First Gray Whale Of Season Spout-ed In South Orange County

DANA POINT, CA — They don't call it the Whale Watching Capitol of the World for nothing! On Tuesday off the shores of Dana Point, whale watchers viewed the season’s first migrating gray whale! On Tuesday, diver Mike Couffer spotted the leviathan and alerted whale watching crews, Patch was told.

"The little guy was seen first off Newport pier by diver Mike Couffer, he whale was 30 feet and traveling south past Dana Point," Donna Kalez, spokesperson for Dana Point Whale Watching said. "Capt. Steve Burkhalter and Frank Brennan found this whale."

Gray whales are typically not seen until late November or early December, according to Capt. Dave Anderson of Capt. Dave's Whale Watching.

"The whale was reported to us by another whale watching vessel, Ocean Adventures," Anderson told us.

Capt. Dave’s catamaran Manute’a encountered the gray whale just south of Dana Point Harbor in about 150 feet of water.

"The gray whale was rather small," he told us. "It could be a juvenile on its first migration without mom."

Last season Capt. Dave's first gray whale was spotted on October 31st.

By the end of the typical season in May, nearly 850 gray whale encounters had been recorded, according to Capt. Dave’s sightings log.

Gray whales average between 40 to 50 feet in length and weigh 30 to 40 tons.

"Each fall they depart the cold waters of the Bering and Chukchi seas, near Alaska, where they spend the summer bottom feeding on small crustaceans called amphipods," he said.

The whales travel about 12,000 miles round trip to the warm and protected lagoons of Baja to mate and give birth to their calves. Calves are about 15 feet long when they’re born and will gain over 50 pounds a day feeding on mother’s milk.

The whales will spend several weeks in these warmer waters, with new mothers lingering the longest to give the calves time to increase their layer of blubber. In the spring gray whales will make their way back up the coast with new their calves, giving onlookers another opportunity to catch a glimpse of the majestic whales.

"Dana Point is one of the best places to view the gray whale migration," Anderson said.

The whales often travel within a mile or two of the coast, and are believed to use Dana Point’s headlands as a landmark on their route.

For more information on whale watching in South Orange County visit www.dolphinsafari.com.