Gato Loco – Whale watching in Puerto Penasco
4 miles off Sandy Beach resorts and Puerto Penasco – January 17th 2004
A pod of finback whales have been feeding off Penasco over the past week. When we arrived in Cholla for the MLK weekend Brian & Heather of PuraVida gave us a full report. This prompted us to make plans first thing Sat. Sat was a perfect day (low 70’s and sunshine). PuraVida escorted us to the area about 4 miles SE of Penasco. As we approached I was the first to see a breach. Once in the feeding area we spotted 6-8 whales that seem to be making passes though the area. There was a pair that we caught on photos the most. We quietly sailed through the area repeatedly timing our approach to the whale movement. We would estimate them to be in the 80’ range and quite frisky as they swam by. They showed no interest in us but didn’t seem to mind our presence. What a great experience for everybody on board Gato Loco. Enjoy this small sample of pictures. Lowell
Whale watchers – Bill, Lowell, Summer, Scott, Frankie & Neely Neely gets in the whale watching action
Huge and coming toward Gato Loco!
PuraVida showing us the way
Blow hole on the surface
Here some infor from the internet
The fin whale is one of the rorquals, a family that includes the humpback whale, blue whale, Bryde’s whale, sei whale, and minke whale. The fin, or finback whale is second only to the blue whale in size and weight. Among the fastest of the great whales, it is capable of bursts of speed of up to 23 mph (37 km/hr) leading to its description as the "greyhound of the sea." Its most unusual characteristic is the asymmetrical coloring of the lower jaw, which is white or creamy yellow on the right side and mottled black on the left side. Adult males measure up to 78 feet (24 m) in the northern hemisphere, and 88 feet (26.8 m) in the southern hemisphere. Females are slightly larger than males. Weight for both sexes is between 50-70 tons. They can consume up to 2 tons (1,814 kg) of food a day.