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Trip Reports

Tour #4 More gray whales March 13

Hello whalewatchers,
Today we got an early start in the pangas. There was a little wind from the north that made it a little chilly and wet in the pangas but there are so many whales here that I don’t think anyone noticed that much. Great whale watching with a few close encounters on the first trip, but on the second and third trips, everyone had a close encounter with a whale. The wind persisted in the afternoon but not too bad and we sent two pangas with 15 people to the beach and they had a chance to look at a dead gray whale that has washed up on the beach. It is a 45 foot male and unfortunately mortality is part of nature. The walk on the beach was great with very few footprints and lots of shells.
The few people that went out for the last whale watch had a great trip seeing all the behaviors that  gray whales do–spyhopping, breaching, mating and a close encounter all in an hour.
Another magical stay in Laguna San Ignacio.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

p.s. I took the attached photo of a dolphin escorting us out of the lagoon this afternoon.

2011-03-14T07:33:55-07:00March 14th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #4 Laguna San Ignacio gray whales

Hello whalewatchers:
Tday we entered Laguna San Ignacio and were greeted by several gray whales in the entrance. There are a lot of whales here!
Today was a classic day here with a light breeze from the north that diminshed mid-morning, and then swithced to a light breeze from the west after lunch. Everyone had a close encounter with a gray whale today and mostly it was with a cow and calf. Lots of fun was had by all today in the pangas.
We finished the day with an awesome sunset that couldn’t be missed.
More tomorrow,
Capt Art

2011-03-18T07:28:09-07:00March 12th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #4 Isla San Benito

Hello whalewatchers;
Today was a great day at San Benito – a skiff ride to look at the Guadalupe fur seals on the way into the beach, a great hike up to the lighthouse, and some time spent with the northern elephant seals. The weather was overcast with cool temperatures — just right for hiking.
After leaving the island we headed south and we saw a fin whale right away. We had some great looks including a perfect view of the lower right jaw that is white on a fin whale.
Lots of shearwaters and Cassin’s auklets too.
More tomorow from Laguna San Ignacio,
Capt Art

2011-03-14T07:37:08-07:00March 11th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #4 First day wrap-up March 10

Hello whalewatchers,
Our first day was great with some good sightings and excellent weather. Most of those sightings were before noon. After noon we saw several northbound gray whales, two more fin whales and a few common dolphins. We also saw a black-footed albatross.
Our weather is good with light winds and not much swell. We are looking forward to our day at Islas San Benito today.
More then,
Capt Art

2011-03-11T06:45:51-08:00March 11th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #4 Islas Todos Santos

Hello whalewatchers;
Well we haven’t gotten very far on our first day of trip #4. We keep getting stopped by wildlife!
We left Islas Todo Santos at around 8 am and we have only gone 15 miles and it is noon. We have seen long-beaked and short-beaked common dolphin, three blue whales, one fin whale and a group of six northbound gray whales north and a few other northbound gray whales. And I almost forgot all the usual sightings at Todos Santos–Pinnipeds, oystercatchers, peregrine falcons and nesting brown pelicans with chicks on the nest.
This is a great start to the trip and the weather is great with calm seas and wind and bright sunshine. We might be a little late arriving at Islas San Benito tomorow morning.
More later,
Capt Art

2011-03-12T21:55:49-08:00March 10th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #3 Los Islotes and more blue whales March 4

Dear whalewatchers:

Our final day was pretty busy starting with  a skiff ride into the mangroves at Isla San Jose. The tide was perfect and so the skiffs could stay a little longer and I think everyone enjoyed the trip.

We travelled south towards Los Islotes and we found four more blue whales, bringing the trip total to 18 blue whales up until then. We arrived at Los Islotes and did a skiff ride for everyone. Then all the snorkelers went in and had a great time with the sea lions.
We had some daylight left and for our finale we found a group of eight blue whales in a 2-square mile area! We were able to get some great looks at multiple animals close so it was a great way to end the trip.

We are headed for Cabo with a very happy group,
Capt Art

p.s. The photo is a sunset on another Baja tour, thanks to Charles Howell

2011-03-06T06:32:58-08:00March 6th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #3 Isla Santa Catalina and blue whales

(Many thanks to Hilary Thompson for her beautiful photo of Isla Santa Catalina landscape!)

Hello whalewatchers,
This morning we were at Isla Santa Catalina for a hike and a snorkel. The wind was back blowing strong, but fortunately we were anchored behind this wonderful island. We stayed here until after lunch and then headed out and see if we can locate a whale.
We went towards the peninsula and we saw two blue whales right away. The wind  diminished and we were able to work and follow the whales. We spent a little time with these blue whales and continued south looking for something else. We found more blue whales and had great looks with good lighting.

With an hour left of daylight a male sperm whale breached in the distance so we went over that direction and were able to get a look at the whale through binoculars. It surfaced three times, 20 minutes apart, and on the last surfacing we were able to get close enough to see the whale without binoculars. Oddly enough the whale didn’t fluke, it just dissappeared. Most of the time sperm whales fluke to dive deep, so maybe it didn’t have to dive very deep. Everyone was happy to see a sperm whale.
We’re having margaritas and BBQ buffet on the back deck and are hoping for a chance to see bioluminesence tonight.
Capt Art

2011-03-04T11:58:53-08:00March 4th, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #2 Isla Santa Catalina and blue whales

Hello whalewatchers,
Well, we are certainly living right! We expected to have good weather for the morning and then possibly have some more wind in the afternoon. Not only did we get great weather this morning, but this afternoon it is even better, with the sea glassing off completely and the swell diminishing to where the boat is barely moving. We are liking it!
We had a great walk this morning at Bahia Tambobiche with good birding. We left there to look for whales and we saw a pair of blue whales not too far from there. We had excellent looks at these whales with perfect lighting and we were able to keep track of them so everyone had a good look. We stayed for over two hours and then we left to look for something different.

We came across a big herd of common dolphin that gave us a great show. There were at least 1000 dolphin in the herd. We left them in search of something different and we found an area of birds feedin,g with balls of krill on the surface and then two Bryde’s whales showed up. We had a great show with Brydes whales feeding on the balls of krill and small bait fish. It was spectacular!
Headed to Isla Santa Catalina tonight for another calm spot and a good night’s rest.

Looking forward to tomorrow,
Capt Art

p.s. Thanks to Chef Charles for the dolphin photo!

2011-03-02T19:23:44-08:00March 2nd, 2011|Trip Reports|
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Tour #3 Isla Partida and fin whales

Hello whalewatchers,
The Sea of Cortez wind gave us a wild ride last night!  We adjusted the itinerary and stopped at Isla Partida in a great cove this morning. Everyone  went for a nice walk with lots of birdwatching and then a skiff ride afterwards. We had lunch in the bay and then we left to go offshore to look for whales. We travelled up to Isla San Francisco and we came across a pair of fin whales and a large group of bottlenose dolphins. We had great looks at the fin whales in good weather.
We are headed north and will anchor for the night. We’ll go ashore on the peninsula early and then back out to look for whales. We hope to have good weather tomorrow.

More then,

Capt Art

2011-03-01T20:19:49-08:00March 1st, 2011|Trip Reports|
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