No baleen whales the past two days But we did enjoy lots of dolphins – both common and bottlenose. Seas were a bit choppy today, but supposed to get better as the week progresses. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there (cetacean and human!)

Another fin whale spotted today! This one was a large adult (60+ feet) and swam around the boat several times. The dorsal fin was very interesting – it has a dime-sized hole near the back edge. Common dolphins delighted all on board today too. And the sunshine was back!

The fin whales entertained and amazed us again today! We had 3 young whales become immediately entranced with the boat and our guests. They approached the boat and circled us repeatedly. A small pod of common dolphins interacted with the boat and whales too, even getting the whales to barrel-roll a few times! After this fantastic experience, we saw another pod of about 500 commons that were jumping, bow-riding, and wake-surfing with joy!

Dolphins highlighted Tuesday’s cruise. Saw a smattering of common dolphins feeding heading out; then some showy offshore bottle nose dolphin; followed by a megapod of at least 500 common dolphin….many involved in courtship activity! Weren’t able to find the baleen whales today…but there’s always tomorrow; and it was such a beautiful day on the water!

What a great day on the water….first a pod of common dolphins, followed by two adult gray whales and one calf….the mom and calf headed so close to shore at Mission Beach, think they wanted to join the surfers. Then a rare treat for all on board….we got great looks at a basking shark, approximately 15 feet in length. Full-grown adults are 20 to 30 feet in length. Every trip is different and you never know what you might see!  This shark sighting comes exactly one year to the day of seeing them last year!  CRAZY!

I think the baleen whales must have been recovering from a Cinco de Mayo party because we didn’t see any of them today. But we did see all three species of dolphins found in our area at this time of year! Our totals were 50 offshore bottlenose, 2 inshore bottlenose, 40 commons, and 30 Risso’s!

Today was another example of how different every trip can be. The morning trip was shrouded in marine layer, but LOTS of dolphins: 40 offshore bottlenose, 10 inshore bottlenose, and 600 commons! The afternoon trip got to see the sunshine, 300 commons, and 1 fin whale. You never know what Mother Nature has in store for us.

Fin whale fiesta!! Today we saw TWELVE fin whales on the Pacific Ocean….the most in one 3-hour trip so far this year! We traveled 11 miles offshore to see them (first spotted them about 6 miles out and they were continuing West). 6 of the whales were lunging with great speed that we could not catch up to them. 4 were very curious about the boat and gave us come great close-encounters. The last 2 were spotted from a distance on our way back in. Oh, and can’t forget the 600 common dolphins! The water is so inviting!

The weatherman was wrong….no drizzle…..just 150 common dolphins, a gray whale mom and calf, and two humpbacks – all on a calm day on the ocean made for a terrific day! Next cruise will be Thursday….join us!

Another cow/calf gray whale pair today as well as two awesome pods of dolphins. The first was a super playful pod of 30 offshore bottlenose and the second was a pod of 600 commons. What a show for all to enjoy!