Humpback whales put on a show off Pismo Beach. See the photos

The humpback whales are back in Pismo Beach and other San Luis Obispo County waters, and people are heading to piers, bluffs and their kayaks to get a good look.

Cal Fire paramedic/firefighter Todd Gailey of San Luis Obispo got much more than he expected when he went out to see the whales on Friday.

The Morro Bay High School grad, who has decades of whale-watching experience, had heard the humpbacks were gathering in the Pismo Beach nearshore area, so he headed there for a short, one-man kayak tour.

He had no idea the enchantment would last for eight hours, he said in an email to The Tribune.

“It was simply such a magical day,” he said.

Where are the best whale watching spots in SLO County? Here are some options

Gailey knows humans must stay at least 100 yards from the giant, protected marine mammals, and he tries to do that.

“However, the whales don’t know this, and they frequently approach me, sometimes even bumping into my kayak when I am sitting perfectly still” or paddling the other way, he said. “None got closer than 4 feet on this day!”

Kathi George, the Marine Mammal Center ’s director of cetacean conservation biology in Sausalito, said Monday that proper whale-watching etiquette is “stay out of the whales’ travel path, don’t cut in front of them and stay parallel to or behind them. Slow down if you can. Don’t chase them, use your eyes (or long lens) from a distance and keep your drones up high” if you’re using that technology, which is forbidden over some ocean and landward areas of this county.

That said, “humpbacks are definitely a curious species, which is why more distance is better,” she explained. “Bring your 200- to 400- mm lens.”

Paddleboarders or kayakers can be more at risk than people taking a whale-watching boat tour. “A whale’s flipper or fluke could severely injure or worse” one of those sportspeople who got too close, George said.

She said Monday about noon that mammal center spotters hadn’t yet logged humpback sightings in Morro Bay, but “I have a team out on the water today looking for the whales there.”

San Luis Obispo County’s nearshore areas can be a whale buffet line

George said the whales are following prey close to the shore.

“They’re just here to eat,” she said. “They can feed offshore on krill or nearshore on anchovies and herring. Heat waves decrease the production of krill.”

For protection, Gailey packed his phone and Canon 7D Mark II with a 24-205 mm lens in a small dry bag.

‘Jackpot’ sighting of sea predator known for speaking in clicks thrills boaters off CA

“Many people don’t know the danger in kayaking, the differences in kayaks and what it is like to have their kayak overturned in the surf or the middle of the ocean,” he said. “It is imperative to practice kayaking safety. know your kayak, wear your PFD (personal flotation device), know what to do in the event of overturning and simply know your limits.

If you aren’t a kayaker, he said, whale tours are available. “And now is the season!”

“At one point, I could see traffic backing up on the freeway,” he said, but “I was blessed enough to find myself in the middle of ‘whale traffic.’”

One young whale did a 30-minute display of tail flips, then breached repeatedly for another half hour, Gailey said.

As he headed for shore, “it was going to be a long, slow paddle,” he said, adding that, although exhausted, he had a “perma grin” on his face after what had turned into “a day I will never forget.”

For information about good Central Coast spots for whale watching and tour boat firms, go online to Visit SLO CAL .

Sign Up for Local Breaking News