Beachcomber & Times Press

By Mark Sampson

Belly to belly the two humpback whales surfaced in unison just a few feet apart. Their huge mouths were still agape as the leviathans emerged from the depths. Like spray off the bow of a boat, sheets of water were pushed to either side as their massive heads fell forward. With much of their backs now visible above the choppy sea, the whales laid motionless for a few seconds, and then, with a great "whoosh", their blowholes open up, and jets of misty breath shot twenty feet into the air.

After only one or two breaths the magnificent animals moved forward and dove, reappearing a few minutes later a hundred or so yards away. Again the giant jaws closed, trapping and straining water from food through mouths full of huge fibrous baleen. Two more spouts and the giants pushed on. This time they didn’t dive but moved silently away ten feet below the surface, heading south, perhaps looking for another school of "something" to swallow up.

I saw all this, not on the "Discovery Channel" or from some New England whale watching ship, but from the deck of my own boat just last week. With a good set of binoculars folks on the beach could have seen this too as it all happened just two miles offshore of Ocean City.

Some folks might think that whales are only infrequent visitors to the waters off Delmarva. But offshore fishermen know very well that, while not an every day occurrence, whale sightings are certainly nothing out of the ordinary.

Pilot whales are often sighted fifty miles or more offshore. These are the small "toothed" whales seen in "Sea World type" aquariums. They’re mostly black and have a large curved dorsal fin in the middle of their back. Angles might enjoy watching them, but commercial long-line fishermen aren’t too crazy about pilot whales eating tuna right off their hooks!

Finback whales are some of the largest we typically see offshore. These monsters can be found almost any month of the year but seem most abundant in the winter and spring. They might be encountered within five miles of our coast or way out beyond the distant canyons.

Humpback whales are seldom seen in any large concentrations off Ocean City, but in the late summer and throughout the fall you can bet that a few of these wonderful animals will slip in and put on a show for anyone lucky enough to see them. These are the whales so famous for their "singing" and spectacular breaches (jumps).

Humpbacks aren’t shy about coming close to shore either. On two different occasions I’ve seen them rolling around, spouting, and feeding just beyond the breakers a few hundred yards from the beach. Talk about an exciting day at the beach!

Why travel all over creation to see a real live whale? The next time you’re hanging out on the beach or drifting for trout few miles offshore just keep your eyes on the horizon, and don’t be surprised if you see a distant spout. The fall season is here, and it’s a great time to catch a glimpse of one of natures most impressive creatures, right here in your own back yard!