Hello all,
We got a trip into he mangroves at Isla San Jose in order to get shelter from the wind that is forecast for the day today. Everyone enjoyed that and we headed south. We stopped at Ensenada Grande at Isla Partida where it was nice and calm, so we went ashore there for a walk and a swim. We had our last night’s dinner and enjoyed sharing stories from the trip. All in all a great trip, with lots and lots of whales and great people.
Capt Art
Hello whalewatchers,
Today we started our day with no wind! We left our anchorage at daylight to go offshore and look for whales. We saw a fin whale first and kept going to get onto deep water with hopes of finding some toothed whales while the wind is down.
We came across four blue whales and there waa a cow and calf. We hung around with them for an hour or so and had some great looks at them. The cow was really large–at least 80 feet in length.
Since we were hoping for toothed whales, we headed south and came across an area of dwarf sperm whales. There were aof 8 whales in pairs and we had really good looks at them–some were within 50 yards. It is always great to see such a rare species. We are lucky to have the calm conditions to accomplish that.
We saw a few more blue whales as we traveled south to the upper end of the San Jose channel. We went into Bahia Tambobiche and put everyone ashore for a walk and everyone enjoyed that. We did have great birding offshore today with both species of storm petrels, boobies, shearwaters, jeagers, and one south polar skua.
Headed south tonight to visit the mangroves at Isla San Jose in the morning and then off to Los Islotes to snorkel with the sea lions.
More tomororw,
Capt Art
Hello whalewatchers,
We had a great day at Isla Santa Catalina. We had a snorkel session and a Krazy Koastal Kruise with Kapt Kenny and Kapt Kameron. After lunch we headed out and the wind diminished so we could work. We saw a blue whale that was very cooperative, diving for 8 or 9 minutes. We had great looks, with the peninsula in the background and the whale stayed at the surface for a couple of minutes. We stayed with it and for a finale, it fluked right off the bow.
We continued on and found a fin whale north of Bahia Agua Verde at sunset. The sunset was fantastic. We are going to anchor at Isla Monserrate tonight and then whalewatch with good weather tomorrow.
Capt Art
Hello all,
Today the weather wasn’t great for whalewatching so we made a stop at Isla San Francisco. Everyone went ashore and had a nice walk. Some of the group came back for a snorkel session with good visibility and lots of fish.
After lunch we ventured out to look for whales and were surprised to have good conditions in the San Jose channel. We saw one small baleen whale and a good-size group of long-beaked common dolphin. Lots of photographs were taken as dolphins are always a treat.
After a wonderful sunset over the peninsula, we continued north to Isla Santa Catalina for a calm night at anchor.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art
p.s. Peaceful photo of Searcher at anchor by Fran Carman
Hello whalewatchers,
Today we were in the Gorda Bank area. We started the day with some humpback whales singing on the hydrophone. It had to be one of the best sessions with the hydrophone we have had. The whales were very loud and clear. Everyone really enjoyed the experience. There were several whales in the area. After the hydrophone session, we watched a cow and calf with an escort for a while and then continued on. There were several whales to look at and we saw several breaches, tail lobbbing, pectoral flipper flapping and all the wonderful behaviors asoociated with humpbacks.
There were some bottlenose dolphin in the same area a s the humpbacks and at times they were with the humpbacks.
The weather cooperated for most of the morning so that was great to have calm seas and light winds. That changed around eleven o’clock so we headed for Bahia Los Frailes. Everyone went ashore and saw great hummingbirds at the feeders in camping area. About half the group came back for a snorkel session. The visibility was good and there were plenty of fish to look at.
We are traveling slowly tonight in some heavy winds and we will see how far up the Sea of Cortez we get tonight.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art
Naturalists Paul Jones and Marc Webber compiled this list of birds seen on Tour #1, Click the link to open the file.
Hello whalewatchers,
Today we had great weather with light winds and calm seas. We started out with a few dolphins and a few shearwaters. The morning started a little slow and then we got started! First it was a pair of humpbacks and then a single blue whale that we had a really good looks at. Then a few more humpbacks and then the usual slow period south of the entrance to Bahia Magdalena. We came across a Bryde’s whale and then shortly after that a fin whale. So we have seen four different species of baleen whales just today.
There were plenty of pink-footed shearwaters and the further south we got more red phalaropes, jaegers and frigatebirds. The tally on the phalaropes reached into the thousands.
We came across another Bryde’s whale that gave us a good look and then the finale with a very large blue whale that we were able to stay with. We had some excellent looks up close of this blue whale and that made everyone very happy.
The sunset is fabulous and we are looking forward to some more whales tomorrow.
Capt Art
Hello whalewatchers,
We had another remarkable day in Laguna San Ignacio with plenty of close encounters and phenomenal whale watching from the Searcher. We had several whales visit the Searcher today and there were lots of mating behavior nearby for most of the day.
Great whale watching as usual from the pangas as well with lots of spy-hopping close by. The group went to the mangroves at high tide and enjoyed the birdwatching there. Yesterday we were able to deliver a package of letter written by San Diego school children to the children at San Ignacio, thanks to Ocean Connectors and Steve Swartz,
Our weather was great with very light winds all day and sunny skies–another great day in one of our favorite places on earth.
Looking forward to our day offshore tomorrow.
Capt Art
Hello whalewatchers,
We had a tremendous day in Laguna San Ignacio today. There are a lot of whales in this lagoon. The census reported 325 whales four days ago and there has been a steady stream of whales all day. Passengers enjoyed lots of close encounters with cows and calves. We had a cow and calf visit us here at the Searcher for an hour or more and that is always a treat to see.
The weather was great with sunny skies and light winds all day. With the clear skies it should be great for l”ights out” this evening.
Looking forward to tomorrow with more panga trips to visit the whales and a mid morning mangrove trip with the tide.
Capt Art
Hello whalewatchers,
We had a great day today at Islas San Benito–great weather light winds and sunny skies. There were lots of Northern elephant seals, sea lions. Guadalupe furs seals and a few harbor seals. And good looks at ospreys on their nests.
Everyone enjoyed the hike to the lighthouse with almost everyone participating. The flowers are in full bloom with even more flowers than two weeks ago. There are carpets of yellow flowers, lots of blue dicks, cliff spurge, island mallow and a few Dudleya blooming.
We are currently traveling southeast towards Laguna San Ignacio arriving after breakfast tomorrow. Looking forward to getting back there. Especially with the latest census numbers with over 300 hundred gray whales in the lagoon.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art
