raffy
Oct 19, 01, 6:29 am
A new world comes to life every fall at the Farallon Islands.
The old sea finally settles into the calmest days of the year, even between occasional storm fronts. At times there is an effervescent, tourmaline sheen to the water, full of life, from tiny zooplankton to blue whales, the largest creatures ever to inhabit the Earth. It is the richest marine region on the Pacific coast.
Because relatively few people venture by boat out the Golden Gate and across 25 miles of ocean to the Farallones, the wonders of the Farallones are often missed by Bay Area residents. The Ocean Society is now offering special Farallon Nature Cruises that provide a special look at this marine sanctuary.
What you can see is like walking through a door into a new world. On a recent trip, for example, those aboard sighted 25 humpback whales, best known for their spinning pirouettes out of the water and tremendous crash landings, and 15 blue whales, massive with tails like indigo Moby Dicks. On the same trip, they also sighted a gray whale, three species of pinnipeds and a harbor porpoise, and 16 species of birds, including rare horned puffin and rhinoceros auklets.
There can be much more. Last October, in one of the most dramatic scenes imaginable, two white sharks attacked and ate a sea lion in full view of those aboard. Leatherback sea turtles are also occasionally spotted. On a trip last month, those aboard were able to look right inside the giant mouths of nearby lunge-feeding humpbacks. And it is common to see the Southeast Farallon Island covered with sea lions like asphalt, along with giant steller's sea lions. In one fall trip, we estimated 75,000 birds counted in 40 minutes, featuring murres, gulls and auklets.
The irony is that most people associate these kind of trips with whale- watching, that is, during the annual migration of gray whales from late December through mid-May. It's an irony because this is when the ocean is typically roughest, and while there are many stellar whale-watching trips during this period, those with any stomach qualms would rather walk the plank than board a boat heading out to sea.
The trip starts at 8:30 a.m. at Gas House Cove Marina in San Francisco, located near Fort Mason Center and Marina Green. There you board the New Superfish, a 63-foot ocean cruiser, and meet a staff naturalist from the Ocean Society and Captain Mick Menigoz. The price is $62 per person on weekdays, $67 per person on weekends.
The best tip is dress in layers, so you are ready for any temperature conditions, with a waterproof outer layer. Wear a hat (seagulls sometimes come to visit overhead) and bring binoculars, lunch and beverage; and if susceptible to making an offering to Jonah, as we call it, take a Dramamine one-half hour before boarding the boat, then again when under way. Trips last eight hours.
The Farallones are the exposed tops of an undersea mountain range, set at the edge of the Continental Shelf. This mountain range provides a vast marine habitat, with the marine food chain set off by upwelling each year -- caused by strong winds out of the northwest from early spring through summer. Come fall and those winds calm, and in turn, Bay Area residents get the year's best opportunity to see the West's richest marine sanctuary -- and the whales, pinnipeds, sea lions and marine birds that bring it to life.
Information: Recent trip sightings, (415) 474-0488; recorded information and bookings, (415) 474-3385; Web site: www.oceanic-society.org/. (http://www.oceanic-society.org/.)
The old sea finally settles into the calmest days of the year, even between occasional storm fronts. At times there is an effervescent, tourmaline sheen to the water, full of life, from tiny zooplankton to blue whales, the largest creatures ever to inhabit the Earth. It is the richest marine region on the Pacific coast.
Because relatively few people venture by boat out the Golden Gate and across 25 miles of ocean to the Farallones, the wonders of the Farallones are often missed by Bay Area residents. The Ocean Society is now offering special Farallon Nature Cruises that provide a special look at this marine sanctuary.
What you can see is like walking through a door into a new world. On a recent trip, for example, those aboard sighted 25 humpback whales, best known for their spinning pirouettes out of the water and tremendous crash landings, and 15 blue whales, massive with tails like indigo Moby Dicks. On the same trip, they also sighted a gray whale, three species of pinnipeds and a harbor porpoise, and 16 species of birds, including rare horned puffin and rhinoceros auklets.
There can be much more. Last October, in one of the most dramatic scenes imaginable, two white sharks attacked and ate a sea lion in full view of those aboard. Leatherback sea turtles are also occasionally spotted. On a trip last month, those aboard were able to look right inside the giant mouths of nearby lunge-feeding humpbacks. And it is common to see the Southeast Farallon Island covered with sea lions like asphalt, along with giant steller's sea lions. In one fall trip, we estimated 75,000 birds counted in 40 minutes, featuring murres, gulls and auklets.
The irony is that most people associate these kind of trips with whale- watching, that is, during the annual migration of gray whales from late December through mid-May. It's an irony because this is when the ocean is typically roughest, and while there are many stellar whale-watching trips during this period, those with any stomach qualms would rather walk the plank than board a boat heading out to sea.
The trip starts at 8:30 a.m. at Gas House Cove Marina in San Francisco, located near Fort Mason Center and Marina Green. There you board the New Superfish, a 63-foot ocean cruiser, and meet a staff naturalist from the Ocean Society and Captain Mick Menigoz. The price is $62 per person on weekdays, $67 per person on weekends.
The best tip is dress in layers, so you are ready for any temperature conditions, with a waterproof outer layer. Wear a hat (seagulls sometimes come to visit overhead) and bring binoculars, lunch and beverage; and if susceptible to making an offering to Jonah, as we call it, take a Dramamine one-half hour before boarding the boat, then again when under way. Trips last eight hours.
The Farallones are the exposed tops of an undersea mountain range, set at the edge of the Continental Shelf. This mountain range provides a vast marine habitat, with the marine food chain set off by upwelling each year -- caused by strong winds out of the northwest from early spring through summer. Come fall and those winds calm, and in turn, Bay Area residents get the year's best opportunity to see the West's richest marine sanctuary -- and the whales, pinnipeds, sea lions and marine birds that bring it to life.
Information: Recent trip sightings, (415) 474-0488; recorded information and bookings, (415) 474-3385; Web site: www.oceanic-society.org/. (http://www.oceanic-society.org/.)