Another Blue whale sighting out of San Pedro

Went for a day sail today with my sister and nieces who are visiting this week. Lots of wind, was a very lively sail and we thoroughly enjoyed it (but I really need a dodger, the spray drenched us a couple of times).

We sailed down towards the oil platforms and as we approached, we sighted the whales about 200 yards towards the coast. They were definitely Blues, we saw the tiny dorsal typical of the blue, the double blow-holes, the low, shrub-shaped blow, and of course the light blueish-gray color. Unlike last time these whales displayed their flukes when they dove.

Shortly after sighting them, it was time to turn around to head back to San Pedro. As we passed the area where we saw the whales, they appeared again, only this time, one of them surfaced not 20 yards aft! We got a very good look at this one, and he/she was gigantic. The part of its body that was above the water was longer than Valinor. It really startled us! But what a treat!

I called one of the whale watching tour operators in Long Beach to ask them about my sighting. They said I didn't see the same two whales twice. There are four of them in that area, and the tour operators sighted them Tuesday in the same place we did, about an hour before we were there.

Very cool, Mike. We still haven't ever seen blues in our area, though others have told us of them close by. I'm watching for them.