3/10/2012 - I Otter Be Diving

The swell models predicted 1-2 foot swells this weekend. Once again, they were way off. We had four footers with a short interval pounding us all the way to Marineland. Everywhere we looked we found muddy water. By the time we reached Marineland I had enough "fun" and decided to go home. Along the way we found things to make our day less miserable.
At Pt. Vicente we found five Pacific White Sided dolphins, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens. I hadn't seen any in many years. We remained with them for a few minutes, then continued toward Redondo Beach. About a mile off Vet's we spotted a sea otter. Two have been spotted at Pt. Vicente recently, but this was the first time I had seen an otter south of Morro Bay. We harassed it with Merry's camera for several minutes before heading in to wash the boat. At least we didn't have to fill our tanks and wash gear today.

Bonaparte's Gull, Larus philadelphia

Pacific White Sided dolphins, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens