Megan Diskin

Ventura County (Calif.) Star

CAMARILLO, Calif. — A humpback whale was stuck in the Ventura Harbor on Saturday, drawing a crowd of hundreds of people as Harbor Patrol and Coast Guard crews tried to coax it back out to the ocean.

Ventura Harbor Patrol officers said just before 6 p.m. PT that the 35-foot whale had been stuck in the harbor for a couple of hours.

The whale made its way far into the harbor and was swimming back and forth among boat slips along Navigator Way on Saturday evening.

Crews on at least three or four rescue boats were trying to coax the whale back out to the harbor mouth. They said they were going to play recordings of whale sounds to help with the process.

The Coast Guard, the National Parks Service and local authorities are involved in the effort.

The whale drew hundreds of people clustered in areas to watch it.

A wildlife expert said the whale appeared to be a healthy juvenile.

Contributing: The Associated Press; follow Tracy L. Lehr on Twitter: @KEYTNC3Tracy