Oceanic Society: Whale Watching
By Candida Eittreim onWe love our whales who swim, feed, breed and play off our coastal shores. We had always wanted to get closer to these magnificent creatures, but never had much time during peak season to go. Finally about 10 years ago, while visiting San Francisco, we found Oceanic and booked an 8 hour whale watching tour. Though it was expensive at $87.00 per person, we like the Oceanic Society's code of ethics regarding how we humans deal with our environment.
We received a packet of information which included suggestions about what and what not to bring on the boat. It also gave us their behaviour guidelines while out on the ocean. No sudden loud noises or yelling, no dropping things over the sides of the boat, and no feeding of the whales or other sea life.
The tour sets out from St Francis Yacht Harbor and heads out towards the Farallone Islands, another rich source of marine life. As the boat moves out beyond the Farallones, you begin to see a wide variety of sea life. From puffins and egrets to the whales themselves. Particularly the awesome looking humpback with its eerie calls. The people on board were all silent as we watched these majestic mammals breach time and time again. You truly cannot get a sense of their mammoth bodies until you see them in the wild. It is a humbling experience.
It gets very cold out on the Bay, so they recommend bringing heavy jackets, close fitting caps, gloves and shoes. The swells can get rough and choppy, so those who are prone to seasickness should take dramamine before casting off. Though the boats have interior salons for seating inside, if you are seasick, you do MUCH better being above decks in the freshening air.
This is a full 8 hour whale watching tour, giving you plenty of time to see as much of these creatures as is possible. They run May through November. If you want to enjoy a truly ethical and absolutely absorbing trip to see these wonderful sea mammals, give the Oceanic Society a try.
We live on the water and go up to alaska yearly so we are able to catch a lot of sightings. they really are amazing!
well worth the price by the sounds of it. Nice read.
What a wonderful description. I would love to go on a trip like this; I am fascinated by whales, especially the humpbacks (which are making a wonderful comeback, btw). I do have a tendency to get seasick, and you're right, staying out in the fresh air is much better than being inside. If I ever get to San Francisco again... There are times I miss living in the Reno area; San Francisco was so close! Thanks for sharing this experience with us!
Sounds so wonderful. It is a trip well woth going on if you do not suffer from sea sickness such as me. I miss going out on these type of trips.
This is on my dream list of things I want to take my son to do-it sounds like you had a breathtaking experience!
Now this is something I want to try. It sounds fun.
Now that's my kind of boat tour. Did they offer a dining area on the ship as well?
A very good and very interesting read, I enjoyed being a sea lover myself, though on much quieter waters like the sea of Galilee, the Red sea and the Mediterranean. I would surely like to have a go in much stormy waters and see those extraordinary mammals..
I bet this is just spectacular, I would love to take this tour. Thanks for the heads up on bringing jackets...would you believe we were in San Fran over Labor Day weekend a couple years ago and hubby didn't bring a jacket??? Burrr.