THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 12, 1997 TAG: 9701140445
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 77 lines
Notes from a whale watcher's water-splashed notebook:
It's cold out here. And windy.
Put the two together - 37 degrees and 25 mph winds - and it's a wonder anybody came.
Maybe it's because this is the Virginia Marine Science Museum's first trip of the year. About 70 people have braved the icy winds.
There's still ice on the upper deck of the Bobbi Lee, a fishing boat that makes the winter trips. It's rocking. It's rolling.
There's a big troop of Boy Scouts in the cabin, devouring candy bars and popcorn. They're either eating or holding their heads in an ecstasy of misery. Some look dead.
``My stomach went all the way down to my knees,'' says popcorn-munching Justin Corbin of Hampton.
For some, it's a great time. ``It's fun!'' says 4-year-old Erin Albuquerque of Yorktown from behind a white wool scarf. She's on a roller coaster ride as the bow rises and falls on white-cap waves. ``Hippity hoppity!'' she says.
If they miss seeing the real thing, says Carl, her dad, they'll go to the museum to see the new whale movie.
Just off the resort strip, a buddy of Skip Feller, the skipper of the Bobbi Lee, calls on the radio: ``There's a whale out here. See him blowing? About 300 yards off my starboard bow.''
Carolann Curran, today's guide, gets on the PA system and tells everyone to be on the lookout for a small cloud of vapor rising from the water, the tell-tale sign of a whale exhaling. And watch for birds feeding on schooling fishes.
The visitors rush to the rails and watch. And watch.
So far, the best sight is the aerial performance of gannets, large white fishing birds with black wingtips, that fold their great wings and dive-bomb the ocean.
In recent years, the waters off Virginia Beach have become a favorite destination for juvenile humpback whales that are more interested in feeding on anchovies and menhaden flowing out of the Chesapeake than in going all the way to the West Indies with older, sexually active pod mates.
They break away from the pack and congregate near Cape Henry, where they ingest about a ton and a half of fish daily, Curran says.
But there's not a blow or a fluke to be seen.
``I was out there five seconds and I came back soaked,'' says Rachel Wood, 11, of Hampton.
``The part that's really neat is the wind blows your hair, but it's really cold,'' adds her friend, Amy Hand, 12, who rode the boat's bucking bowsprit.
Some huddle in blankets. Some hug companions to stay warm.
Deanna Flanagan, 27, of Great Bridge, is celebrating her birthday by huddling with her husband, Mark, out of the wind near the stern. ``I've lived here all my life and haven't done anything like this,'' she says.
Adds Mark, ``We figured there wouldn't be too many people, because no one would be as stupid as we were.''
It's a two-hour trip for $12, and of course there's no guarantee of seeing whales. Most folks seem to have fun, but they're returning without bragging rights.
``I knew we were going to see whales,'' says Katie Dillon of Virginia Beach. ``I was going to tweak my little boys who wouldn't come. Now all I can say is we got cold.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
IAN MARTIN/The Virginian-Pilot
Would-be whale-watchers on the Virginia Marine Science Museum's
first trip of the season didn't have much luck Saturday. Instead,
their reward for braving icy winds and a rough ride was excitement -
and the aerobatic performances of fishing birds. [This photo ran on
page B1]
Photo
IAN MARTIN/The Virginian-Pilot
Rich Schmitt, 9, of Sterling, right, and his dad, Richard, keep a
sharp eye out for whales off the Virginia Beach coastline on
Saturday. Despite the vigilance of passengers on the Virginia Marine
Science Museum's whale-watching trip, no whales were sighted.
KEYWORDS: WHALE-WATCHING