Humpback whales have become 50 yards to the shore, giving the Monterey Bay residents a rare treat. Who needs to go whale watching on a boat and get stranded in the open ocean if the whales basically come to your doorstep? Humpback whale sightings have given the people something to talk about in the office break rooms the Monday back to work.

Monterey Bay is famous for its humpback whale sightings. While it is common to see the whales come 100 to 150 yards from the shore, they have never come as close to as they had this past weekend.

What made the humpback whales come so close to shore?

Food. Turns out, on Sunday, large schools of anchovies began to congregate along the Monterey Bay coast. As they feed on these tiny fish, the humpback whales began to close in on the shore as well, giving the bay residents an up close and personal view that they would only get from boats.

Kate Cummings provided magnificent whale photos to GrindTV. Click here to see the pictures!

“I think it has to do with the calmness of the ocean and the tides, plus the anchovies trying to seek refuge in shallow water—to no avail!

“We’ve been so spoiled lately,” Cummings continued. “The last few days our routine has been to first check out the whales lunge-feeding on anchovies along the beach, then head out a mile-and-a-half to groups of 10 to 12 humpbacks feeding together with hundreds of sea lions.

“There’s so much food in the area the whales have no reason to leave, so we’re seeing the same individuals day after day.”

The whales didn’t just mellowly swim along the coastline. They breached out of the waves, giving a free show to the lucky whale watchers.

If the humpbacks stayed for a little longer, they would have gotten individualized names!

This whale sighting certainly beats being stuck on board overnight because the boat’s propellers got entangled in a lobster trap. Poor Boston Harbor Cruise tourists.