SANTA CRUZ
– Spotting a breaching whale as it leaps into the air is a
thrill spectators will never forget. the winter months in Santa
Cruz County bring numerous opportunities for visitors to catch
sight of breaching gray whales during their annual migration along
the California coast.
Special to The Dispatch
SANTA CRUZ – Spotting a breaching whale as it leaps into the air is a thrill spectators will never forget. the winter months in Santa Cruz County bring numerous opportunities for visitors to catch sight of breaching gray whales during their annual migration along the California coast.
Between December and March, approximately 20,000 gray whales make the long journey from the freezing waters of Alaska’s Bering Sea, down along the California coastline, and then on to the warm lagoons of Baja. There they give birth to 1,500-pound calves and then begin the return trip home to Alaska in the spring. The whales travel 70 to 80 miles per day at a rate of three to five miles per hour. Their 10,000- to 14,000-mile round-trip trek is the longest known distance any mammal migrates on an annual basis.
Just off the coast of Santa Cruz County, the nutrient-rich waters of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary offer some of the best whale watching in California. The migrating whales, up to 45 feet in length, can be seen “spy-hopping” and breaching as they migrate back this beautiful coastline. In Davenport, on Santa Cruz County’s rugged north coast, the whales pass closest to the shoreline during their travel through the Monterey Bay, making it a perfect perch for whale watching. Each winter, spectators wielding binoculars line Davenport’s coastal bluffs to watch the whales.
Venturing out by boat, however, affords the best views of the whales – as well as the other inhabitants of the Bay. Dolphins swim alongside in the bow’s wake, while jellyfish glide and pulse just below the water’s surface. Migratory birds and shorebirds fly overhead. Whale-watchers are also treated to sighting of sea lions, sea otters, orcas, humpback whales and blue whales.
Several companies offer whale-watching tours departing regularly from the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz harbor and Moss Landing Harbor. They include Chardonnay (www.chardonnay.com), Sanctuary Cruises (www.sanctuarycruises.com), Original Stagnaro’s Fishing Trips (www.stagnaros.com) and Santa Cruz Sportfishing, Inc. (www.santacruzsportfishing.com).
Whale-watching tours run January through March in the Santa Cruz area. Tours average two and a half to three hours. Prices range between $15 and $40 per person, and Tours are also available for larger groups. Tour companies advise wearing warm layers and tennis shoes. For more information on whale watching opportunities in Santa Cruz County call (800) 933-3494.
