It’s the Days of the Grays : As Whales Migrate, Sightseers Stalk the Seas in Search of a Lucky Look

Two hundred and twelve expectant sets of young eyes eagerly scanned the horizon.

The mission was whales--to spot them and alert fellow passengers aboard the Catalina Flyer. Most of those on board this day were second- and third-graders from three Orange County elementary schools.

“There’s one,” a high-pitched voice announced. The Catalina seemed to tip to the port side as 212 pairs of feet scurried for a look. What they saw was a crusty shape slithering out of the royal blue water, then back in, without exposing any identifiable body parts.

But it was a whale, by golly.

And for a few seconds the children, who earlier had been a-titter with their new-found freedom outside the confines of a classroom, were quiet with awe. A mammoth beast was making its way through the water gracefully, without the help of batteries, remote control or joysticks.

“Neat!” said one.

“Wow!” said another.

It was not even 20 minutes into the tour, and already the featured act had begun. Capt. Steve Forvath and tour guides from the American Cetacean Society looked delighted that this trip would deliver.

A Good Captain Helps

It’s whale-watching season along the Orange County coast. But as anyone who has ever been a passenger on a tour boat knows, the migrating California gray whales don’t always show up by curtain time. On some tours, passengers see no whales at all.

“It depends on your luck of the day--and a good captain,” said Ridgely Keeley, a society docent who was aboard the Catalina to narrate the tour.

Just after Christmas every year, several commercial boat companies in Orange County begin to offer tours a few miles offshore to witness the phenomenal 12,000-mile migration that will take the gray whales from the Bering Sea to lagoons along Mexico’s Baja California coast and back.

In its lifetime, the average gray whale will make 40 to 60 of these journeys, once every year, like clockwork.

The first of the travelers, usually the pregnant females, make their appearance along the 40-mile Orange County coastline beginning in December. On the return voyage, they can be seen again in May, although they tend to swim farther from the coastline during that leg of their journey.

The gray whales neared extinction in the 1850s, when commercial whaling was at its peak. They were hunted for the oil in their blubber, but the commercialization wound down to almost nothing by the 1870s, when their numbers were so decimated that it was no longer financially feasible to go after them.

Their population dwindled to about 600, but conservation efforts did not really begin until after World War II, said Stephen Reilly, a marine biologist with the Southwest Fisheries Center in La Jolla. Now, they number between 18,000 and 20,000--perhaps exceeding the total before hunting took its toll, he said.

And yet, given how long they have been making their majestic trek, the gray whales’ migratory habits are still a mystery to scientists.

For example, scientists had long been puzzled as to whether the whales continue their trek at night. Now they believe the creatures do. But they do not know how the whales maintain their direction when it is dark, foggy or a starless night.

The problem in studying whales, scientists acknowledge, is that no one has ever been able to follow a whale through its entire life.

“It’s difficult for technical reasons more than anything,” Reilly said. “Tagging a whale in a manner where you don’t hurt it, but that will stay on, is very difficult. You’ve got to have something that’s very small, has its own battery power, will resist saltwater corrosion and transmit a frequency you can receive from the shore or the air.”

Two seasons ago, scientists were able to tag six whales and follow their movements for about a week. That short study enabled the scientists to confirm the theory that whales travel at night at about the same rate as during the day.

Their southerly migration route takes them about 30 to 50 miles offshore. But sometimes they come close enough to be spotted from shore, especially the younger gray whales that are still learning their way. During the tour last week, the Catalina Flyer kept on the trail of two whales that swam about 50 yards off the Laguna Beach coast. As the creatures played in the surf, they did not seem to be disturbed by two whale-watching boats following no closer than the 100-yard limit mandated by federal law.

Disturbing the Whales

How much the tour boats disturb the whales is a much-debated subject. If they keep their distance, boat operators say, no harm is done. Others say that may not be true.

“The captain of the boat is usually trying to get his passengers the most awe he can for their dollar, the best experience, the closest he can come to the animal,” Reilly said. “But in doing that, he’s going to do something to change the behavior of the animal.

“There probably is some truth to that, that he’s bothering the animal, but whether it’s a long-term harm--the jury is still out on that.”

Some whale watchers are convinced that over time the leviathans figure out a way to avoid the curiosity seekers.

Jay Burdick, president of the American Society of Cetaceans in Orange County, said he sat on a cliff overlooking Newport Harbor one day and watched a tour boat motor around for a couple of hours, but to no avail.

“He went back into the harbor, and within an hour I saw about nine . . . (whales) go by,” Burdick said. “I know they were waiting for the boat to go by.”

The California gray whale is not a comely beast. It is long--up to 45 feet--and its body tapers to a head that narrows to a snout. Its lower back is ridged, a distinction that sets it apart from other whales. But it is the gray whale’s blotchy complexion that surprises many tour passengers. Barnacles attach themselves to the whale’s flesh, giving it the appearance of a prune that was dropped into a rice bin.

As it swims along, the mammal must come up frequently for air. Sometimes it will blow water off the top of its head, sending the water shooting up in a heart-shaped geyser that can be seen before the whale itself is sighted.

After it blows, the whale sucks in air. Then it might flip its finned tail into the air before disappearing under water for another 3 to 5 minutes until the next resurfacing. That’s called “fluking.”

The blow, the flash of a finned tail--those are the highlights of whale watching.

The schoolchildren on tour only saw one “fluke” in 2 hours.

Many pairs of eyes were focused on a nearby spot of water when one of the whales came up, blew and then flapped its divided tail.

“It just fluked; oh, goody,” tour narrator Keeley said.

Occasionally, tour passengers can see killer whales, which sometimes attack the gray whales. Dolphins and porpoises also are a common sight. More infrequently, blue whales--the largest animals in the world, capable of growing to 90 feet--are seen off the California coast, but only by those in boats that travel farther offshore.

Tours are available every day of the week, including Saturdays and Sundays, from various companies. The Catalina is a large, three-deck catamaran with a capacity of 300. Other boats are smaller. Some people are kept away by the high price of tour tickets--which can range from a low of $6 for children to a high of $29 for adults on one tour that includes a brunch.

Some tour boats offer discounts to school groups, but the high cost of arranging transportation often presents more of a financial problem in planning the whale-watching trips, Keeley said.

During the week, especially in the morning hours, tours tend to be dominated by schoolchildren, a fact that tour directors like to make known to adults. On this trip, for example, there were only a few adults among ponytailed, wool-capped children misplacing purple mitts on the boat and aiming blue plastic cameras over the boat’s railing.

“I think I’m going to barf,” one boy said.

But the youngsters’ presence didn’t bother Joe and Joyce Taylor, who were spending their last day in Southern California watching whales. Taylor’s employer had transferred him to Chicago, so the couple was going to hop on a plane to their new home the next day.

“That was marvelous,” Taylor said of the tour.

“We have been here all this time, and had never done this before,” his wife said. “I didn’t know they would get so close to the whales.”

For children who have grown up in the fun zone of Southern California, whale watching as an attraction has to compete with Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and even the home entertainment that Orange County affluence affords many young people.

Nevertheless, the kids said they were impressed.

“It was different than Marine World,” said Anthony Griffith, 8, a third-grader at Montevideo Elementary School in Mission Viejo. “There, they’re trained, and here they aren’t.”

But he definitely liked the wild nature of this performance, and said he would return to watch the marine mammals make their annual pilgrimage.

WHALE-WATCHING TOURS IN ORANGE COUNTY Newport Beach

Davey’s Locker: Tours aboard the 120-passenger Western Pride are conducted at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. weekdays and at 9 a.m., noon and 2:30 p.m. weekends. A docent from the American Cetacean Society narrates the 2 1/2-hour tours. Fare: $10 for adults, $6 for children 12 and younger. Group rates available. The company offers “whale checks”: if no whales are spotted, passengers get a free pass for another trip. Information: (714) 673-1434.

Catalina Flyer: Whale-watching tours on the 500-passenger boat leave the Balboa Pavilion at 10 a.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. A docent from the American Cetacean Society narrates the trip. Fare: $10 for adults, $6 for children. Group rates available. Whale checks offered. Information: (714) 673-5245.

Newport Landing Sportfishing: Narrated 2 1/2-hour tours aboard the 70-foot Nautilus are held at 9 a.m., noon and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fare: $10 for adults, $6 for children. A fare of $6 for seniors is available on weekdays. Newport Landing is on Balboa Peninsula between Adams and Palm streets, near the ferry. Whale checks offered. Information: (714) 675-0550.

Dana Point

Dana Wharf Sportfishing: Boats leave at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. weekdays on narrated tours. On Saturday and Sunday, boats also leave at 8 a.m. Fare: $10 for adults, $6 for children. A fare of $6 for seniors is available on weekdays. Whale checks offered. Information: (714) 496-5794.

Orange County Marine Institute: Saturday excursions are conducted after a marine biologist gives a half-hour lecture at the institute. The lecture begins at 7 a.m., and partic-

ipants then head out to sea. Fare: $10 for adults, $8 for children. Information: (714) 831-3850.