10-23-22 “Passenger’s Enthusiasm Filled us with Satisfaction”
No difficulty in finding whales today, as Captain Rod took the helm and ventured out west (we love going west) to the edge of the Monterey Canyon. Immediately upon our arrival over the edge of the shelf, humpback whales were spotted left and right. On the way out, a pod of Risso’s Dolphin gave us a great show totaling about 150 in number. After watching a group of four humpbacks for some time, we ventured a bit further offshore, and quickly found a small pod of Pacific White Sided dolphin, who immediately accosted the boat for some good bowriding. Strangely enough, our second trip had a bit of trouble. Not in finding whales (there were plenty), but in watching them! Group after group turned into 10-15+ minute divers, and were highly unpredictable in where they surfaced (they can cover quite…
10-22-21 “Embarrassment of Riches”
Such woes! Unacceptable! Once in a while, enough is enough. Captain Danny dragged our otherwise dandy vessel Pacifica far offshore, to find an exhorbitant amount of humpback whales, some 12 in all. Far too many to keep track of, we settled on a group five. At one point, they came so close to the boat, we couldn’t even take their picture; they did not fit in the frame! Just as we thought things couldn’t get worse, a handful of Pacific White Sided Dolphin appeared. Our heads nearly fell from our shoulders, as our necks craned this way and that around this true embarrassment of riches. Humpbacks here, dolphin there: where to point the cameras? Suddenly, one of the humpbacks started tail throwing and pec-slapping. No no no, they are supposed to pay extra for that nonsense! Fed up, we fled…
10-20-21 9am “Spectacular & Rare Sightings!”
Our morning trip had some spectacular and rare sightings! On our way outside the bay we encountered a small pod of Risso’s dolphins. As Captain Danny continued along the shore of Pacific Grove, we came across another pod of Risso’s, but this one had a very special member; Casper the albino Risso. As far as we know Casper is the only albino Risso’s dolphin in the world! While with these dolphins we spotted a couple whale spouts. We said goodbye to the dolphins and headed towards the whales. At first we only saw a pair of humpback whales, but we soon saw lots of spouts to the west and southwest. Captain Danny steered the Pacifica toward a particularly exciting looking area. We were watching some feeding humpbacks when our grand finale showed up… Two Orcas appeared out of nowhere, a…
10-16-21 9am/1:30 Trips “Plenty of Humpbacks in the Bay!”
Such a beautiful day, without a cloud in sight! Mild swells and calmer winds made for great conditions as Captain Mat and I, along with our Deckhand Caila, made way for the humpback grounds. Our first trip saw 10, and our second trip saw 8. Radio reports throughout the bay indicate that there are still plenty of humpbacks in the bay, so now is a great time to come see these magnificent beasts. -Naturalist Isaiah
10-14-21 9am/1:30 Trips “Adventurous Conditions”
Big swells made for adventurous conditions as captain Rod took the Pacifica North towards the middle of Monterey Bay where some 50 risso’s dolphin and 11 humpback whales were sighted for this morning’s trip. The afternoon trip swapped out dolphin for wind, adding a very adventurous feel as we saw 7 different humpback whales. -Naturalist Isaiah
10-10-21 9am/1:30 Trips “Large Concentration of Humpbacks”
As a strong, multiday windstorm advances on Monterey, Captain Rod was quick to find a large concentration of some 8 or 9 humpback whales, and not too far from Monterey Harbor. While our morning trip enjoyed the appearance of a small pod of Risso’s Dolphin, the afternoon trip was pressed to acquire the humpbacks as rising winds made for sloppy seas. Luckily, the wind held back just enough for us to get the second trip in. Looks like we’ll have the next few days off while the storm blows over. See you all again soon! -Naturalist Isaiah
10-9-21 9am “T-Shirt Weather, a Rarity for Monterey’s Seas!”
Yesterday’s tempestuous seas backed off to allow for amazing conditions on this morning’s trip: T-Shirt weather, a rarity for Monterey’s seas! Captain Rod and I took our passengers out west, over quite deep sea (6000 feet) and found 6 scattered humpback whales. We watched them until time to go back, where we picked up our second round of passengers, and returned out to the west. Several scattered dolphin were sighted, but no main pod could be found and winds picked up, sending us back inside the bay, where another 6 or so humpbacks were found, foraging alongside several massive groups of Sea Lions. Just as the winds became too strong for comfort, it was time to go home, which we did without incident. -Naturalist Isaiah
10-7-21 9am Trip “Bouncing Swells Tested our Passengers Mettle Today”
Naturalist log for Thursday, October 7th: Bouncing swells tested our passengers’ mettle today, as captain Danny fearlessly led our morning trip out west in search of creatures large and strange. Early on, we sighted a scattered group of Risso’s dolphin, just offshore from Pacific Grove. Afterwards we made our way further out west, and after nearly reaching the edge of the Monterey Submarine Canyon, we deemed the seas too rough to continue on. Just as we turned tail, a humpback whale made an appearance off the port bow. We watched it for a few minutes before choosing to search for whales in the sanctity of the bay. Four more whales were sighted, and great looks were had before the time came for us to return home. -Naturalist Isaiah
10-3-21 “90,000 Anchovies Lost Their Lives for our Viewing Pleasure Today”
Naturalist Log for Sunday, October 3rd: Such good weather! Blue skies, calm winds, and mild swells set the mood today as Captain Danny and I (Isaiah) took two loads of passengers out into the bay. Our first trip came upon a group of thirty Risso’s Dolphin shortly after leaving the harbor, who breached repeatedly in fantastic lighting until we left them in search of humpbacks, which we found out in the middle of the bay, over the Monterey Submarine Canyon. All told, some 15 humpbacks were sighted about, though two humpbacks were engaged in surface lunge feeding. Low and behold, the two whales were well known to us: Ratchet (who I personally have seen every year since 2012) and Lemur (whose barnacle scars undertail resemble a lemur’s face. We watched the great lungers until the bitter end of our timeframe,…
10-2-21 “Proud of our Sightings, Passenger Enthusiasm was High”
Naturalist Log for Saturday, October 2nd: Morning fog quickly burned off to reveal two lunge feeding humpback whales along the shallow waters off the town of Marina. After watching several lunges, we made way for the Monterey Submarine Canyon, and ran along its course out to the west, briefly stopping for two humpbacks before several small splashes, out to the west, caught our attention: Three hundred Risso’s Dolphin, travelling with four humpback whales! We tracked this great stampede until time to return to port. As the second trip made its way out, a thick layer of fog moved in, but we had little trouble finding a cow-calf pair of humpbacks (named “Rip Curl” and her baby “Maverick”). It wasn’t easy, but we managed to keep good track of these animals despite the poor visibility until suddenly a pod of 30…
10-1-21 “Whale Activity Abounded & Beautiful Fall Weather”
Naturalist Log for Friday, October 1st: As tourism begins to slow, Friday saw light loads on both of the Pacifica’s whale watches today. Nonetheless, whale activity abounded and beautiful fall weather cast a warm and sunny atmosphere. Captain Danny took the helm, with Alexi as deckhand, and our morning trip found two large humpback whales and a small pod of roughly 20 Risso’s Dolphin. Our afternoon trip stole the show, with six humpback whales and a dozen bowriding bottlenose dolphin. The humpbacks occasionally showing surface lunge feeds, and capped off the ride with several breaches from a small calf. Just another great day, out on the Monterey Bay. -Naturalist Isaiah
7-2-21 “Great Looks, Occasional Lunge Feeds, & Some Belting Sea Shanties”
July 2nd: Today was a peaceful day, and captain Rod, deckhand Andrew, and myself took three trips out into mild seas with low winds frolic amongst 2, 3, and 1 humpback whales (respectively). All three trips enjoyed great looks, occasional lunge feeds, and some belting sea shanties from Andrew and I. Risso’s dolphin did make an appearance for our third trip: some 40 in all, while the market squid spawning season draws to a close, we can expect to find these Rissos out on the edge of the Monterey Submarine Canyon, continuing their forages many thousands of feet down. -Naturalist Zay