Interview with Sandy Komito: the Debi Shearwater Flap

Hey, Sandy is RIGHT! Yes, I was very, very keen on whales, especially in the late 1980′s. Hunting whales had only ended fairly recently. Seeing live whales was a BFD in those days, to put it into perspective. Seeing a BLUE WHALE was an even bigger deal. But, Sandy’s point that I was smitten by whales is true. Seabirds, alone, would not have done it for me in those days. So, I did chase after a lot of whales. Mark got it wrong in the book. He says that we chased a gray whale. Not so. The whale I chased was a BLUE whale, the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth. And, one of the rarest whales on the planet. It is a substantial creature. Times have changed. More decades have passed since the killing of whales has ended. It is now virtually impossible to NOT see whales, on my routine, regular routes. So, I don’t need to chase whales at all. There is now a very big whale watching industry in California. But, I will still chase a blue whale, especially, if it is feeding— the same food that seabirds eat! And, Sandy is right, time has passed, and all of us have mellowed. I haven’t seen the movie, yet. But, for the record, I have never pulled a knife on anyone, not even Sandy! :=)