Imagine…your feet on the deck of a boat as it gently sways in the swell, staring at the vast body of dark water that is the Pacific Ocean, not being able to see more than a few feet below. When, all of a sudden, a 20-40 ton animal erupts from out of the depths…
More bliss. Captain Matt spotted three humpback whales not long after leaving port, one of which might just be the largest humpback I’ve ever seen. Seriously, I could hardly suppress a giggle, marveling at the mere size of the beast. Another humpback soon joined the frey, and the fearsome foursome quickly set about the anchovy…
Words? No words: at least any that could convey the beauty of today’s morning trip, so I’ll keep it subtle. Calm, flat water. Opalescent, patchy clouds. Lukewarm air. Ten minutes from harbor: Breaching, flipper slapping, rolling humpbacks. Tranquility. 400 Risso’s Dolphin. Surrounding the boat, breaching occasionally. Scenery: Pacific Grove. Back to the humpbacks, more breaches.…
After two incredible days of whales and dolphins, things returned to something more reminiscent of “normal” today. However, “normal” is an amorphic, bizarre thing when your job is to search oceans for wild animals! Our morning trip found a handful of cooperative humpback whales, and our passengers were graciously offered a few not-too-distant looks at…
One of the many beautiful aspects of our job, is that every trip is truly and utterly unique. After one magnificent day on the water, how could I expect today to even hold a candle to yesterday? One could only imagine my immense satisfaction with today’s trip. Stellar weather, for one, helps. There certainly was…
Halo the humpback whale has been a superstar here in the Monterey Bay the last few days!! This humpback whale calf has dazzled the fleet with his (Yes, we think he is a male) curious nature towards boats and even appears friendly at times. He hung out with the Pacifica for a good period of…
Every now and then, we experience a day that defies belief and (more importantly here) defies description. Some claim the “Holy Grail of Whale Watching” to be a breaching whale. However, there is one other thing a whale can do that will send your heart thumping into overdrive, and that is when a whale simply…
First off, I know what you are thinking, what in the world is a Cuvi-what whale?? There are 23 different species of Beaked whales which all have a long snout or “beak” and they are very deep diving animals. Their deep diving abilities are what we are highlighting and in awe of in this post.…
Our 9AM trip left to another overcast day. We looked around for a whole hour and a half before spotting our first whales. We spotted 4 humpback whales, 2 of which were feeding down deep underwater. We stayed with these 2 for a good while as they dove and resurfaced, while the other 2 moved…
Wednesday’s morning trip was a foggy one. Due to extremely low visibility we had a lot of trouble keeping on any whales at all. With Captain Danny, Fredo as crew, and a load of 14 passengers, the Pacifica carried us north, just off the coast of Moss Landing. We saw big flocks of sooty shearwaters,…