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<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial
size=2>7/13/08</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>The 13th was not a
lucky number for the 5 of us that set out behemoth hunting this morning. Duane
had called for an 8:30 launch from Dana Point and while I got there first, I was
soon joined by Kathy and Henry Pilcher and Dennis Hyndman. Parking was scarce
until the spaces parted to allow for Duane's last minute arrival! Soon we
all had our cars ensconced near our launch site and were ready to hit
the water.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>Paddling out the
harbor, it seemed prime WH conditions. We head out under a sunny sky
and by the time we closed on the end of the jetty, everyone was sweating in the
heat!! We were all glad when after rounding the jetty, we found a nice
ocean breeze to greet us. Conditions were a bit choppy though, so spotting the
Blues wasn't going to be as easy as we hoped.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>We lost little time
heading out to our usual hunting grounds. Plentiful whitecaps and an occasional
breaking wave had us thinking whales were all around us. We took a couple small
breaks and were just hanging out waiting for some excitement, when we were
encouraged to see the Dolphin Safari tour heading right towards our location.
They'd been having good luck spotting a couple Blues lately, so we figured they
had the scoop. T</FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial
size=2>he DS boat headed off a bit west of us and seemed to stop to wait. We
decided to nonchalantly try to weasel our way closer to their position. We
headed off parallel to where they stopped and put a bit more distance between us
and the coast. But they never seemed to find anything and soon headed out past
our desired range for the day.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>We decided to hang
out for half an hour and hope for the best. The breeze and the sun behind some
misty clouds made conditions pleasant despite the choppy water. We all kind of
drifted apart as we waited and kept that arrangement as we started paddling back
to shore. Kathy and I were bad, as we started heading out straight for the jetty
entrance, where the rest of the group looked like they were headed right
into shore. We had a large chunk of ocean separating us, but I was hoping we'd
corral the Blues right in between us. No such luck.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>We battled the
chunky sea the way home. Off by ourselves, Kathy and I were startled by a couple
dolphins that looped right in front of our bows. Then another pair came up to
our side. We soon had dolphins popping up all around us heading in every
direction! It was impossible to know how many, but being as they seemed to
be all around us, I'd say there were at least ten. They followed us longer then
either of us would have thought and then seemed to head towards the other group,
so we hoped they'd get a show as well, but it wasn't the
case.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>The boat traffic and
chop got worse as usual the closer we got to the mouth of the harbor. Our bows
were plowing through the surf, which I was glad for, because one of the dolphins
had got so close, it came up to do its 'morning business' on my
foredeck and I was glad for the chance to wash it off!! I'm surprised it didn't
bring a newspaper!</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>Back in the harbor,
we fought the strong wind down the channel with the smell of the barbeques
wafting by. We saw no whales, but perhaps clocked a bit more time in our whale
hunting karma to give us hope for the next hunt. It seems most of the Blues have
decided to skip our neck of the woods this year and it's always a big ocean out
there. Still it was a beautiful day on the water with nice folk and the best
dolphin show I've ever seen.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>Mark
Sanders</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="http://www.sandmarks.net">www.sandmarks.net</A></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=328242523-13072008><FONT face=Arial
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