I was tardy for the 8am group launch from Dana Point this morning, but I had a different agenda than the one called for by Henry and Kathy. I hit the water a little before 9am and planned to head out and spend the day off the coast till I saw a whale no matter how long it took. It was an overcast sky, but a still beautiful day as I headed out of the harbor. Once I'd made the point, a gentle rolling swell started up to give the sea some character and allow me an occasional higher perch to look for my quarry. I spent quite a while looking north wondering if H&K's group might be on their way back, but couldn't see any activity. In fact the whole ocean seemed mostly deserted. Only a few boats seems out and they far in the distance. With no GPS, I just headed out towards the general area I had seen whales last year. Without much in the way of landmarks to guide me, I just wandered rather aimlessly out to sea. I thought I caught a glimpse of something splashing out in the distance in an area where I hadn't seen anything before, so I started heading in that direction. After a bit of paddling, I saw what looked to be a bird on top of the water. As I got closer, I could see it was a group of birds. And as I got close enough, I could see it was Henry and Kathy and their group having abandoned their coastal paddle to also search for whales. Not only that, but they were sitting right on top of one. No sooner than I showed up, the whale came up 2 or 3 times for air. Thought for sure we would get at least one fluke shot, but turned out this whale was shy. The group decided to call it a day and head back home, but I stayed out a couple more hours hoping for a return performance, but it never came. Still it was beautiful just hanging out on the water. There was little boat traffic and when I stopped paddling the sea was about as quiet as you ever get to hear it. As Henry said, you don't get to see a whale much closer unless it decides to come up right under you. I guess I still have something to wish for! http://www.sandmarks.net/graphics/aIMGP3811.jpg Mark "Call me Ishmael" Sanders *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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