Naturalist Blog

I cried today, literally. Today’s morning was, on its own, spectacular. Grey whales appeared everywhere we looked, some 15 in all, and we settled on a group of four heading north. Not just Grey’s two (additional) Humpbacks joined the group and our passengers were afforded the rare opportunity to photograph both species in the same shot! On our way home, a massive pod of roughly 600 Risso’s Dolphin appeared, which we watched until it was time to head- wait, could it be? Yes! Casper, the albino Risso’s Dolphin (one and only in the world) made an appearance. We watched him well into overtime, and got – by far – the best looks I’ve ever seen of him. Finally, we had to head back. Truly, it was our second trip that stood out, and for much different purposes. Just as we…

As holiday weekend crowds surged against like relentless tides against our shop doors, Discovery sent out THREE full boats today (our entire fleet). Swells proved to be moderate, setting a tone of true adventure. Early on, we found a large group of Risso’s dolphin (some 200 or so) mixed in with a few dozen Pacific White Sided Dolphin. Even Casper, the famous albino dolphin made an appearance as his neighbors breached and porpoised near the boat. Truly magical. Afterwards we went south to find a lone, northbound grey whale, who proved to be rather challenging to track. With a touch of patience, we got a few good looks at it until it finally showed its tail. With rising winds and increasing chop, it was time to head home. Our afternoon trip unfortunately had to be cancelled on account of rising…

What season is this? January and February have proven to be exceptionally warm and mild as far as conditions go. Today was no exception, as yesterday’s larger swells backed down to nothing, and warm, sunny skies yielded little to no wind. Seizing this beautiful weather, today’s morning whale watchers were treated to two grey whales, still southbound on their migration. After requisite good looks, we ran out west to deep water over the middle of the Monterey Submarine Canyon where depths of 4000 feet were read on the sonar. There, we encountered a massive pod of some one thousand Risso’s Dolphin, mixed in with the occasional Pacific White Sided Dolphin AND Northern Right Whale Dolphin. A long ways from home, we eventually had to make our way back to take out a second trip. Staying a bit closer to shore…

Eight foot seas set an adventurous tone for today’s trips, as both the Pacifica and the New Horizon were sent out to find today’s animals. Following a possible sightings report from a nearby fishing vessel, we found a single humpback whale, north of the harbor. After a fair amount of time with the creature, went ventured out west to find two grey whales, traveling south to Baja together. With plenty of fluke pics, we made our way back to the harbor to pick up our second round of passengers. This time, and with only half of one boat’s worth of passengers, we ran straight out west and found a group of three grey whales, which we tracked all the way to Carmel Bay until it was time to run home. -Naturalist Isaiah

Discovery sent out two boats in the morning into mild conditions and sunny skies. Three Grey Whales were sighted and good looks were had, but the afternoon trip stole the show. A single humpback whale was found in the middle of the bay, for which we absconded and found promptly. Halfway through the sighting, the beast breached four times for us, and closer than 80 per cent of the breaches we ever see. After it calmed down, we made our way back to Monterey Harbor without incident. Isaiah

With tourism slowing down again, weekday crowds run slim. Today we ran with a single trip at quarter capacity, which is actually a pleasant experience for all. Lighter loads mean more personal time with passengers (and more hot chocolate to go around). With good weather, we had little trouble finding a total of 6 southbound grey whales, returning to Baja California for their breeding season. After sufficient looks, we shot out further west to encounter several groups of humpback whales (an otherwise rare sighting for winter season). Just as we were about to head home, 6 Killer Whales appeared off the starboard bow! Exctatic, we watched them well into overtime until they turned and passed barely 5 yards of the starboard side, making for a grande finale and a perfect time to head home. Even 30 minutes into overtime, half…

Naturalist Log for Saturday, January 22nd: Spectacular weather holds through the weekend, while plenty of Grey Whales abound. Our morning trip faired well, with 8 Grey Whales and 20 Risso’s Dolphin. Solid. Once again, the afternoon trip stole the show, starting with a lone, friendly Bottlenose Dolphin, who rode our bow for the first fifteen minutes of the trip. Out west, we encountered several groups of Grey Whales, who gave us great looks before spotting an amalgum of splashing to the south. One thousand Risso’s Dolphin soon surrounded the boat, and in their ranks was Casper, the famous albino dolphin. With Carmel Valley as our backdrop, we watched them until the sun began to set, prompting a swift ride home. Tomorrow is forecasted to be beautiful, so get out here! Naturalist Isaiah

I’ve said it before, the ocean pays off all its debts at once. When you win the whale watching lottery, you win big. Today started out great, with warm and clear skies on mellow swells. Captain Danny deftly found several groups of Grey Whales, and we settled on a group of four. Everyone had a great time, and the day could have ended there on its own high note. But no, today was jackpot day. The afternoon trip was rearing for adventure. Just as we left Monterey Bay, we spotted several individual grey whales, but we were not content to settle on single whales when so many abounded. Instead, we pushed out farther to the edge of the continental shelf where several small splashes turned into thousands of small splashes, spread out over two miles. Splashes gave way to dorsal…

More Grey Whales continued to roll through Monterey, with about 8 whales seen on each of our 4 trips yesterday.

The Grey Whale continue their steady march south to Baja California for winter breeding. With captain Rod at the helm, the Pacifica ventured out offshore, just outside Monterey Bay to find scattered handfuls here and there. Today boasted beautiful weather, with calm winds, relatively warm and sunny, and gentle waves rolling slowly under the boat. The morning whales made us work a little extra harder than normal: holding their breathes for 10 minutes at a time. We tracked a single whale south of Carmel Bay, to even just south of Point Lobos and the Carmel Highlands. Such territory is seldom trammeled by our trips, and when we do venture so far, I am always exctatic (the rugged mountainous coastline is unbeatable). Just as we were nearing the end of the trip, a group of three appeared, and we got fantastic…

The 10am start to our winter whale watch season allows the crew more time in the morning to enjoy ourselves. This January in Monterey has been especially pleasant in regards to the weather and sea conditions, and as I went through my morning routine I wondered what our whale watching adventures held in store for us. The morning was warm and and the water calm in the harbor as I made my daily commute to work, and I had a great sense of anticipation that it would be a great day. When 9:45 came around, we began our pre-whale watch orientation, and I could see that our guests were feeling the same excitement as me for our day on the water. I had several engaging conversations with different passengers as we cruised out west to find the Grey Whales amidst…

The New Horizon pushed out into the bay with Captain John at the helm. It was sunny and mild, with a northeastern breeze starting. We made our way beyond the point, and soon after saw our first whale spouts. It turned out to be a single southbound grey whale on its way to Baja. We watched it for several surfacings, but it wasn’t easy. This whale decided it wanted to zig and zag instead of heading straight south. This is pretty normal for grey whales, as they are more cautious, but always makes watching them difficult. Next, Captain John took us west until we hit the continental shelf. He turned the boat to the north, and followed the canyon edge as its usually a good place to find wildlife. We spent 30 of our precious minutes doing this with no…