A Day at the Races

Monday, last week, was a beautiful, warm, sunny day...a perfect time to take our boat out for the first time this year.
This Great Blue Heron watched over us as we launched in Huntington Harbour.

The temperature was a balmy 80 degrees and yet
we could see a bit of snow still up in the mountains.

After a short cruise around the harbor, we decided to head out to
Long Beach Shoreline Village for lunch.

This nest of Herons can be found just across from the Naval dock.

Nearing Long Beach we came upon a lot of sailing activity.

I set my camera on continuous and proceeded to snap nearly 300 photos.
It turned out that was none too many, thanks to the
rocking of our boat, as half of them showed nothing but sky or water.

These sea lions slept through all the action going on around them.

I noticed that the referees' boats said Alamitos Bay Yacht Club and with a little googling,
I later learned that this is what we were watching:

CISA Advanced Racing Clinic
Long Beach, California
www.cisasailing.org/content/view/18/11/

For the Love of Pelicans

There has been much in the news recently about Brown Pelicans growing sick and dying in large numbers. I sincerely hope that the experts can find the cause and put an end to this problem. There is nothing more beautiful to watch than a flock of Pelicans flying in perfect formation, low over the water and then that perfect dive. I took these photographs last September while on a boat ride in Huntington Harbour. I hope I have many more opportunities to photograph these grand birds. Let's all hope and pray that they survive and flourish.