Whale-Watchers Off To Oregon Coast

Tue., March 25, 1997

From Staff And Wire Reports

It’s a spring break tradition for many families: trekking to the coast to look for gray whales.

From the middle to the end of March, about 10,000 whales make their way north from the warm lagoons of Baja California, where they spent the better part of the winter, to Alaska. Up to 15 whales per hour are seen off Depoe Bay.

They are on the second leg of a journey that brought them past the coastal city in late December and early January on their way south to Mexico.

Whale watchers can observe through binoculars at various points along the coast, or they can see the whales up close by taking a charter-boat ride.

More than 200 trained volunteers are on duty from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to assist whale watchers at 29 coastal viewpoints, from Fort Stevens State Park west of Astoria to Harris Beach State Recreation Area at Brookings.

Last spring, volunteers helped 24,601 whale watchers and recorded 4,075 sightings, according to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

While migrating south, whales often are seen a half-mile to two miles offshore. Whales migrating to the north travel closer to shore - sometimes just outside the surf line.

The thought of catching a glimpse of the largest of all mammals excites Jim Hicks, a retired boat captain who has chartered boats off Depoe Bay for nearly 20 years.

“We’ve had two-hour special runs with numerous whales, and we just follow them north and take numerous shots of them,” Hicks said. “I still love seeing them.”

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