Circle of life?

[oldgrom22]

I woke up pumped today for a sunset session out at Sano/trestles so pretty much watched the cam all day in between handling errands etc. Trestles is rarely empty but there were only like 5 guys out. Then I notice maybe 30 - 40 yards from the surfers a weird looking ship slowly bobbing towards shore, I think that's weird and then the wife comes up asking about something, so I go handle my duties. Make my way down south for the sesh, exit and see the ship again, it's on shore this time, but it's not a ship its a 40 ft dead whale on the shore of Lowers

Read an article and it appears the whale died of natural causes, no apparent marks from propellers, nets or anything else, per the whale watching boat captain that noticed the whale first and he said there's another one that's supposed to wash up on San clem state in the next few days. Circle of life?

What do you guys think they'll do with the carcass and how do you think it'll affect the breaks around there? Thinking I'm going to have to stick to North OC for a little while.

Need to learn how to post pics, didn't really get a good shot either way

[oldmansurfer]

I volunteer for a stranded whale network here and have attended many dead whales washed up. First off even though there are no signs of unnatural causes there may be. I saw a sperm whale that washed up and had a stomach full of netting but most die from natural causes. What they do depends on the resources in the area and political stuff. If they had a big crane or two they might be able to go out there and lift it and place it on a large truck and truck it away or maybe pieces of it. They could try to tow it out to sea. They could try to drag it up on the beach and bury it there in the sand. They could just let it go. It will be gone in a couple months.

[dtc]

My second thought is 'sharks'

[oldmansurfer]

Sharks will help to get remove it slowly so will crabs and seagulls and other critters

[oldmansurfer]

At some point the carcass becomes very difficult to handle because it starts falling apart. You put ropes on it to pull it and you just rip off blubber and parts. If you try to lift it it falls apart. If they haven't done anything by then it's likely there is nothing more to do but wait. Here is what happens with dynamite

[oldgrom22]

I'm hoping they do find a way to move it out somehow, a bit sketchy if it's left close to shore decaying. Would think that'd be like a signal for all the predators in the area to come up to shore for a free meal. Will let you guys know once I hear anything regarding what they plan on doing next.

[oldmansurfer]

Where I live they have a network of individuals who respond to such beachings. The management makes the call as what to do based on resources available. It's probably not going to be towed out to sea since that would be the most difficult dangerous and expensive route based on what I saw in pictures posted about this dead whale. They need a powerful boat like a tugboat and heavy duty netting and a land based heavy duty bulldozer to get it on the net. If there isn't a resort or financially important business around there they may not do anything since it's only surfers who are worried about it.

[oldmansurfer]

Reading a bit more about it, sounds like they have no clue. Mentioned is lifeguards will remove it when there is a federal law that prohibits anyone from messing with a whale dead or alive unless they have permission from NOAA. Lifeguards were supposed to tow it out with boats? Where are they going to get enough horsepower to do that pull a 50,000 pound chunk of melting flesh? From looking at it the skin is peeling off so it's probably going to fall apart once someone tries to mess with it.

[jaffa1949]

Boom biddy boom boom bang
Phooey oh dang!

The All American whale removing technique

[oldmansurfer]

I hear the plan is to chop it up and haul it away. . The workers will need respirators or something to do the job.

[BaNZ]

Too much Fukushima pollution.

[oldmansurfer]

I guess they chopped it up and hauled it away without respirators....OMG....that is amazing they just used Vicks Vaporub up their noses. Man I have cut into some dead whales and even with standing up wind it can be pretty horrid. Oh well the only thing left is the smell...well and maybe some small parts here and there. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-dead-whale-hauled-away-20160428-snap-story.html

[oldmansurfer]

Those who lack knowledge of whales often think dead whale means pollution or some other unnatural cause for their death but whales live in the ocean . When they get sick or die they sometimes end up on beaches. Maybe it is too horrible to think that whales get sick or die naturally and normally but they do and drift with currents wherever that takes them. The only whales that get buried are ones that come up on land. The rest of the carcasses float around and if they don't end up on a beach they get eaten or rot till they sink to the bottom of the ocean where they set up a unique environment of deep sea organisms that eventually devour them over the course of a few years.

[oldgrom22]

Thanks for the update Oldman. Some of the alternatives they were discussing seemed pretty out there, so glad it got handled that way.

How long do you think would be a good waiting period before venturing down that area again for a surf?

[oldmansurfer]

I have no clue. If it were me I would wait about a week but I guess it depends on how much I wanted to surf there. If I wanted to bad enough I might just surf there with the whale still there...as long as it's not offshore winds.

[oldgrom22]

my usual crew is freaking out, so I think it's going to be a while before they're down to roll over there for a session. A bit sketchy to roll solo, so I think I'll err on the side of caution and give it a couple weeks before I give it a go.

[jaffa1949]

Hope that one day you find a good piece of sperm whale vomit! Worth lots of money