April 14, 2017 — Whale breath smells like fermented Brussels sprouts.
When you’re on the sea and pick up a whiff of that unmistakable aroma, even if only for a moment, it can feel like a 110-volt jolt.
It can mean only one thing: They’re close … real close.
For a few seconds one spring day out of Pillar Point Harbor near Half Moon Bay, that smell filled the air around us. We were in a Zodiac inflatable in 60 feet of water off Moss Beach. My fishing partner, Jim McDaniel, turned to me and said, “Do you smell that?”
Before I could answer, a gray whale emerged 30 feet from us, its back jutting through the surface, and then let loose from its blow hole. With a loud whoosh, a misty stream of water rocketed into the air.
The shock of the whale so close — it felt as if he could have capsized us — probably cleared all the cholesterol out of our bloodstreams.
Right on schedule, the whales are back, same time, same place.