Swim-By Spoutings

During Dana Point’s annual Festival of Whales, thousands brave wet tennies and churning stomachs for the thrill of seeing mighty California gray whales glide by on their annual Alaska-to-Mexico migration.

But this year a four-legged animal may steal the show.

Pongo, the spotted co-star of Disney’s live-action “101 Dalmatians,” is expected to lead some 1,000 pets and their humans in one of the festival’s most popular non-cetacean events: a 2K/4K walk around Harbor Island to raise funds for the Animal Rescue Foundation. At the ARF Wag-a-Thon on March 1, Pongo (OK, it’s really Freckles, but his fans don’t care) will share grand marshal honors with actor Alan Young, better known to boomers as “Mr. Ed’s” straight man, Wilbur Post.

The festival, which runs Saturday through March 2, includes 35 events in all, many of them free and family-friendly. Highlights include an opening-weekend parade and street fair, low-cost workshops on such activities as kayaking, fun runs for kids and adults and a professional volleyball tournament. (Because of a scheduling conflict, the festival’s annual golf classic and pre-tournament gala--fund-raisers for the Orange County Marine Institute--will be held March 9 and 10.)

Tagging along at some of the events will be a wooden, walk-through model of a gray whale built by theater students at the South Orange County School of the Arts in Dana Point. The unnamed critter will be on view at the street fair and at one or two other festival locations, including the Orange County Marine Institute.

Also offered at OCMI: marine mammal cruises, a lecture series on dolphin- and whale-related topics, tide-pool walks and weekend open-houses in the hands-on laboratory. There will also be workshops for kids on-board the Pilgrim, a replica of the brig immortalized in Richard Henry Dana’s “Two Years Before the Mast.”

Hard by the Pilgrim, the Orange County Civic Light Opera will stage its original musical, “Two Years Before the Mast: Songs of the Sailor.”

Event co-chairman Don Porter estimated that about 100,000 people attended last year’s whale festival. How many attend this year will depend in part, he says, on the weather.

“People always say, ‘Gee, why don’t you do this in the summer?’ ” Porter said. “But if the whales aren’t out there, why would we be?”

Peak gray-whale migration along the Southern California coast is from December through March. Gray whales, which measure up to 45 feet in length and weigh 35 tons at maturity, typically leave Alaskan waters in October, covering their 6,000-mile route in eight to 10 weeks. After mating or giving birth in the warm waters off the coast of Mexico, the whales usually start their return trip sometime in February.

The migration, the longest by any mammal, is a monumental undertaking, but it may be the new moms who have the toughest journey. On their return trip, they take in no food (living on stored fat) but feed Junior about 50 gallons of mother’s milk per day. Just something to think about about when you’re whining about your next family road trip.

OCMI assistant director Harry Helling said whale watches offer a “grand natural spectacle.” He recently saw a gray whale breach (throw its body out of the water) 21 times in about five minutes, he said. “It’s just a great testimony to the patterns of nature in the ocean that is easily accessible.”

With a good, high vantage point (Helling likes the cliffs near the Ritz-Carlton hotel) and a decent pair of binoculars, you don’t even have to board a boat to take part in a whale watch. If you do book a cruise, however, there are several choices in Dana Point.

Dana Wharf Sportfishing [(714) 496-5794] has five boats with frequent departures daily. Dana Island Yacht Charters [(714) 248-7400] has sailboat cruises. OCMI’s research vessel, the R/V Sea Explorer [(714) 496-2274], departs weekends with naturalists leading hands-on research.

BE THERE

26th annual Dana Point Festival of Whales, held in the Dana Point Harbor area (exit San Diego [405] Freeway at Pacific Coast Highway), Sat. through March 2. Many activities are free; whale-watching cruises are $8-$20. Parking: Free shuttles run between Dana Hills High School, 33333 Street of the Golden Lantern, and Dana Point Harbor during most festival hours. Information and a calendar of events: (714) 496-1555 or (800) 290-3262.