Captain's Blog

Hello all,
Today we arrived at Laguna San Ignacio for the last time this year. The weather is great and it looks like it will be a great day. There are several mother and calf gray whales in the lagoon this time and they are making everyone happy.
We got everyone out in the pangas for one trip in the morning, then had a break for lunch, then two trips in the afternoon. Most of the group had a close encounter with a gray whale at some point today and to see the glow on peoples’ faces when they return to the boat is really great. Lots of photos and stories about the up-close views of gray whales.
We saw bottlenose dolphin on the way in today and lots of bird life–such as jaegers, pelicans, terns, gulls. I think everyone had a great day and we’re ending with a nice sunset anchored in a calm lagoon.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art
p.s. Garry and Candice send a big “saludo” to Dawn…they have big,salt-encrusted grins on their faces due to the gray whales today!

Hello all,
Today we spent the day at West San Benitos. The group enjoyed a skiff ride to view Guadalupe fur seals on the way to the beach.There was a good amount animals.
There has been a change on the beach with the elephant seals. There were no adult males and the females are returning to molt. The weaners are thinner and there are more weaners in the water practicing their swimming skills.
There were a few osprey on nests and it seems there are fewer pairs this year. Some of the nests that usually have pairs on them didn’t. We are not sure why but it is noteworthy.
The weather is great with sunny skies and cool temperatures. The wind has died and we are hoping to see a large whale this afternoon.
We are headed to Laguna San Ignacio this afternoon. Looking forward to returning to the lagoon.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

Hello all,
Today was our first day and after a quick visit to Ensenada, we went to Isla Todos Santos. The island is green and yellow with all the Coreopsis blooming. We saw all the usual suspects on the island, sea lions, harbor seals and elephant seals. Oystercatchers, gulls, pelicans, commorants and a single peregrin falcon. We headed south and saw lots of bird life. For something different this trip we saw lots of Bonapartes gulls with some in breeding plumage.
We saw a good size herd of short-beaked common dolphin and we spent some time with them,everyone enjoyed seeing our first cetacean.There were a few Pacific white-sided dolphin mixed in as well.
We did not see any northbound gray whales. We expected to see a few as we normally do, but not today.
Later we chummed some fish oil and popcorn, and we saw black footed and laysan albatross along with several shearwaters and northern fulmars. It was a good day of sightings. The weather was windy but sunny skies.
Looking forward to tomorrow
Capt Art

Hello whalewatchers,
Well the weather finally straightened out and we had flat, calm conditions for most of today. We had a phenomenal day of whalewatching. We saw the smallest baleen whale and the largest baleen whale along with three other species of baleen whales.
We started the day with a minke whale that was curious and stayed with us for about an hour. I personally haven’t ever seen a minke whale in the Sea of Cortez.
We followed that up with 4 or 5 blue whales and then we saw a fin whale and a Bryde’s whale in between looking at blue whales.
We had a blue whale calf hang out with us for a while and it came right up to the boat and swam around us several times. What a treat and all that before 7 am! We saw two humpback whales not too far from all the other whales. There were common dolphin and manta rays to look at as well.
We continued to look at fluking blue whales for the rest of the morning and decided to visit Las Galeras, two islets north of Isla Monserrate. We snorkeled and did skiff rides for those who were interested.
After that we went back out to the area where all the whales were and found the blue whales fluking again.
Wow!! What a day! We have been waiting for a break in the weather so we could have some quality whalewatching and it all worked out…must be more of that Baja magic.
Looking forward to tomorrow with good conditions again and hopefully some more whales.
Capt Art

Hello whalewatchers,
Today started out great with calm weather and so we started up the San Jose channel looking for whales. We saw some common dolphin and a humpback whale right away. Unfortunately the wind came up again and made looking for whales difficult. We saw a Bryde’s whale in the distance and had a hard time getting a good look.
We elected to continue on to Isla Santa Catalina for the remainder of the day. Everyone had a snorkel or a “Crazy Coastal Cruise” (with Cole or Cameron!) after lunch to photograph the coastline and its wildlife. Some went for a nice hike on the island. This island’s cactus and plant life are stunning, and it can be a terrific birding spot.
There was a great sunset and the wind seems to be calming down. We are hopeful for better weather so we can find some whales tomorrow. We have paid our dues this trip with the wind, so we are due to get a break!
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

Hello whalewatchers,
Today the wind dictated our day since it is still with us. We visited the mangroves at the southern end of Isla San Jose. This is a large area of mangroves with lots of birds and shallow water channels to motor the skiffs through.
After that we went over to Isla San Fransisco and everyone went ashore for a walk and snorkel.
Our plan is to stay the night here and start up the San Jose channel looking for whales. That channel can be very productive for large whale species.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

Hello whalewatchers,
Today we were offshore all day off Bahia Magdalena Bay. We had tough conditions for whalewatching and viewing today with choppy seas and overcast skies.
We found some humpbacks and watched them breaching, flipper flapping and tail lobbing. It was a liitle warm-up for tomorrow at Gorda Banks.
Our bird list increased with frigate bird and Sabine’s gull. We had a Sabine’s gull hang out on the boat for a while so we got some good looks at a very pretty bird.
Looking forward to tomorrow with better sea conditions,
Capt Art