BajaNomad

Whale Encounters

Ken Bondy - 3-3-2008 at 03:21 PM

I think some Nomads might be interested in this.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s I, my family, and my friends had many encounters with fin whales in the waters off of San Francisquito. I became aware of a New Zealander named Wade Doak who was collecting reports of encounters with whales and dolphins, and after one particularly memorable experience, I got in touch with him. He interviewed me about the encounter, and published an account of it in his book, "Encounters With Whales and Dolphins", Sheridan House Inc., Dobbs Ferry, NY, 1988, (ISBN 0-911378-86-3), page 230. The book is pretty interesting for those who like this kind of thing. Here is the complete report as it appears in the Doak book:

"The fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus, is a sleek, fast giant. Exceeded only by the blue whale in size, it grows to around 22 metres and can maintain more than 30 kph for long periods. Reputed to show little interest in boats, this is clearly changing in areas where it is protected.

On 20 November 1982, Kenneth Bondy [I'm sure I told him "Ken", the "Kenneth" was his idea] and two friends were fishing in the Sea of Cortez, 650 kilometres south of Mexicali. Sixteen meters from their orange inflatable, a large fin whale blew. They hauled in their lines. Two minutes later it blew again, three metres away. With the third blow it was heading straight for them. Gracefully it glided beneath their hull, pausing with a slight roll to view the object above. They estimated its length between 16 and 20 metres.

Then the whale began spy-hopping close by, rising vertically until the eye was just out of the water and the tip of the rostrum two metres above. These postures were held for several seconds, with slight movements of body and flukes to maintain position. The contact lasted over 40 minutes with the whale showing every two to three minutes. It was visible to the men for the entire period, circling below them and manoeuvring [sic] between surfacings. "We were spellbound by this amazing encounter and the obvious communication with this enormous, gentle creature." [My quote :)]

The episode ended when another boat motored over, thinking they were in trouble. The whale surfaced ten metres away and left."

It happened more than 25 years ago but it still gives me chills thinking about it. If anyone is interested used copies of the hardcover book are available from Amazon. I just bought one in good condition for $5.00.

++Ken++

[Edited on 3-3-2008 by Ken Bondy]

Paulina - 3-3-2008 at 03:36 PM

Thank you for sharing that Ken. What an amazing gift you received, and for over 40 minutes!!! I always feel lucky when I'm allowed a close look, but to have been an audience as you were to that whale, it must have been awesome. No wonder it still gives you chills.

P<*)))><

Natalie Ann - 3-3-2008 at 03:39 PM

That's one pretty amazing magical encounter, Ken. The whale must have known he/she was communicating with good people.

Nena

sylens - 3-3-2008 at 04:41 PM

awesome experience, ken. thank you for sharing. gave me goose bumps to imagine watching for 40 minutes. wow.

Martyman - 3-3-2008 at 04:46 PM

Ken;
Do you have any photos of your experience?

Kell-Baja - 3-3-2008 at 04:46 PM

Wow what a great experience that will never be forgotten.

Mexitron - 3-3-2008 at 05:10 PM

Those whale encounters are something--I've had them too--quite mystical those beings eyes are!

Ken Bondy - 3-3-2008 at 05:14 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Martyman
Ken;
Do you have any photos of your experience?


Martyman, I WISH!!! No, we were fishing from an inflatable that day and not a single camera was on board. Of course :)

I have taken much heat over the years from my two fishing buddies about that.

++Ken++

Wiles - 3-3-2008 at 08:34 PM

Ken, I've enjoyed viewing all your fantastic photography (both above and below the water line) and reading about your Baja experiences.

Whale encounters can be incredible. This thread has raised my curiosity just a bit. And I make these comments and ask these questions with all due respect.

1. Were you able to positively ID this guy as a finback?

2. The conditions looked fishy, right? Signs of bait in the water, birds working the area, and hopefully some fish on the boat. How clean was the water? Any plankton or bait balls?

3. You said the whale began spy-hopping close by and the encounter lasted about 40 minutes. About how many times did he spy-hop? Were any other behaviors observed? Was there any indication that he was feeding? Did you observe him on his side at the surface or see the rorquals expanded?

The reason I ask these questions is because finbacks are not known for spy-hopping like grays or humpbacks. In fact, I’ve never heard or read of this behavior being associated with finbacks and find it very interesting.

If you have more recollections of this event, I for one would like to hear more.

Thanks

One possible editing note. I think the part that reads "grows to around 22 metres and can maintain more than 30 kph for long periods." is reversed. I believe the correct statement would be more like 'grows to 30 metres and can maintain more than 22 kph for long periods'

Ken Bondy - 3-3-2008 at 09:34 PM

Wiles:

I'll do the best I can to answer these but remember it was 25+ years ago.

1) Yes, the asymmetrical coloring made a positive id. Fortunately I was aware of that at the time and clearly noticed it. Plus he/she was roughly three times as long as the 16' inflatable which put him/her out of range of most other species that we saw at San Francisquito.

2) We were on what we called the deep reef (about 100 fsw) about a mile off the north point at San Francisquito. Water was very clean, no birds, no visible plankton or bait balls, fishing slow. To the best of my recollection we had caught no fish when the whale started playing with us. It was a place we went when there was no action on the surface. With deep jigs we would often catch yellowtail there when nothing else was happening.

3) The spy-hopping was constant and continuous for most of the 40 minutes. He/she would rise up, hold the position for mayby 10-15 seconds, slowly slide back down, go horizontal just below the surface, slowly swim to another location (often going under the inflatable to the other side) and then up came the head again. Hard to remember, but he/she must have spyhopped at least 30 times. That was absolutely extraordinary, the whale was examining us from every angle. He/she was clearly fascinated with the boat and maybe even us. BTW the boat was a Metzeler, bright orange-yellow. That may have been of interest to the whale. One other thing that I do remember that didn't make it into Doak's book -- I believe every spyhop was oriented so that he/she was looking at us with the same eye. I think it was the left eye, that I can't remember, but I do remember talking about that with my two friends in the boat, and we all thought that the whale was looking at us with the same eye each spyhop.

I went back and checked the book, the way I posted it was the way it appeared in the book (22 metres and 30 kph). That was Doak's statement, not mine. I think you are correct, it seems to me that I have heard that finbacks get to about 90 feet.

++Ken++

Alan - 3-3-2008 at 09:34 PM

While no where near as neat as Ken's encounter, last summer I was fishing a paddy off SoCal for dorado along with another boat. The dorado kept jumping around the paddy but had no interest in any of our offerings. One of the guys on the other boat finally got tired of trying to entice a bite so he donned a snorkel and fins, grabbed his spear gun and set out to get one. While he was in the water trying to get a bead on one of the dorado a whale (I'm assuming a grey) approached us and swam within about 50' of the diver. We were all jazzed thinking how b-tchen it must of been to be in the water with that thing (not enough to make me want to enter the food chain but cool for him) and that it had to be an experience of a lifetime. After the whale swam on by we motored over to the diver and asked "How cool was that"! He asked how cool was what? We explained that a huge whale just swam by within 50' of him and he said he never even saw it.

Ken Bondy - 3-3-2008 at 09:40 PM

Wiles I realize I didn't fully answer #3:

I did not see any other behavior beside the spyhopping. To my knowledge the whale was not feeding, the rorquals were never expanded. He/she clearly rolled to one side several times, that happened each time he/she went directly under the boat. I have always assumed that the rolls were to get a better view of the bottom of our boat. Hope this helps,

++Ken++

Ken Bondy - 3-3-2008 at 09:43 PM

One more thing, Wiles, I am pretty sure I didn't overestimate the 40 minutes. About fifteen minutes into the encounter we all realized that something special was happening and I noticed the time and checked it again 30 minutes later when the other boat arrived and the whale stopped spyhopping.

++Ken++

Ken Bondy - 3-3-2008 at 09:45 PM

Great story Alan. I wonder how many whales have swam by me when my head was in the reef looking for nudibranchs :biggrin:

++Ken++

shari - 3-4-2008 at 05:28 PM

Wow, thanks for sharing that with us Ken...and Wiles is right that that is very unusual behavior for a fin whale...I look forward to sharing my amazing fin whale story with you someday Ken...many of you know it and can attest to it's one of those "must be told in person" tales....I can tell you though that I would in all probability NOT be posting this today if it weren't for those two fin whales who saved my skin nearly thirty years ago.....changed my life thats for sure.

Iflyfish - 3-4-2008 at 05:46 PM

Ken,

Wonderful story Ken.

I have heard reports from others of their whale encounters and a sense that the whales were communicating with them. It is clear that you believe that the whale was observing you. Did you experience other feelings or sensations while it was watching you? "Did you sense it was attempting to communicate with you? Whales are considered fellow sentient beings by many nations and there is a literature that describes whales saving lives etc.

Thanks,

Iflyfish

Iflyfish

Wiles - 3-4-2008 at 05:56 PM

Ken

Thanks much for your response.

I purposely left out one of the major identification tags (asymmetrical coloring) for a finback to see if your ID of that guy was accurate. It would be next to impossible to miss on a spy-hopping finback. You nailed it. At approximately 48 ft in length , it could have been a match for various other species common to that area. namely Bryde’s, Sei and even occasional Grays . Your fin encounter involved a sub-adult which may have some significance in the behavior display.

30 spy-hops, WOW!! And at SF, what a place, huh?

I too have had them make many passes underneath my 13’-6” Avon. You suddenly realize how small you really are in comparison. It’s even more impressive from when you‘re in the water with them. It’s like watching a silent freight train cruise by.

Thanks Ken for sharing your story. I enjoyed it, I learned something, and it brought back memories of past experiences. This is what Baja Nomad is all about.

Wiles

Wiles - 3-4-2008 at 06:12 PM

For those who haven't seen a finback and for size reference, here is a picture of one. The Avon is 13'-6" This was taken at BOLA.......about the same time era of Ken's encounter.

fin (Medium).jpg - 37kB

Ken Bondy - 3-4-2008 at 06:14 PM

shari would love to hear your story someday.

Iflyfish I didn't get the sense that the whale was trying to communicate. I think the animal was merely curious, probably about the boat. The bright color may have had something to do with that.

Wiles, thanks for your comments. It was a magnificent experience. I have been in the water with humpbacks and grays, hard to describe in words what a life-changing experience that is. Here is a photo from my experience with the gray:

Ken Bondy - 3-4-2008 at 06:17 PM

Wiles great photo of the fin whale! Looks like more than 50 ft between the dorsal and the blowhole. Sure wish I had a camera on board when this happened to me,

Thanks,

++Ken++

Wiles - 3-4-2008 at 06:19 PM

Spy-hop. Gray whale. Black Warriors Lagoon.

scan0160 (Small).jpg - 37kB

Ken Bondy - 3-4-2008 at 06:23 PM

Life is funny. I wasn't sure whether or not to post this, but what the hell, this forum is like an extended family. One of the two other people in that boat with me back in 1982, my best friend for decades, Jim Bailey, died this morning after a brief battle with cancer. So if any Nomads are hoisting toddies this evening, hoist one for my friend Jim.

++Ken++

Wiles - 3-4-2008 at 06:33 PM

Oh man, Ken that's tough. Sorry for your loss.

Wiles

Wiles - 3-4-2008 at 06:34 PM

3 Finbacks feeding.

3 fins feeding.jpg - 48kB

Wiles - 3-4-2008 at 06:41 PM

They were feeding on krill.

Krill.jpg - 44kB

Sallysouth - 3-4-2008 at 07:21 PM

Whales are such powerful, awesome creatures.I posted a report some years back about a very close encounter with Orcas in the SOC.These stories and posts remind me of just how much power and magic the whales have.I will NEVER forget that experience, being just a foot away from a huge Orca, head on swimstep, big eye looking right at me.Talk about goose-bumps! Nice thread.:wow:

Paulina - 3-4-2008 at 07:26 PM

This has been a wonderful thread. Thanks Ken for starting it off, thanks Wiles for adding your photos. Also Ken, I am very sorry for the loss of your dear friend.

Wiles' photos reminded me that I have a couple from Aug. '06, taken pretty close to where your photo was shot, Calaveras.







P<*)))><

Wiles - 3-4-2008 at 07:32 PM

DOUBLE WOW!!!!!

Paulina those are soooooo good. National Geographic and Ken Bondy quality.

Thanks

Ken Bondy - 3-4-2008 at 07:34 PM

Triple WOW!! Paulina and Wiles those photos are magnificent. Thanks also for the kind words about JB.

++Ken++

oladulce - 3-4-2008 at 07:49 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Ken Bondy
Life is funny. I wasn't sure whether or not to post this, but what the hell, this forum is like an extended family. One of the two other people in that boat with me back in 1982, my best friend for decades, Jim Bailey, died this morning after a brief battle with cancer. So if any Nomads are hoisting toddies this evening, hoist one for my friend Jim.

++Ken++


Whether you were remembering your whale encounter and Jim was a part of it, or you were thinking of Jim which reminded you of the whale adventure, what a perfect time to post your pictures and story and to think about your good friend.

Ken Bondy - 3-4-2008 at 07:52 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by oladulce
Whether you were remembering your whale encounter and Jim was a part of it, or you were thinking of Jim which reminded you of the whale adventure, what a perfect time to post your pictures and story and to think about your good friend.


Gracias oladulce. What a beautiful thought :).

++Ken++

Wingnut - 3-6-2008 at 05:05 PM

Ken, sorry about your friend, good memories will keep him living with you for ever. I have a question about the fin whale, or maybe whales in general. Can they detect color? Being a mammal I wonder if the eye's vision is close to that of a human? It would explain a lot re the orange color.

Ken Bondy - 3-6-2008 at 06:40 PM

Thanks Wingnut, appreciate the nice words about friends and memories. So true. I do not know whether whales can detect color, never read anything on that subject. Maybe someone here knows

++Ken++