Whales Do Not Read Books

Farallon was named by Bon Appetit as one of the top new restaurants in the United States. It is a seafood restaurant co-founded by Chef Mark Franz who previously opened the famous Stars restaurant in San Francisco. Mark describes its cuisine as ‘coastal cuisine?and it has a seasonal menu that changes to take advantage of what is fresh and available. Somewhat like a marine version of the Chez Panisse restaurant. Unfortunately, I was not going there but to the real thing, the Farallon Islands; a group of windswept and desolate islands located about 50 km south west of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. The islands are uninhabited except for some researchers and have been designated as a marine sanctuary since 1981. The islands are also along the migratory route of many species, including the great white shark. However, I was there to watch the eschrichtius robustus or grey whale in its annual migration from the freezing waters of the Artic Ocean, off Alaska, to the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean near Baja, Mexico.

How did I end up going whale watching?

Well, while I was at the UC Berkeley School of Law, I was actually staying in San Francisco and commuting from there to Berkeley (see ‘Eating Scholar at Berkeley?in the August 2003 issue of The Singapore Law Gazette). This was because my family was going along for part of the time and there were more things to do and also more restaurants in San Francisco. Although food was a big attraction of San Francisco, I also wanted to stay there for other reasons. The city was, in the words of the Travellers?Tales San Francisco Guide, ‘America’s spiritual home ?a place for the rascal, the entrepreneur, the madman and the monk, in all of us? The guide’s editor, James O’Reilly, says he is sure that San Francisco supports more silly activities per square mile than any place in the world save Berkeley (and I was going to Berkeley on a daily basis anyway). So it was just the place for me ?someone who has felt closer to God while observing marine life during a scuba dive than attending a religious service. In fact, I had attended a French mass, gone to a church service which had a jazz band, done yoga in a studio heated to 110 degrees Fahrenheit and practised zazen (ie zen meditation) in San Francisco.

While reading The San Francisco Bay Guardian, I learnt about the annual migration of grey whales and Whale Watch, a programme of the non-profit Oceanic Society. It seems that starting from September each year, grey whales swim about 10,000 km from their Arctic feeding grounds in the north to their mating and breeding grounds in the south. This is said to be one of the longest migrations of any mammal. The whales then stay there till February before making the return trip. It has also been said that the majority of an estimated global population of about 26,000 grey whales makes this extraordinary migration, a round trip that exceeds 20,000 km. This is a big deal even for a mammal that can grow up to 50 feet long and weigh up to 36 tons in adulthood. The grey whale may travel alone or in pods of up to 12 and take six to eight weeks for the migration south. I also learnt that the Oceanic Society has had Whale Watch expeditions to see this annual event since 1974 and there are trips on most weekends from early January to early May.

I was intrigued and signed up for the first Whale Watch expedition of 2003 departing from San Francisco. There are, however, a few important things to know about whale watching trips.

Firstly, the trips may not take place on the scheduled day at all. In the written confirmation that I got after booking the trip, there was a clause that stated: ‘Trips may be cancelled by Oceanic Society Expeditions due to under-subscription, hazardous weather conditions or other acts of God. It is imperative to call (415) 441-1107 the morning of departure to determine the status of your trip. Cancellations are based on sea conditions, not land conditions. The recording will be on by 7.30am. Trip status will not be available earlier as sea conditions may change overnight. The captain will make his decision the morning of the departure.?br>

Secondly, even if they take place, there is no guarantee that you will actually see a grey whale. In fact, it was highlighted in the Whale Watch brochure that ‘Naturally, whale sightings cannot be guaranteed.?br>

Thirdly, there is no food available on board and you have to bring your own food. In the same written confirmation, it was also highlighted that: ‘Our vessel does not have food available. Bring your own food & beverages. The boat cannot accommodate coolers or picnic baskets.?What a pity.

Nonetheless, I paid the US$52 fee and turned up at the departure point outside the San Francisco Yacht Harbour at 9am on Saturday, 4 January 2003. There was a crowd of close to 50 people when Juan-Carlos Solis, the naturalist leading the trip that day, arrived. Juan-Carlos has a degree in oceanography from the University of Mexico and has worked as a naturalist for the Oceanic Society since 1997. Although he sounded like George Burns (albeit with a slight Mexican accent) his knowledge and experience was apparent throughout the trip. Juan-Carlos dutifully informed us that his main aim was not to make sure that we saw any grey whale but to ensure that most of us returned that day. How thoughtful.

According to the Oceanic Society, we were to make the trip on a ?6?Coast Guard certificated, fully insured motor vessel with open observation deck and indoor saloon?named Superfish. It was not much longer than a fully-grown grey whale but the name sounded reassuring and just like something that would move faster than a speeding great white shark. This was especially important because one website had said that the Farallon Islands is also ‘home to a large elephant seal population ?making this area the local burger shop?for great white sharks in the neighbourhood. However, on that day, we did not get Superfish because she was unavailable. Not a very good start. Luckily though, prior to signing up, I had confirmed that while there were great white sharks around, they are usually only found in the October to November period. I had no intention of ending up as shark food. I also took comfort from the fact that I belong to a profession that sharks had been known to extend professional courtesy to. Just kidding. The real sharks were actually at Fisherman’s Wharf selling overpriced souvenirs to tourists not silly enough to go whale watching.

We went under the Golden Gate Bridge after leaving the harbour and sailed towards the Farallon Islands with the sun shinning brightly and icy cold winds blowing. Although the weather was fine, the sea was very rough and the choppy waves caused many of the passengers, including me, to become seasick. In between throwing up portions of my breakfast, dinner and other assorted meals, I struggled to listen to Juan-Carlos.

He told us that the secret to spotting the grey whale is to know its breathing (or spouting) habit since it is a mammal that must come to the water’s surface for air. Apparently, the books say that grey whales take a few breaths (or spout) at approximately 12 to 20 second intervals and their spout is a noisy stream that rises up to 13 feet above the water. After spouting, they would dive for three to seven minutes before repeating the cycle. Thus, the trick was to catch them every three to seven minutes. But as Juan-Carlos rightly pointed out, grey whales do not read the books and so we should not be upset if they do not stick to the given timing.

After reaching the vicinity of the migration route of the grey whale, we sailed around trying to spot them. For quite a long time, we could not find any.

‘Hey, there’s one over there!?someone finally shouted, pointing somewhere to the starboard (ie right) and everyone started to crowd around him asking ‘Where??‘Where is it??br>

‘There, over there!?‘Where??‘There!?would subsequently be heard until someone else spotted another whale and began a brand new cycle. The problem for me was that the seawater looked grey and if I was lucky, I would see a fountain of seawater here and there once in a while. However, I never got to see any whale sky-hop (ie poke its head out of the water) or breach (ie jump partially out of the water and fall back with a splash).

After an hour or two of this, we had to sail back to San Francisco so that we could arrive in time for dinner. Thus ended my whale watching trip.

Was the trip worthwhile? Yes, it was. I learnt many important things about grey whales. Firstly, I learnt that they do not read books. Secondly, I found out that they are not parties to international maritime conventions and therefore move in whatever way they like. Most important of all, I learnt that there are only two things that would make grey whales swim more than 20,000 km each year ?food and sex.

Richard Tan Ming Kirk
Shook Lin & Bok