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All Aboard! A Whale Watching Field Guide Hello my name is Etai Timna, a volunteer at the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. I thought I would share a few tips for successfully spotting whales in the wild. The first step is to find a knowledgeable captain that can drive a boat and safely maneuver you through the ocean. (Taking a boat is the easier way; one could also wait a long time on shore hoping to spot a whale.) Once you are settled and onboard the excitement begins. Gray whales often follow the contour on the bottom of the ocean floor. Although the ocean seems flat and unchanging from the surface, the sea floor can have lots of twists and turns. There can even be naturally formed channels that curve for many miles on the bottom of the ocean. The whales are very keen at picking up these channels, and they will often use them as highways for their journey north. So, the first step is position the boat in this area where the whales are most likely to travel. Now that we have positioned the boat near the whale's preferred path, we must carefully look around to see some of the telltale signs of a whale's presence. The first sign that a whale is in the area is often a spout, or a burst of mist rising from a whale's blowhole. When a whale takes in a breath, it consumes large amounts of air. Some of the water in the air condenses (like water on the outside of a cold soda can) while it is inside the whale's lungs, so when the whale exhales as he or she reaches the surface, a large spray shoots out of the ocean. The spray can be quite high, and can be seen over a large distance. The spray from a Gray Whale is often shaped like a heart, so one can distinguish the spout from that of a different species of whale. The tough part here is that a whale usually comes to the surface every 3 to 5 minutes, but it can hold its breath up to 20 minutes. Because the whale can spend so much time under water, the person looking must constantly scan the horizon for the spout from the blowhole. There is no way to guarantee spotting a whale while looking for one in the wild. Traveling outdoors is not like turning on your television set. The whales can be very clever and sometimes alter their direction or surface behind you, but a little patience and some good luck, will assure you a great day of whale watching.