A strong north wind greeted us this morning and, with the wind at our backs, we cruised south, looking for marine life and a calm anchorage. Up on the bow, we were perfectly sheltered and had a pleasant morning's cruise toward Isla San Francisco. As we neared the island, we caught glimpses of splashing mobula rays, which frequently flipped their flat shapes out of the water and crashed down in spectacular belly flops.
We anchored in the calm of Half Moon Bay alongside a feeding frenzy of diving pelicans and cormorants. Starting high in the air and using the winds for positioning, the pelicans dove at angle, piercing the water beak-first and crashing down to gulp up pouchfulls of fish. We kayaked nearby, protected from the wind at water level and jostled only slightly by the commotion of birds. Sitting in the kayaks brings us so close to the water, it was almost like a fish's-eye view of predators dive-bombing in from above.
The pelicans dove all day long and, during the evening as we had an on-shore barbecue and munched our dinner of grilled tuna and ribs, the pelicans continued feasting on fish themselves. The wind died down and a setting sun cast golden then pink light across streaks of clouds to the south. We sat on the beach watching dark pelican silhouettes diving through the colorful sky and splashing into its reflection on the now completely calm water before us.
