Captain's Blog

Hello whalewatchers: Today we enjoyed sunny skies and calm seas. We started at Punta Colorado on Isla San Jose at sunrise and went ashore before breakfast. This is just one of our favorite places in Baja. We left there and started south looking for whales. We came across some common dolphin and then a Bryde’s whale with the island in the background, it was a great show! Then we saw at least 8-10 dwarf sperm whales which are rare and only seen in the conditions we had. A big group of bottlenose dolphin was next. Could it get any better? It did with a good-size group of pilot whales (pictured) with a few calves included. Then the finale–sperm whales in the Cerralvo channel. We saw at least 20 individuals with multiple animals on the surface at once. A great day for toothed whales and did I mention the sunset? Another great one!
We are arriving in Cabo in the morning with a very happy group of whalewatchers.
Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers: We got some nice Sea of Cortez weather today and we took advantage of it in a big way. We saw at least 15 blue whales throughout the day, with one cow calf pair and two blue whales that fluked. A mega herd of thousands of common dolphin,  humpbacks and plenty of bird life, with black and least storm petrels, were added to the list.
We had a period where the wind came up for a few hours so we ducked into one of our favorite spots on the peninsula, Puerto Gato. It is a great little cove and very picturesque.
We ended the day with a classic Baja sunset over the peninsula, The “Cloud Appreciation Society” members were pleased. We had margaritas and a buffet on the back deck to cap off a great day. Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers, Today started with  a great sunrise but lots of wind. We were very lucky though, approaching Isla Santa Catalina we came across our first blue whale and we were able to see 6 or 7 surfaces. The whale seemed to be staying in the same general area so we decided to proceed and go ashore. Everyone enjoyed the island and I can tell you that the island is greener than usual and some of the trail is overgrown a little. The cactus are doing fine!
We returned to the Searcher for a Krazy Koastal Kruise (maybe by Kaptain Kenny) and a snorkel. The visibilty was outstanding but the temperature was a chilly 66 degrees!  We saw a few bottlenose dolphin before the sunset and some bird life.
Hoping for less wind tomorrow, Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers: Happy Valetines Day!
We ended up at Isla Espiritu Santo this morning for breakfast and a beach walk. After having lunch in this great spot, El Candelero, we ventured up the island and visited Los Islotes for a skiff ride and snorkel session with the sea lions. Everyone had  a great time there with plenty of snorkel stories. There was good bird watching there as well with plenty of blue-footed boobies, frigates, yellow-footed gulls and more. We are currently heading north towards Isla San Jose with plans to stop in another calm spot for a few hours tonight so everyone can get some good sleep, as we had a bumpy ride last night.
More tomorrow from Isla Catalina.
Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers: We had a wonderful morning in the Gorda Banks area at the tip of the Baja peninsula. We enjoyed lots of humpbacks, some with calves and escorts and groups of multiple animals. We saw breaching and pectoral flippers, flukes and more flukes. Just a great day with humpbacks. We also had time with long-beaked common dolphin, smooth-tailed mobulas and a few manta rays. We finished the day with a walk and snorkel at Los Frailes.
More tomorrow, Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers: We had a productive day outside of Bahia Magdalena. It started with a masked booby at sunrise. Next was a good area of long-beaked common dolphin. Next we saw some northbound gray whales, followed by a close look at a Bryde’s whale with a calf. It is always a treat to get good looks at Bryde’s whales since the majority of the time they are a little hard to watch.
We found four humpbacks and had some great looks up close with flukes, and we were able to see their pectoral fins really well. Continuing south we came across an area of 15-20 northbound gray whales. The water is cleaner here than in Laguna San Ignacio so we were able to really see the whole whale. Always great to see gray whales this far south. We were 570 miles south of San Diego. We had a lull in the action in the afternoon and we are hoping for some action before dark.

Our photo shows the white “wings” on the humpback whales today.
Team Searcher