Naturalist Blog

We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful and warm winter whale watch. The sun was shinning the swell broad and comfortable and the Gray Whales were out in force. We cruised comfortably out of Monterey around the peninsula and found whales readily all around the point. With the accessibility of the whales Captain Danny chose to press further south in hopes of finding more active or friendly whales. Too many whales is a problem we love to have at Discovery. Our prize was two Grays just outside Carmel bay that swam within 20 feet of the boat! They inspected us out just under the surface of the water for several minutes while we pointed out their glowing silhouettes to oohing and aahing passengers. Finally the whales surfaced, giving us incredible looks. We used the remainder of our time to…

Rockin’ ride today, as we large, steep swells made for a rollercoaster of a trip. Resolute, our tough set of passengers had little trouble with conditions and helped us spot a total of 7 Grey Whales. Unfortunately, conditions deteriorated to a point that safety trumped fun, and we had to come in a bit on the early side, but our people were enthusiastic and even the 91 year old woman (her first whale watch ever) reported having had a blast with a big smile on her face! Naturalist Isaiah

Naturalist log for Tuesday, December 21st: Christmas draws near, and small bursts of vacationers have shown a slight boost in whale interest. Two boats left the harbor this morning, out into beautiful weather. Round Pt. Pinos, we found a lone Grey Whale, making its annual migration south to Mexico. We watched it doe a bit before spying 2 humpback whales, which we absconded for immediately. All three whales had, by the end of the trip, given us great fluke shots with the beautiful Big Sur coastline in the background. Another one and done day. Naturalist Isaiah

Naturalist Log, Sunday, December 12th: The trip that almost didn’t happen. Forecasts called for high winds and rough seas for today, bad enough to cancel the trip. However, this morning revealed some beautiful conditions, as the forecasted south winds had yet to arrive. Seizing the opportunity, we managed a morning trip, finding some ten humpbacks in the middle of the bay. With the occasional tail throw and close pass, our passengers had a grand (albeit cold) time on the water. Just as we pulled back in to the harbor, mariners still out in the bay reported that the winds had indeed arrived and that conditions were deteriorating rapidly. One and done! -Isaiah

Naturalist Log, Saturday December 11th: Brr!!! Ice on the dock this morning, as a full load of Saturday passengers shuffled onto the Pacifica with their gloved hands stuffed in their coats, and colorful beanies capped their heads. Thankfully, the sun shone brightly, and conditions were otherwise beautiful out at sea, and Captain Danny spotted 4 ( particularly massive) humpback whales (after I spotted a small pod of Risso’s Dolphin). After a long time of watching the chunky beasts, we hit Carmel Bay (not litteraly) and ran the gorgeous coastline with hopes of finding some Grey Whales. Nay, a coastal scenic tour it was, though a succesful trip regaedless. Our second trip found two humpback famous whales: Fluke Skywalker and her mother Aurora! No sooner did I tell the passengers, “Keep your eye on that Skywalker, she’s an avid breacher,” did…

Naturalist log for Friday, December 10th: No words. None, at least, that could capture today’s trips. Today started out innocently enough. Two humpback whales, traveling slow and steady up the edge of the Monterey Submarine Canyon. What they lacked for in tail-showings, they more than made up with close passes, and cooperative and predictable behavior. While they alone could have easily made for an acceptable trip, we here at Discovery Whale Watch pride ourselves in our adventurous spirit; we always alot a small amount of spare time into searching for additional wildlife before heading home. Several miles south of the hunpbacks, we found a pod of six killer whales. Already an exciting and rare find, our six apex predators were feasting on a large carcass that we could only assume was that of a bull elephant seal. Gory details withheld,…

Our midweek whale watch had a low passenger count but high spirits as we embarked on our morning trip. We journeyed through thick fog a few miles from Monterey before coming upon a pod of Risso’s Dolphin. They charged through the water at a clipped pace. We could only guess as to why they were in such a hurry, regardless we enjoyed the display. Further north into the heart of Monterey Bay we broke out of the fog. We stopped to watch a few different solo Humpback whales. JJ tracked the animals skillfully, but with just single whales and none showing much interest in being watched we continued on our way after viewing each for a handful of surfacings. As we continued our search for wildlife we swung wide along the edge of the canyon generally making our way southwards….

Yet ANOTHER day of atypically calm November weather as Captain took us out on the Pacifica. Right out of the gate, we found a pod of roughly 50 Risso’s Dolphon, who also had small calves with them that liked to breach and roll around. Not a minute after leaving them did we find a group of three humpback whales just off of the aquarium! Soon after our encounter, the humpbacks stumbled into the Risso’s, oops! Entertaining though it may be, Risso’s dolphin often do harass the larger humpbacks, causing them to roll around and trumpet-blow, which they did for some time. Eventually, the Risso’s left the humpbacks alone and swam off. We finished up our looks at the humpbacks before venturing far offshore to see what else we might find. Though our off-shore journey did not yield any more cetaceans,…

Our whale watching adventure began with boarding the vessel during one of our king tides. The hurdle onto the boat slowed some of our passengers down, however we were quickly on our way and rewarded With Risso’s dolphins just outside the Harbor. We were treated with some head slapping’s from a large male eager to show off, and after a few surfacings we continued on our way to see what else we could find. After a long smooth ride on broad rolling swell, we finally found the big guys. First, a single Humpback Whale that was taking just one breathe and then disappearing beneath the water for several minutes before reappearing in an unpredictable pattern. Thankfully, while we struggled to get looks at our elusive whale, we spotted big splashes a mile away which materialized into three Humpback Whales that…

Foggy conditions early on, as Captain Rod took the helm and headed us North, towards the middle of the bay. As we arrived, the fog lifted and the sun came out just as we found two humpback whales. Cooperative,l and slowly milling around, our two whales spent lots of time at the surface and even did a few tail throws. Afterwards, we went looking around and found two more good humpbacks which we watched until it was time to go home. Just off Pt. Pinos we found a small group of Risso’s Dolphin. Not ones to pass them up, we watched them a bit into overtime before making the final run for the harbor. One and done! Naturalist Isaiah

More fantastic weather today, as captain Danny took us out into Monterey Bay. After a bit of a search, we did find two humpback whales and eventually a small pod of Risso’s Dolphin. The afternoon trip really stole the show, as we found not just one humpback whale, but a pod of 6 Killer Whales! Warm, sunny, and calm weather is rare enough on the ocean, and to throw in Killer Whales was almost too much good fortune to handle. Unfortunately for the sea lions, the Orcas were hungry this afternoon, and we witnessed them hunt and eat a large California Sea Lion! With the occasional breach, we got a lot of action out of the animals before eating up our time, and the setting sun sent us home. -Naturalist Isaiah

Good weather prevails over this holiday weekend, as plenty of passengers meant two boats! Straight offshore, west of Pinos, we found two famous humpback whales, “Angel Wing” and “Pockadot.” Snoozing, they lazily milled about, barely spending any time underwater and affording us great looks.   After watching them for a good while, we left for our requisite exploratory adventure, which produced two more (massive) humpbacks. High flukers, they too gave us a good show. Finally out of time, we made way for Monterey Harbor, but the show was not over. Nearing Pt. Pinos, we stumbled into two more whales, which turned out to be Grey Whales! Our first Greys of the year, we can expect to see thousands more over the next few months. Grey Whale season has begun! For our second trip, the weather got even better: calmer, warmer……