With the hurricane and other weather we were not sure about sailing this past weekend. But the weather was great and we had exceptional sailing on Saturday with Friday being good sailing unfortunately we didn't have time to sail on sunday. On Saturday there were very nice rollers coming in (from Wilma??) such that surfers were surfing on both sides of the east jetty with many boats anchored just outside the channel. Since the waves were regular and not breaking except close to shore we decided to go out and play a little. It was fun going over 10-15 foot waves. The Pearson 323 did great with no water coming aboard going out. I felt completely in control though I did have the key ready just in case we needed the engine. I followed the channel back in to make doubly sure that I didn't meet any breaking waves. It is part of my training to know how my boat will handle under differnet conditions. I'd hate to find out that she didn't handle well in waves some dark stormy night. The great part of the trip was my wife yelling that she saw something big and black jump and it definately wasn't a dolphin. A short time later less than 1/2 mile from the jetty my daughter-in-law and I saw three large mammals all black 15-20' long on the surface with their heads together. My wife scrambled to get the camera but before she could they dove. They appeared to be frightened by our boat and dove the moment they became aware of us. Searching around it seems most likely that they were false killer whales. Is this likely?? They were apparently at least 2-3 times larger than bottle nosed dolphins and all black. Two appeared larger than the third. The dorsal fin was small. Tom
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Could they have been Rizzo's Dolphins ?
They are size you describe, most often confused with Pilot Whales out here. Both have blunt heads as compared to the point of Orcas or beaks of most dolphin. Rizzo's start black and get a lot of white on them as they age (Pilot whales stay dark) and usually travel in small groups of 5 or 6. They seem to travel slower with less jumping then the other types. Have seen them where each member of the group takes a turn jumping out of the water to do a horizontal belly flop. Both are actually a large dolphin as opposed to a whale.
They are size you describe, most often confused with Pilot Whales out here. Both have blunt heads as compared to the point of Orcas or beaks of most dolphin. Rizzo's start black and get a lot of white on them as they age (Pilot whales stay dark) and usually travel in small groups of 5 or 6. They seem to travel slower with less jumping then the other types. Have seen them where each member of the group takes a turn jumping out of the water to do a horizontal belly flop. Both are actually a large dolphin as opposed to a whale.
Too Big
They were too large for Rizzo's dolphins. They were about 15-20' long. Also they appeared to be solid black. My wife got the best view (only view) of the one that jumped and when she saw one in my Audobon sp guide she said that that was what she saw. I don't think that they usually come in close to shore. Maybe the hurricane??? I think that the only reason that we saw them at all was because we were sailing so no engine noise. We saw them off to the starboard when we were on top of a wave. They dove appearing frightened when they noticed us. Tom
They were too large for Rizzo's dolphins. They were about 15-20' long. Also they appeared to be solid black. My wife got the best view (only view) of the one that jumped and when she saw one in my Audobon sp guide she said that that was what she saw. I don't think that they usually come in close to shore. Maybe the hurricane??? I think that the only reason that we saw them at all was because we were sailing so no engine noise. We saw them off to the starboard when we were on top of a wave. They dove appearing frightened when they noticed us. Tom
Orcas have white patches
What are False Killer Whales? I have never heard of them before. What is the real name? Were they doing spy hops? I doubt if they were scared of your engine noise. They may not like the noise though. Here in Puget Sound, we frequently will have dolls porpoises riding our bow waves, both under engine or sail. Dolls porpoises also have white patches. We have also had Orcas come real close to the boat while we had the engine on. But we usually shut the engine off so we could hear them make their sounds, and also hear them breathe.
What are False Killer Whales? I have never heard of them before. What is the real name? Were they doing spy hops? I doubt if they were scared of your engine noise. They may not like the noise though. Here in Puget Sound, we frequently will have dolls porpoises riding our bow waves, both under engine or sail. Dolls porpoises also have white patches. We have also had Orcas come real close to the boat while we had the engine on. But we usually shut the engine off so we could hear them make their sounds, and also hear them breathe.
sounds
I read someone's cruising log recently where they claimed (or someone else claimed) that if you whistle at dolphins/porpoises/etc they may interpret it as an alarm signal and swim away. I was actually wondering whether they react in any way to depth sounders. When you spot them, is your depth sounder working? Are they drawn to it? Do they avoid it? Neither?
I read someone's cruising log recently where they claimed (or someone else claimed) that if you whistle at dolphins/porpoises/etc they may interpret it as an alarm signal and swim away. I was actually wondering whether they react in any way to depth sounders. When you spot them, is your depth sounder working? Are they drawn to it? Do they avoid it? Neither?
Yep, Fred is right. It is the best part.
When we have the encounters with these animals, we were always underway, which means the depth sounder was on, along with all the other instruments. We never go to them, we always let them come to us, if they decide to come and investigate and take a few peeks at us.
When we have the encounters with these animals, we were always underway, which means the depth sounder was on, along with all the other instruments. We never go to them, we always let them come to us, if they decide to come and investigate and take a few peeks at us.
When we sailed in Pensacola
My wife would pound on the hull and it seemed to attract them. Few times I thought she would punch a hole in the hull. They would swim right under us and she would squeal..... Jim S/V Java
My wife would pound on the hull and it seemed to attract them. Few times I thought she would punch a hole in the hull. They would swim right under us and she would squeal..... Jim S/V Java
killer whales rare in Gulf of Mexico
Killer whales are in the gulf but supposedly very uncommon. Some were seen off Texas not too long ago. But these were not killer whales. False killer whales are a type of dolphin, do a google search for more information. The engine was off but the depth sounder was on. I suspect that there was a lot of noise underwater with the jet ski's and power boats near the jetties and the large waves. The animals appeared to be solid black. We are guessing false killer whales by them being solid black, 15-20' long and with relatively small dorsal fins. They appeared relatively long and slender. It's the first time that I've seen any mammals other than the ubiquitous dolphin. It's very common to see bottle nosed dolphins in Saint Andrews Bay and spotted dolphins a few miles off shore. The spotted dolphins don't seem to like the bay but the bottle nosed go up into the shallow bays and rivers around Panama city. It would be cool to know how they interact with alligators as they often share the same waters!!! Tom
Killer whales are in the gulf but supposedly very uncommon. Some were seen off Texas not too long ago. But these were not killer whales. False killer whales are a type of dolphin, do a google search for more information. The engine was off but the depth sounder was on. I suspect that there was a lot of noise underwater with the jet ski's and power boats near the jetties and the large waves. The animals appeared to be solid black. We are guessing false killer whales by them being solid black, 15-20' long and with relatively small dorsal fins. They appeared relatively long and slender. It's the first time that I've seen any mammals other than the ubiquitous dolphin. It's very common to see bottle nosed dolphins in Saint Andrews Bay and spotted dolphins a few miles off shore. The spotted dolphins don't seem to like the bay but the bottle nosed go up into the shallow bays and rivers around Panama city. It would be cool to know how they interact with alligators as they often share the same waters!!! Tom
I'll whistle at 'em like dogs to try to draw them
closer sometimes. They are very curious and will investigate anything in the "hood", the faster you are sailing the more they hang around and play with the boat. The commons really seem to like a game of chicken where they cross the bow very close in groups of 2 or 3. I've had them come up next to the boat while sailing on a dark night, nearly swallowed my tongue.
closer sometimes. They are very curious and will investigate anything in the "hood", the faster you are sailing the more they hang around and play with the boat. The commons really seem to like a game of chicken where they cross the bow very close in groups of 2 or 3. I've had them come up next to the boat while sailing on a dark night, nearly swallowed my tongue.
Looked up false killer whales, they are a
large black dolphin that looks much like a pilot whale or Risso's, Go figure, I've attached a link but their photos aren't extensive.
large black dolphin that looks much like a pilot whale or Risso's, Go figure, I've attached a link but their photos aren't extensive.
Orcas in the Gulf of Mexico
Tom-- Just to clarify about the presence of orcas in the Gulf of Mexico, the Texas A&M University's Marine Science Institute says there are about 75 orcas in the Gulf. At least one of the bulls is around 35 feet in length (videotaped from a 50 foot fishing boat). And, this is about the time they come closer to shore because of slightly cooler waters. However, I don't think even now they would be seen closer than 10 miles offshore (tuna is their primary foodsource in the Gulf). I also believe that "False killer whales" or psuedorca crassidens, have tall dorsal fins, not the short ones you describe. They are also known to be quite interested in boats rather than timid. There are actually a large variety of marine mammals in the Gulf. I would point out this study which may be of interest: http://www.mms.gov/itd/abstracts/94-0003a.html Good luck !
Tom-- Just to clarify about the presence of orcas in the Gulf of Mexico, the Texas A&M University's Marine Science Institute says there are about 75 orcas in the Gulf. At least one of the bulls is around 35 feet in length (videotaped from a 50 foot fishing boat). And, this is about the time they come closer to shore because of slightly cooler waters. However, I don't think even now they would be seen closer than 10 miles offshore (tuna is their primary foodsource in the Gulf). I also believe that "False killer whales" or psuedorca crassidens, have tall dorsal fins, not the short ones you describe. They are also known to be quite interested in boats rather than timid. There are actually a large variety of marine mammals in the Gulf. I would point out this study which may be of interest: http://www.mms.gov/itd/abstracts/94-0003a.html Good luck !
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