From May through November, the non-profit Oceanic Society offers northern California residents and visitors an exciting eight-hour whale watching tour to the Farallon Islands.

 An invigorating cruise out of San Francisco Bay

Sailing out of San Francisco in the early morning hours, and cruising under the towering Golden Gate Bridge is almost as exhilarating as the anticipation of finding the great whales that roam the nutrient rich waters surrounding the Farallon Islands. 

The passengers are in good hands

Captain Roger Thomas is the skipper of the 56-foot Salty Lady.  He knows these waters like few others, and has been thrilling vacationers and students on whale watching excursions for over 30 years.  

Throughout the expedition, Captain Thomas provided whale spotting information from the bridge.  It was particularly stirring when he called out something like, “There’s a big humpback whale currently crossing under the boat.  Keep a sharp eye on the port side in about 15 seconds.”  

A professional Naturalist accompanies every Oceanic Society cruise 

We were lucky to have David Wimpfheimer as a guide on our trip.  David has been educating people about California birds, fish, and animals for over 25 years.  Captain Thomas and David gave the eager passengers two interesting viewpoints on everything we observed. 

We learned about the Farallones then started our search for whales

After cruising the islands, and absorbing a great deal of information about the seals, sea lions, sharks, and many species of birds that share the Farallones – we headed off to deep water in search of whales.

It was not long before we saw the backs of two whales rising from the water’s surface and rolling forward in the gentle sea just a few hundred feet off our starboard bow.  To our amazement, these huge denizens of the deep swam directly toward our boat.  It seemed as if they knew we would do them no harm, and wanted to recognize our presence.

Tracking the movement of whales around the world

Our small group of passengers included a Whale Field Researcher for the Oceanic Society.  Izzy Szczepaniak was on board to photograph whale flippers and tails.  He said he takes the pictures and matches them up with photos taken in different parts of the world to identify the movement of these largest of mammals.  

We were surprised to learn that every whale has distinct and identifiable flipper and tail markings.  Izzy explained that when it came to the match-up of the markings, “None of this work is computerized; all the matching is done by individuals.”  Talk about an interesting job with plenty of fresh air and sunshine.

 No shortage of whales

 We sighted many whales on our day-long outing, and some so close we could smell their exhaled breath – and the odor of a whale’s breath is not something you will soon forget. 

A great and satisfying day 

When it was finally time to work our way back the 27 miles between the Farallones and San Francisco, we had several hundred pictures and a host of new friends.   

If you have not been on a whale-watching cruise, we recommend this one highly.  

Click here for more information about the Oceanic Society’s Farallon Islands whale watching boat tour 

Happy travels. 

There are precautions you should take regarding clothing and open-ocean cruising, so be sure to read all the material provided by the Oceanic Society. 

 Photos © Wayne and Judy Bayliff