2 North Bound 0 South Bound 8.5 hrs

Cloudy overcast day with rain, wind and heavy marine layer all day. Limited view of ocean with white out conditions at times. Still two whales were observed and documented including one whale without its fluke and last seen the day before passing Newport Beach. The whale was surfacing every 4 minutes and traveling at a rate of ~3 mph. The end of the peduncle where the fluke should be has visibly deteriorating skin with bone protruding and an area of redness as seen in the photos below. The injury is most likely from an amputation due to rope entanglement. The peduncle came up high during surfacing and slowly sunk back under the water with each dive. The whale sighting was reported and photos sent to ACS-LA to confirm same whale seen 3-13-23. Hopefully this whale is resighted and more information gathered about its health and body condition.

Update! The flukeless whale was sighted today 3-15-2023 in Santa Barbara by by whale watching boat The Condor Express https://www.condorexpress.com/post/7-nice-gray-whales-6-had-tails