Travels in a Tin Can

see the dolphins, but then someone shouted 'thar she blows!' (seriously) and
the chase was on.
Three whales, evidenced only by their 'blow' were swimming in the
distance. Quickly, but cautiously, we drove towards this group. Catching up
with them was incredibly difficult however as whales spend most of their time
below the surface of the water and also blend in very well with the waves. We
kept losing them and had to change direction repeatedly as they were spotted
again. We also had to keep a safe difference from these endangered
creatures. Eventually we got close enough to see them, and then had to keep
moving as they did - making it harder for the driver to give us all equal views.
In fact the boat was too crowded to allow everyone to get a good view,
fortunately our elbows were bonier than most people’s and this meant we
made room for ourselves fairly effectively.
The subjects were a family of three humpback whales. Although
photography proved a real lottery we were able to observe them doing various
'moves' - especially the young calf who was practicing his breaching skills
(jumping clear of the water...or at least attempting to!).
After a long time we moved away and headed off in search of grey
whales that had been spotted by another boat. We did not find them and
spent more time enjoying the sea view and fresh air than we spent watching
wildlife. We were very lucky with the weather at least. It was sunny and quite
warm at times and the sea was not too choppy. In fact the motion of the boat
was more soothing than nauseating - fortunately. As we drove back to the
marina we did see one more creature, a sea otter swimming on his back
clutching food on his tummy - and being stalked by three sea gulls.