As someone who has spent quite a bit of time out among whales I strongly recommend you fire up and idle your motor at first sighting. The sound appears to give them a very accurate location of your boat.
One year we had a mother and calf use as a shield from a big whale watch tour boat out of Monterey one afternoon. We held course and they appeared to speed up from a 100 yards back, cross our transom in a big zigzag, and then paced us 20 feet away directly abeam for 15 - 20 minutes while the tour boat skipper went on the PA and informed us we was in violation of the marine manual protection act. I just pointed to the auto helm and shrugged. If you're sailing totally silent you can be a hazard to the whales. Some friends with a Catalina 36 were stuck off Mexico when a whale came up under them. They felt the stern lift a bit and then 30 seconds later the auto helm sounded. The rudder was split at the top and driven up the shaft locking it in place around the V shaped stub molded into the hull above the rudder. Phil Agur <http://www.catalina27.org/public_pages/profile270.htm> s/v Wing Tip C270 LE #184 MMSI 366901790 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Edgar Casas Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 4:48 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [IC27A] Wow... Did you all see this? I don't think a Catalina 27 would cope well with a 40 ton whale landing on it. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7901247/Forty-ton-wh ale-lands-on-yacht-during-Cape-Town-sailing-trip.html Edgar Casas Washington DC
