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 fins, and next thing you know, we were surrounded by at least 1000 pacific white sided dolphin, 200 northern right whale dolphin, and even a couple common dolphin. Over and over again, the white sides executed perfect back flips, breaches, and tail slaps. Here and there, dolphin raced around and under the boat, all while many of them committed to bowriding for the entirety of our sighting. It was nuts, plain and simple. As the clock ticked towards later in the trip, we reluctantly abandoned the dolphin in favor of finding a group of three grey whales, which afforded fantastic looks with a beautiful sunset-lit backdrop of Carmel Valley and the Big Sur coastline. With glassy calm water. Warm sun and stellar lighting, I think I’ve made my point clear.
Discovery Whale Watch
Whale Watching Trips – Monterey California
