Featured Blog: Will & Grays

     Good morning and greetings, Super PAC fans. Well, you’ve got to hand it to Diana Ross and the Supremes Court. Their 2010 ruling allowing these out of control groups to raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals and corporations and then spend it attacking the campaigns of political candidates has wreaked havoc in the presidential landscape.

     But then again, who doesn’t like watching a civil war break out in the Republican Party. I believe it was either a Confederate soldier or Newt Gingrich’s second wife who once said, “We’ll fight them, sir, ’til hell freezes over, and then, sir, we will fight them on the ice.”

     These Super PACs now have a venue where they can launch totally inaccurate, outrageous missile scuds against opposing candidates. I haven’t seen a series of such vicious attacks since a group of killer orcas went after a gray whale last spring in Monterey Bay. The poor whale was as defenseless as Mitt Romney trying to defend his flip flopping on the issues. And that leads us into today’s post, with an assist from the reporting of Jason Hoppin and Stephen Baxter of the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

     Last Monday, a 700 pound,13-foot baby gray whale was found beached just north of Moss Landing. It was obviously in distress, and despite the best efforts by marine experts who were called to the scene, it had to be euthanized by a veterinarian. The undersized and prematurely born whale was just one day old and had been seperated from its mother and somehow made it to shore. Much like it would have been in my case, without her, it never had a chance. The pictures of this youngster dying on the sand were just tragic.

     Reports out of Monterey say that the gray whale migration was at its peak last week, with whale watching boats seeing 20 to 30 go by each hour. What a phenomenal sight to observe as these gigantic creatures make their 12,000 mile migration from Alaska to Baja, California. Usually, the mothers wait till they get to the warmer water to give birth, but this group of California gray whales was traveling with youngsters and their nannies. Personally, I would prefer to give birth in a warm, sheltered lagoon, but that’s just me.

     In the fall, the humpback whales off the central coast made international headlines with their breaching so close to shore, and now the grays are putting on a show for the locals. The Calfornia grays, who grow to 40 to 50 feet in length, have been spotted mating near Lovers Point in Pacific Grove, which has local parent groups up in arms.

     All this Moby Dick talk reminded me of an incredible morning back in April of 2009, when a year-old gray whale washed up on the shore just north of the arch at Its Beach. Except for a modeling shoot that I witnessed back in the 80′s, this was the most interesting morning in my 26 years plus of pounding the West Cliff beat.

     As you can from the first photo, I was not alone in taking in this epic sight, as the local TV stations went live with their coverage. This 25-foot-long, 8,260 pound juvenile had been found dead next to the wharf and had been towed out to sea for burial. But for some reason, it floated back toward land to create this unique photo op.

     Since the whale refused to be buried at sea, they decided to haul it up the cliff, which created this surreal scene of a gigantic sea creature being pulled up through the iceplants and then loaded onto a flatbed truck. It was saddening to see this beautiful specimen of the sea being taken away for a final burial at the city landfill, but it did make for a whale of a story. 

     These moments just serve as a reminder of what an exotic place Monterey Bay is. There’s a reason they call it the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. As a landscape and nature photographer, I shoot images of what is on top of the water. But there is a whole other world, that for people like me, who are wetsuit challenged, do not get to observe except by going the the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which just raised their entrance fee to $32.95 for box seats.

     So even though I’m not seeing what’s below the bay, I’m taking in the most from what’s above. There’s a reason I choose to live along the edge of the continent. I believe it can be summed up a few simple words inscribed on a bench above Its Beach. “I live by the sea. Enough said.” Good night and drive home safely.

     To check out these photos, click on http://www.SunriseSantaCruz.com/blog