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Monthly Archives: January 2011

Tour #1 Jan 30 Isla San Jose

Hello whalewatchers,

Well, another remarkable day in Baja! We started with calm weather, sunny skies and a glorious sunrise at Punta Colorado, Isla San Jose. Then we had a Krazy Koastal Kruise for everyone, a walk on the island and a snorkel all before noon. There was good visabilty and lots of fish. We left in search of whales and found a Brydes whale with a calf. We followed it for a while and decided that we had great looks and would look for something else. As we were departing, the calf started breaching and that is something we haven’t ever seen before–it was incredible! After that we saw pilot whales, common dolphin, and to top it off, a big male sperm whale. We also deployed the hydrophone and heard the sonar of the sperm whale, a very distinctive clicking that varied in speed and intensity. We haven’t heard that in the past so we had two firsts today. In addition we added three species of whales to our list. We still have three days left in our trip and we have already seen 13 different species of whales .
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

2011-01-30T20:20:20-08:00January 30th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #1 January 29 Cabo San Lucas area

Hello whalewatchers,
Another great day in Baja! We started in the Gorda Banks area and listened to humpback whales singing on the hydrophone. There were scattered bottlenose dolphin around us and a great sunrise. We saw between 30 and 40 humpback whales throughout the morning and some of their acrobatic behaviors such as breaching, flipper flapping, tail lobbing and more.
We went to Bahia Los Frailes for the afternoon and everyone went for a short walk and some people came back and got their snorkel gear went for a snorkel. The visibility was a little murky but everyone enjoyed it.
We are headed north tonight in good weather and hoping to make it to Isla San Jose.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

2011-01-30T05:49:29-08:00January 30th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #1: Jan 28 offshore Bahia Magdalena

Hello whalewatchers,
Today we added two more species of whales and two more species of seabirds. We found humpback whales this morning–a total of 12 whales. This afternoon we saw a blue whale and it was a fluker so everyone got great looks at both types of whales.
A red-billed tropicbird circled the boat this morning and we saw a few Craveri’s murrelets as well.
The weather is phenomenal with calm seas and we are about to see a wonderful sunset.
More tomorrow.
Capt Art

2011-01-28T20:53:25-08:00January 28th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #1: Jan 27 Laguna San Ignacio

Hello whalewatchers,

We had another great day in Laguna San Ignacio. We didn’t see as many close encounters today which reinforces the fact that it is all on the whales’ terms. We like to say it is not whether you touch a whale, it is whether a whale touches you. I am sure that happened to everyone in the last two days. The groups of single gray whales haven’t arrived yet, so there are some really young calves out in the lagoon right now.
We went to the beach this afternon and it was great as usual.
The ocean is calm as we left the lagoon and the forecast looks great for the next couple days. Oh yeah–we also enjoyed one of Baja’s spectacular sunsets.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

2011-01-27T19:08:33-08:00January 27th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #1: Jan 26 Laguna San Ignacio

Today was a glorious day in Laguna San Ignacio. There are quite a few whales here for this time of year. Yesterday’s census counted 90 whales in the lagoon. I think that might be a record for this date. We have seen several cow calf pairs and most of the interaction with the people in the skiffs has been with cows and calves. There are a few singles and not too many groups yet.
The weather is great with light winds. We’ve seen lots of bottlenose dolphins. We ended the day with turning the generator off and listening to the whales and enjoying some star gazing.
Once again the magic of this place continues to touch peoples’ hearts. we are so grateful to be able to share this with our passengers.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

p.s. Thank you to Fran Carman for the photo. We’ll see you back here in 2012!

2011-01-27T06:56:00-08:00January 27th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #1: Jan 25 Islas San Benito

Hello whalewatchers:

Prior to ariving at Islas San Benitos this morning, we came across a group of pilot whales and a few bottlenose dolphin mixed in with them. We were able to get close looks at the pilot whales and with the calm conditions it made even better.
After arriving and launching our skiffs, the group looked at several Guadalupe fur Seals on the way into the beach. The weather was perfect for a hike and there were lots of northern elephants to view. Some of the behavior that is prominent during this time of year includes males fighting, mating, pups nursing and there was one sighting of a birth. Pretty exciting stuff! One of the advantages to a January-February trip is the activity here at San Benitos.
After departing we came across a herd of about 500 long-beaked common dolphin right before sunset. It was a great way to end a wonderful day.
More tomorrow from Laguna San Ignacio. I can’t wait to get there.
Capt Art

2011-01-25T17:35:56-08:00January 25th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #1: Jan 24 at Islas Todos Santos and southbound

Hello all,

Wow! What a tremendous start to our 2011 natural history season. We had calm seas, no wind, and sunshine–just a glorious day.

We stayed really busy all day. Right after leaving Ensenada Harbor, we ran into about 1000 long-beaked common dolphin and as we approached Islas Todos Santos, we saw a fin whale and a pair of gray whales. The island is really green from all the rains earlier in the year. There were about 15 northern elaphant seals visible–one large male and some females with pups. There were harbor seals too.

After leaving the island we followed four gray whales for a while, and continuing south, we came across fin whales–about 15 individuals with some surface feeding involved. There were Risso’s dolphin and more long-beaked dolphins. That was all by lunch time!

Travelling south we saw a small group of short-beaked common dolphin and then during a green flash sunset, we saw a large group of short-beaked common dolphin.

The birding was a little slower, but along with the fin whales there were 100’s of Cassin’s auklets and with the common dolphin, an occasional shearwater. We also saw a few black-legged kittiwakes and red phalaropes. What a start! People asked what we can do for an encore and I can just tell them we are just getting started. There is plenty more to come.

The forecast looks great for the next few days. Check back tomorrow when we report from Isla San Benito.

Capt Art

2011-01-24T18:19:43-08:00January 24th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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2011 blog begins! Tour #1: Jan 24

Our 2011 tour season is officially underway.The first tour left last night as passengers arrived during a San Diego 70-degree sunny day. This morning, Capt Art is reporting beautiful sea conditions and a pod of 500 or more common dolphins around the boat (thank you to Sally Walton for her photo here) as they leave Ensenada Harbor enroute to Islas Todos Santos and beyond to search for nesting seabirds and harbor seals, and then southward for migrating gray whales and more.

The natualists for this tour are Tom Jefferson and Rob Nawojchik.

2011-01-24T07:45:55-08:00January 24th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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