?

Down here whales often swim into San Francisco bay, which due to silt
from hydraulic gold mining back in he late 1800s, is much less deep
than it used to be. The entire south bay is very shallow.