October 8th, 2009 
Tags: This trip, with Shearwater Journeys, was primarily focused on the possibility of one or two of the rarer seabirds that are infrequently encountered offshore, so the plan was to make good progress for several hours to get some distance between us and land, and more importantly, find the underwater canyon edges which well up nutrients from the deep and concentrate the wildlife. We would stop for important sightings but not screech to a halt (as much as you can in a fishing boat) to gawk at sea lions or for the first Sooty Shearwater of the day.
It was foggy, as usual, but we were heading out about 40 miles and the forecast was good – fog lifting, light winds and sunshine. There was, however, a significant swell from strong winds in the previous two days, so I was grateful for the sea sickness pills. The lack of stops and bouncy swell made photos practically impossible.
The only stop on an otherwise uneventful outward journey was a significant one for me. I’ve seen quite a few of the world’s whale species now, but one that has always eluded me was the BIG one – Blue Whale. A shout of “Blow!” went up, and I luckily got right onto the huge blow and then a suspiciously large portion of suspiciously blue back before Debi shouted “Blue Whale!”
We got a couple more distant visuals as two Blue Whales took deeper dives, but after 20 minuted they hadn’t resurface so we pressed on. Not the greatest views of these majestic creatures and no photos, but all the same… Blue Whales! 
We reached the desired location, cut the engine and created a slick of chum, popcorn and vegetable oil, which soon attracted birds. Black-footed Albatross arrived in numbers and dominated the scene, with Ashy Storm-Petrel, Pink-footed Shearwater, Fulmar, Pomarine, Parasitic and Long-tailed Jaegers and a squadron of gulls all picking morsels from the surface. We had particularly good views – relatively speaking for tiny birds that flit an inch above the waves – of Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels, and a nice look at a Tufted Puffin, but nothing too unusual.
We spent the next few hours trying different spots with pretty much the same result – lots of albatross, decent (but not overwhelming) numbers of other seabirds, including Cassin’s and Rhinoceros Auklets, Red-necked and Red Phalaropes and loads of jaegers, but we couldn’t even rustle up a skua, let alone a real rarity. Even though the weather was slightly better than predicted, the dramatic swell in the morning got to me slightly and I spent an hour sleeping with my head on the table in the tiny cabin. There were a few that donated their own chum to the slick, but thankfully I wasn’t one of them.
The journey back to land was equally bereft of major highlights, but had plenty of smaller ones, such as close views of an Ocean Sunfish and both Blue and Salmon Sharks. A leucistic Western Gull was interesting, masquerading as an Iceland Gull on steroids. As we were docking back at Bodega Bay, a Peregrine scudded overhead to signal the end of play.
All in all, while some of the hardened rarity hunters were no doubt left a little disappointed, for me it had been another fantastic day on the Pacific with some amazing wildlife. And Blue Whale as well? Result!
Link: 
