In Search of Grey Whales

Piltun Bay, Sakhalin Island

It was the discovery of oil and gas in this region which put
Sakhalin Island on many people’s maps. The first commercial
wells were built in Piltun Bay and they were not without
controversy and protest. Biologists had been long aware of a
western population of Gray Whales that were (are)
thought to migrate not to California (as most Gray Whales
do) but possibly to somewhere in the South China Sea. A female
whale that was tagged recently did end up in California, so
no-one really knows!

Did we see any though, us kayakers? Yay, yes we did. So exciting!
We saw them blowing and I think that there must have been at
least two, as the blowing was very frequent. We also saw harbour
seals, a stellar sea lion with very stinky breath and many Aleutian
terns – beautiful little birds. Unfortunately the sea conditions were
poor; very foggy and rough, with a 2m swell running, so this image
of the double kayak being launched off the ship onto the zodiac, is
all I managed to capture. The kayak was lowered onto the seaside
of the zodiac, where we had to climb in, pdq!! I had both my hands
firmly on the paddle for the whole 3 hours; a long paddle, with no breaks.