Paddleboarder, boats have big experiences with blue whales

By Heather McRea

This week in Coast Lines: The world’s biggest mammals, blue whales, have been showing up big time recently off our coast.

Plus, a sewage spill closed RAT Beach between Torrance and Palos Verdes Estates on Wednesday, and September is proving pretty busy at the beaches.

Here’s what’s happening along the Southern California coast.

Big blues showing up big time

“He’s coming up, he’s coming up… he’s right underneath me. He’s looking at me.”

There have been a bunch of blue whales spotted off the coast in recent weeks, delighting whale watching tours and in one case, a guy on a paddleboard.

“It was heart-stopping to be so close to something that big,” said Bill Clements, who shared a video of his experience. Check it out.

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Sewage closes beach

Some 10,000 to 15,000 gallons of sewage that seeped into a storm drain and got into Malaga Creek closed a stretch of beach just south of Torrance.

Wednesday morning, lifeguards walked the shoreline at RAT Beach — “Right after Torrance”  — announcing the closure as crews tested the water quality.

It was not known how much, if any, raw sewage made its way into the ocean, officials said.

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Busy beaches

The “summer” season might be over (using the air quotes because the temperatures say otherwise), but local beaches have a lot planned this month despite the tourists having all gone home. 

There are a couple of big surfing contests, an even bigger show in the sky and community gathering events on the calendar throughout the month.

Check out our list, we’ve got all the details.

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What else?

A plan to bury contaminated sediment in Newport Harbor will be considered by the California Coastal Commission.  
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World’s best surfers are doing battle today at Lower Trestles.
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California’s network of 124 Marine Protected Areas is ready for its 10-year review.

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In the ocean

Carlos Gauna has been flying his drones off the Southern California coast the last few years on a spy mission. He watches sharks as they go about their everyday lives. He’s learned a lot about the creatures from his hundreds of hours of footage, including that the apex predators like kelp as a snack.
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