Other Charters

Whale Watching
 

Join us for an whale watching adventure of a lifetime!  In addition to the Humpback Whales and Gray Whales, and occasional Killer Whale, other mammal sightings, include: Harbor Porpoises, Steller Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, Dall’s Porpoise, White Sided Dolphins, Rizzo Dolphins, Harbor Porpoise, Elephant Seals, Northern Fur Seals, Harbor Seals and California Sea Lions.  The Charter Boat of Choice for the Oceanic Society, your whale watching experience aboard the Huli Cat will be the BEST!

Humpback Whales

April into November
 

Found in oceans and seas around the world, Humpback Whales are baleen whales, and typically migrate up to 16,000 miles each year. The species' diet consists mostly of krill and small fish. Humpbacks have a diverse repertoire of feeding methods, including the spectacular bubble net fishing technique.
 

The Humpback Whale is one of the most energetic whales alive. One of the larger species, adults range in length from 40–50 feet. and weigh approximately 79,000 lbs..  It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching (leaping out of the water) and slapping the water. The act of leaping generates more power than any other act performed by a non-human animal. The whale usually lands on its back and the breach is followed by a violent exhalation from the blowhole. Males produce a complex whale song, which lasts for 10 to 20 minutes and is repeated for hours at a time. The purpose of the song is not yet clear, although it appears to have a role in mating.

The Humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. Humpback Whales can easily be identified by their stocky bodies with obvious humps and black dorsal coloring. The head and lower jaw are covered with knobs called tubercles, which are actually hair follicles and are characteristic of the species. The tail flukes, which are lifted high in the dive sequence, have wavy rear edges.  The long black and white tail fin, which can be up to a third of body length, and the pectoral fins have unique patterns, which enable individual whales to be recognized

Gray Whales

January into May
 

The Gray Whale (or Grey Whale) is a whale that travels between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of about 52 feet, a weight of 36 tons and an age of 50–60 years. Gray Whales were once called Devil Fish because of their fighting behavior when hunted. The Gray Whale is one of the oldest species of mammals, having been on Earth for about 30 million years.
  

Two Pacific Ocean populations of Gray Whales exist: one of not more than 300 individuals whose migratory route is unknown, but presumed to be between the Sea of Okhotsk and southern Korea, and a larger one in the Eastern Pacific traveling between the waters off Alaska and the Baja California.

Gray Whales are a dark slate-gray in color and covered by characteristic gray-white patterns, scars left by parasites which drop off in the cold feeding grounds. They lack the numerous prominent furrows of the related species, instead bearing two to five shallow furrows on the underside of the throat. The Gray Whale lacks a dorsal fin, instead bearing several dorsal 'knuckles.'

In the fall, the Eastern Pacific, or California, Gray Whale starts a 2–3 month, 5,000–7,000 mile journey south along the west coast from Alaska to Mexico. The animals travel in small groups. The destinations of the whales are the coastal waters of Baja California and the southern Gulf of California, where they breed and the young are born. It is believed that the shallow waters in the lagoons there protect the newborn from sharks.

After several weeks, the return trip starts. This round trip of 14,000 miles, at an average speed of 10 km/h, is believed to be the longest yearly migration of any mammal.

The whale feeds mainly on bottom dwelling crustaceans, which it eats by turning on its side (usually the right) and scooping up the sediments from the sea floor. It is classified as a baleen whale and has a baleen, or whalebone, which acts like a sieve to capture small sea animals including amphipods taken in along with sand, water and other material. Mostly, the animal feeds in the northern waters during the summer; and opportunistically feeds during its migration trip, depending primarily on its extensive fat reserves.