Detour in Northward Swim
A young migrating whale took a two-hour swim Friday in the Mission Bay Channel before continuing its journey north, San Diego lifeguards said.
The 20-foot gray whale swam inside the entrance to the bay, then left shortly before 5 p.m., Lt. Charley Wright of the San Diego Lifeguard Service said.
Lifeguards kept boaters away from the mammal to avoid frightening or injuring it.
“We are not going to hurt it, and we are not going to harass it,” Wright said. “Normally they find their way out.”
Wright said this was the second whale that has stopped at the bay during this migratory season. The other one made a detour in November as it was swimming south for the winter.
Wright added that younger whales have a tendency to swim close to the shore and sometimes end up going into the bay as they swim past it.
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