Humpback feeding frenzy

[MustRib]

took these yesterday afternoon in Monterey Bay.
Humpbacks and Sea Lions getting into a proper tizz over massive amounts of sardines currently in the bay.

[MustRib]

must have been around 8 or 9 humpbacks and hundreds of Sea lions

[HughN]

Cracking photos - I'd love to see that sort of thing.

[Barrowboy]

Spectacular indeed. A privilege to witness and I'm only slightly jealous, honest... Great pics and thanks for sharing.

ps: had to google Monterey Bay (to find out where it is!) and there's a ton of stuff on there about the whales and sea lions

[MustRib]

The place is teeming with marine life. Also saw Risso's dolphins for the first time, just a little harder to catch on camera.

[jyasaki]

MustRIB;

Where in the bay were you? Saw a bunch of blues a couple of years ago, but had to run nearly to Aptos to get to them. I think I've only seen multiple humpies a couple of times, and never feeding (though I did get to see a group of 3 breaching once.)

Nice pics; thanks for posting.

jky

[MustRib]

just off Moss Landing, pretty close to the Powerplant.

[Boatnomad]

Great shots.Right place right time!

[kerny]

Awesome pics dude. looks like you are having a great vacation

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by MustRib

just off Moss Landing, pretty close to the Powerplant.

Thanks. Was an article on the front page of the SF Chronicle today about kayakers going out from Moss to whale watch.

Paddling with giants: Humpback whale spectacle in Monterey Bay - SFGate

jky

[Peter_C]

AWESOME!!

MustRib, where are you headed in California? I am farther North in Santa Rosa in the heart of the Sonoma wine country, so if you need any recommendations I might be able to help.

Monterey used to be one of the most lively places around, then man succeeded in killing pretty much everything. Monterey Bay was fished heavily for it's incredible sardine masses, that dwindled in WWII. Whales were hunted heavily. It has been a success in rejuvenation with the otters, and all the other creatures including the sardines coming back. There is a great book called "The Life And Death Of Monterey Bay".

We sometimes see 100's of Risso dolphins mixed in with a few common dolphins. I have always wanted to get in the water with a local dolphin, just not with the Risso's. For one they are bigger than my boat, and two they are not very friendly. The common dolphins on the other hand will come right up to the boat as in inches away.

Last year they had up to 50 Humpbacks touring around Monterey Bay feeding. I missed it This year I can't get down to Monterey for two more weeks at least, to go diving.

Just to continue to remind JKY to be mad for not calling him on the radio, we did get to hang out with a basking shark that are super rare. They used to be common, but since they were a shipping hazard, man killed thousands of them for no other reason then they got hit by ships sometimes.

[MustRib]

thanks Peter,
am very familiar with Cali - north and south - and the Pacific North West,
have been coming for free time and working here for years.
Have my own favorite spots now up and down the coast.
This trip was spent in San Diego and Monterey and have a few days left
where I will head to Yosemite and the Kings Valley.
The word in the Bay is that its the best its been for years for Humpbacks this year, as the sardines are so prolific.
That SF Chronicle article that Jyaski linked to pretty much says it all.
You should still be OK in two weeks time for some whale encounters.
They will stay as log as the food is there.

Andy

[jyasaki]

Pete;

If it's like a couple of years ago, the blues should eventually come in up on the north side of the Monterey Canyon. That was pretty impressive, though it got a bit sporty on the way back. I believe we were up around 36°49'21"N 122° 0'15"W which makes it the north side of the Soquel Canyon arm of the Monterey Canyon.

Guess we'll see...

jky