Maybe He’s Just Seeking Whale of a Good Time

A large whale has been wandering San Diego Bay for approximately the past week, surfacing to the surprise of boaters and diners in the Harbor Island and Commercial Basin areas, the Coast Guard reported Saturday.

The whale, estimated to be about 20- to 35-feet long and believed to be a California gray whale, is in no apparent distress, authorities said. There are no plans to help it find its way out of the bay, authorities said.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, which takes charge of such situations, has been contacted.

“It probably just hung a wrong turn and is hanging out enjoying life,” said Bruce Lemieux, a volunteer with the Coast Guard Auxiliary. “Hopefully, it’ll find its way out.”

Jim Antrim, general curator of Sea World, said whales “don’t get stuck in the bay. They just wander in there, take a look and then wander out.”

“They were there long before humans,” he added. “This is not a rare experience. It’s not life-threatening (to whales or people). We’ve never had a problem.”

Since last weekend, boaters, diners, pedestrians and motorists have reported sightings of the whale, at times very close to shore, according to the Coast Guard and a Sea World spokesman.

The Coast Guard did not report the whale’s presence in the hope that it would find its way out, Lemieux said. But as the number of reports increased, a decision was made to publicize the whale’s presence in the bay Saturday, he said.