Captain's Blog

(We are sorry for the delay in a report. We have a little computer issue on the boat. We’ll try to transfer reports via phone!)

The trip is well underway and there was a terrific seabirding day yesterday, as it was an entire day at sea. There was a stop at Islas Todos Santos to observe harbor seals, elephant seals, and some nesting birds. They also spotted two humpback whales and a large sunfish. However, the ocean has a large swell right now, so the viewing conditions weren’t ideal. That swell is diminishing and conditions will improve. This morning (Wednesday), they will be anchoring at an island for a wonderful walk around a remote island with wildlife, including elephant seal weaners (photo by Rob Nawojchik).

Howdy whalewatchers, We enjoyed another beautiful day on the Sea of Cortez with calm seas and no wind. After our morning walk and snorkel at Agua Verde, we left and found another large group of common dolphin with two humpbacks with them. A humpback breached right in front of the boat! After that we headed south and the mammal life was slow, but we saw lots of manta rays and striped marlin. And to finish the day we had a really good look at two red-billed tropicbirds. We had our back-deck BBQ dinner too!
Good whalewatching and observing nature as it comes to you,
Capt Aaron and Searcher crew

Howdy whalewatchers, It was another wonderful day on the Sea of Cortez. We started with a walk on Isla Santa Catalina and then a short skiff ride off the island to get splashed by common dolphin who were feeding on bait fish hiding under the skiffs! Birds were also getting in on the program. After lunch we headed west in look of more wildlife and today was the day of the dolphin. Our first group of bottlenose dolphins (about 100) put on an excellent show, jumping off the bow and in our wake. The second group was a bit smaller but did the same show–jumping and putting on a great show of acrobatics. We didn’t see a large whale today. but we’re gonna try again tomorrow after our morning walk and snorkel at Bahia Agua Verde.
Good whalewatching and observing nature as it comes your way, Capt Aaron and Searcher crew

Howdy whalewatchers, Today started with a sunrise on Punta Colorado and it was stunning. The passengers had a nice walk on the island and then we went off to whalewatc. We didn’t go more than a mile off of the island before we encountered five blue whales and we were fortunate to have them fluking for us. After that the wind backed off to nothing and we saw lots of mantas jumping and a few marlin. We saw a couple of fin whales that were headed south and so we left them and headed north. We watched  the sun setting over the Baja peninsula with a herd of 2000 long-beaked common dolphin feeding on bait and birds joining in. So we’re off to Isla Santa Catalina for a morning walk on the island, and then off to find some more wildlife.
Good whalewatching and observing nature as it comes to you, Capt Aaron and Searcher crew

Howdy whalewatchers, We had another wonderful sunrise and then all I can say is “humpbacks humpbacks humpbacks!” They put on a show for us with jumping, flipper flapping and tail lobbing. We had three whales breach, one after another and our finale was the best. We had two jump a few times right as everyone was having lunch, making great scenery for the view windows in our restaurant! Along with calm seas, blue water and sunshine, it was another perfect day aboard Searcher.
Good whalewatching and observing nature as it comes your way,
Capt Aaron and Searcher crew

Howdy whalewatchers: It all started with a fantastic sunrise and calm seas. Shortly after we found our first blue whale, and shortly after that, we found the blue whale we were looking for–a large animal and it fluked every dive. We couldn’t ask for better conditions. The sunlight was perfect and the water was clear enough to see the whole animal under water. This animal literally fluked 35 feet off the bow of the Searcher. It didn’t get any better and it was just hard to explain with words what everyone saw. Unfortunately we had to leave the whale to head south. We found a group of pilot whales and got to observe them for a bit. As we continued south we had a sun setting with another group of about 100 pilot whales. It was a great way to end the day.
Good whalewatching and observing nature as it comes to you,
Capt Aaron and the Searcher crew