Blue Whale Swims Up to Boat off Dana Point
SoCalians have been cozying up with blue whales in recent months. A kayaker encountered a blue whale during an excursion off the coast of Redondo Beach and opted to take a swim with the ocean giant. On Friday, boat passengers off Dana Point enjoyed a visit from one of the mammals.
During a Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari on Friday afternoon, a blue whale swam right up to the boat and remained just a few feet from the vessel. "You can even see the eye," Capt. Dave Anderson said in an email, calling the encounter the closest he has ever had with a blue whale, reports KTLA. "We have had the best blue whale watching that I have ever seen in the last four days...it has been virtually impossible to NOT see a blue whale or fin whale in any direction," Anderson said.
Like the blue whale spotted in Redondo Beach, the mammal was probably lunge feeding. "Most of them are lunge feeding right at the surface...and we have had several of them approach the boat to everyone's delight," continued Anderson.
Friday's encounter was captured on video and shows the whale amazing passengers.
Additionally, a pod of the mammals, the largest in existence, entertained sightseers in September while swimming in the same waters off the Redondo Beach coast. The ocean giants have come within a mile of the mouth of King Harbor in Redondo Beach.
