Here's a video clip of two whales surfacing just north of the Pismo Beach Pier, at 7:40 in the morning on Wednesday, 28 April 2021.
At the time, I was surfing just north of the pier. Sitting on my board looking out in their direction, they were probably within 25 or 50 yards of my location. You can actually hear me exclaim "Ho!" at the 17-second mark in this video, just after the first whale spouts.
What a sight! From the vantage point of sitting in the water and seeing them nearby (in between waves coming in), they looked very big and bumpy-skinned -- totally different from dolphins. The two surfacing together almost looked like a big sea serpent, as their arched backs broke the waves. That's harder to see from this video which was taken from the vantage point on the deck of the pier, at the end of the pier itself.
After the whales continued northward on their journey, I caught a few more waves and went in, and then I ran out to the end of the pier to see if anyone else had seen them.
Huge thank-you to Steven and family for sending me this video which they took from their spot at the end of the pier! From his perspective, Steven believes they were probably gray whales.
So magical and majestic! Special to share that moment with everyone else who experienced it!