San Diego Whale Watch

01/23/2025

WITH A BIG SPLASH!!!! Couldn’t have asked for a better day on the water!
We headed west into a pod of ~400 long beaked common dolphins that were buzzing by the boat, jumping out of the water and socializing. They were chatting so loud that we could hear them on the upper deck! Our favorite little juvenile humpback whale must’ve heard all the commotion because we located it just a mile south of the dolphins. As we hung out with this little humpy, it got closer and closer to the pod of dolphins so we were SURROUNDED with dolphins as we journeyed along with the little whale who appeared to be circling our boat. We had to head back to land but not before this amazing little whale did A FULL BODY BREACH right off our bow! ( video in comments)

Naturalist, Alison

01/21/2025

Twofer Tuesday is among us! We caught up with a BREACHING juvenile Humpback and ~500 Long-beaked Common dolphins!

We set out to the NW and spotted a huge spread of birds diving in all directions. We knew that it was going to be a great area to check out. We noticed some splashes and originally thought it was dolphin but was actually a raft of ~10 California sea lions! They popped up and checked us out! Then all of a sudden a Humpback popped up in the middle of the sea lions! It was a little juvenile with a lot of speckles across its back and under its tail! It may be the one we seen a month ago. (We will check and update in the comments!) It surfaced all around the boat with no rhyme or reason! Possibly checking us out! It began to fall into a nice groove and traveled slowly to the south. Then out of nowhere a massive pod of Long-beaked Common dolphins raced in our direction toward the NW! Before we realized it, we were surrounded! Then the Humpback breached!! Only a select few on the boat got to sea the amazing breach as it was so unexpected and we were enjoying the Commons! The humpback continued to the north while we hung out with the huge pod of Long-beaks. From a distance we sighted the whale breach for a second time! We were all on cloud 9 to see such an amazing sight!
This evening had a slow start but an incredible end! We searched ….and searched… and searched….
Then on our way back we located a gray whale crawling just outside the kelp line. This whale was cruising slowly south and showed its fluke on every single dive! It popped up RIGHT NEXT TO US on a few occasions. As we ran out of time, we turned to head home but found ourselfs amidst a pod of playful long beaked common dolphins, a wonderful last minute bonus!

Naturalist,
Vanessa & Alison

01/20/2025

January 20, 2024

How did the gray whale become a motivational speaker? - It was always going with the flow! This morning’s trip started off with a very shy gray whale who gave us a run for our money! We got word from another whale watching boat that there was a gray whale located near the kelp beds off of Point Loma. The gray whale would only come up for one breath every ~15 mins or so, it was being very elusive. So, we wished them whale and continued on our journey! Then, we caught up with ~100 long beaked common dolphins who led us towards TWO gray whales. It was so awesome to see their heart-shaped spouts. They were travelling southbound towards Mexico. We also saw their beautiful tail flukes as they went down and one of them crossed our bow. Then, we found some more long-beaked common dolphins who escorted us all the way back to Mission Bay! On our afternoon trip we found ~150 long beaked common dolphins under a massive bird pile!
We have some fun coming up this evening so please stay tuned!

We had an amazing sunset trip with a pair of Gray whales and Long-beaked Common dolphins! We left the Mission Bay jetties and cruised out to the west. We spotted some bird activity so we went to investigate. There were Long-beaked Common dolphins all around. They zoomed in and out of the bait balls feeding on anchovies! Over about a mile around us, we could see Long-beaked Common dolphins heading straight for the feeding frenzy! We had only spent about 5 minutes with them when a couple of spouts were seen a mile to the north of us! We enjoyed watching the pair slowly travel to the south. Captain Austin set the scene perfectly so we could see beautiful rainblows(rainbows in their spouts)! We were lucky to observe them raise their tail flukes as they went down for their sounding dives. We enjoyed the smooth seas and beautiful sunset!

We hope to sea you on a tour soon!

Naturalists,
Melissa & Vanessa

01/20/2025

January 19, 2025

Gray whale galore! On today’s morning trip we started off with an amazing pod of ~300 long-beaked common dolphins. They were surfing in our wake, riding the bow and having a whale of a time! We got a call on the radio from our whale watching friends about a gray whale spout located about ~2 miles offshore. The gray whale was definitely acting a bit elusive but we finally caught up with the southbound gray whale located off sunset cliffs and even saw its tail lift out of the water twice!! We also saw a few really beautiful heart-shaped spouts to start the day off right! We have an another trip coming up so please stay tuned!

On the Afternoon trip we got lucky again catching up with not one but 2 south bound gray whales! One was exhibiting a behaviour called “snorkeling”, taking a single shallow breath before a short dive.
Coming north again close to Pt Loma we caught up with an energetic pod of ~600 long beaked common dolphins! Like a lot of the rest of San Diego, they spent their Sunday afternoon surfing and hanging out in the waves.

Our Sunset whale watch was no less exciting. Following our success to the South West earlier in the day we stayed the course and were surprised by a solo gray whale spout located right in front of the boat! This majestic whale was putting on a show lifting its tail flukes for every single dive. Some long beaked common dolphins got curious about the gray whale and raced over to where it was diving. The pod of long beaked common dolphins kept expanding over the vast ocean and we estimated we were encompassed by a very spread out megapod of ~1000 dolphins!
All and all a fantastic to spend a Sunday on a long weekend!
Tomorrow on MLK Day we have a 9am, 12pm and 3pm. We’d love to have you out on the ocean with us!

Naturalists,
Melissa & Ruth

01/19/2025

January 18, 2025
Straight out of the jetties today we saw a MASSIVE feeding frenzy of seabirds that stretched for MILES! No marine life down below, however after some searching we located a huge pod of ~500 long beaked common dolphins. They appeared to be foraging for food and socializing but made time to come say hello to us! There were plenty of babies in this pod and MAN, OH MAN! Is it cute to watch the tiny little ones attempt to keep up with the zooming adults.

We saw our favorite little crusty cetacean today! We made friends with a barnacle-covered sub adult gray whale! At the beginning of the trip, we found a spunky & speedy pod of ~200 long beaked common dolphins located near the drop-off in about ~600 feet of water! It was so fun to see the LB common dolphins chin-slapping, tail-slapping, surfing in our wake and generally just going all out for the wild dolphin show! Then, we went back towards the gray whale highway zone in search of a heart-shaped spout. We were so stoked to find a spout located ~2 miles offshore basically in front of the jetties! We hung out with the subadult gray whale for a good amount of time, seeing its tail lift out of the water twice. We saw so many beautiful heart-shaped rainblows right in front of an epic sunset! Tomorrow brings more ocean fun and salty cetaceans, please come join us for Sunday-funday on the Privateer!

Naturalist,
Alison & Melissa

01/18/2025

The Gray whale season is perking up! It was an AMAZING day with multiple Gray whales and Common dolphins sighted!

On our afternoon trip, we cruised out to the Pacific Ocean and almost immediately we sighted a spout to the SW of us! We watched in awe as it was slowly traveling to the south and we got great looks as it surfaced we could see its heart-shaped spout! It even popped up close to us a couple times! Almost every time it went down we observed its tail being lifted! We continued to the west and hung out with a HUGE pod of ~800 Long-beaked Common dolphins! They were scattered everywhere! The raced up to the bow and surfed in our wake! We spotted many juveniles likely the calves born over the summer! We turned in and heard about a Humpback whale breaching! We caught up and saw it a few times, but by the time we settled in, it was slowly traveling to the north. We got bonus looks a SECOND Gray whale right outside the Mission Bay jetties!

On our sunset whale watch we spotted a big pod of ~10-15 Inshore bottlenose dolphin feeding under diving birds! A few cruised up next to us! It was the largest pod of the coastal population that we had seen in quite some time. We hugged the coast down to the end of Point Loma. We enjoyed the incredible visibility! It looked like the horizon never ended! We caught up with another southbound Gray whale zigzagging between the lobster traps. It was up for a few breaths and down for 3-5-min. We pointed our nose back up to the north and found an amazing spread of ~400 Long-beaked Common dolphin within a few miles from shore! They were so boat friendly hitching a ride in our wake and riding the bow! Captain John W. spotted 2 spouts out to the west! We caught up with two Gray whales! Their spouts illuminated beautifully in the sunset! We waved goodbye as they raised their flukes and continued on their merry way! The sunset was absolutely stunning! So dreamy! Our ride home was nothing short of magical!

The Gray whales seemed to be a little delayed this year, but now they are making their way down. Our friends in Monterey Bay, say they are seeing a big pods of Grays headed our way! Come out now!!

Naturalist,
Vanessa

01/16/2025

We hung out with FIVE Gray whales and 200 Long-beaked Common dolphins today! We wanted to stay out all day long, the sea conditions were smooth and the visibility was amazing! The wind was chilly which reminded us it was winter! We spotted an inbound Bottlenose dolphin in the Mission Bay jetties to start our trip. We began to head to the NW when a spout was spotted to the SW. We were excited to see numerous spouts in one pod! We caught up with five gray whales migrating south to Mexico! We had the best time watching them surface with heart-shaped spouts and going for dives. They lifted their tail flukes every time! One peeled off and continued on its own, while the other four pushed it inside, closer to the coast. We waved goodbye and continued to the south in search for more wildlife! We were in luck! Only a mile south of the Gray’s was a huge spread out pod of ~200 Long-beaked Common dolphins! They milled around trending to the south. Passengers were amazed by how boat friendly they were! Many beelined it straight to the bow! Some showed off by launching out of the water, porpoising beside the boat! We spotted a raft of California sea lions nearby. On our way in, we encountered a couple more Coastal Bottlenose dolphins!

We look forward to tomorrow’s trips! Hope to sea ya on the water soon!

Naturalist,
Vanessa

01/15/2025

January 15, 2025

We’re diving into the new year with a very porpoiseful mindset and setting intentions right for a great year ahead! We’re hoping for lots of porsperity, happiness and whales in 2025. Today’s trip was right on the money with warm & sunny skies, calm ocean conditions and soooo many dolphriends!! We found a great pod of ~15 coastal bottlenose dolphins outside of the jetties near Ocean beach pier. We hung out with these friendly folk for a good amount of time before we headed out further out west towards the drop-off. Around the drop-off we found an awesome pod of ~100 long-beaked common dolphins. They were surfing in our wake and riding the bow!
We never know what we’ll sea out here and we’re looking forward to some more ocean fun tomorrow! Please come join us and help us find our migratory gray whale friends as they make thier way down south for the winter!

Naturalist,
Melissa

01/15/2025

WE’RE BACK IN BUSINESS! The wildlife was EVERYWHERE today! Straight out of the channel, Cole spotted a Grey Whale slowly moving south. Because we found this whale so early we got to spend LOADS of time watching it come up to the surface. While we hung out with this whale a MASSIVE feeding frenzy closed in on us. This ENORMOUS bait ball was being devoured by hundreds of dolphins, sea lions and seabirds. For a time the dolphins completely ignored us. I get it, I get hangry sometimes too. After about 30 mins, some full belly’s and a switch up of food location - the dolphins ERRUPTED into stampede! We watched hundreds of these dolphins race to another bait ball off in the distance and joined them in their direction. Once they got the hint that we were going the same way - they zoomed over to us to catch a ride in our wake. Cherry on top, another breathtaking winter sunset.

Naturalist,
Alison

01/14/2025

A beautiful evening to be out on the water! We had a gorgeous clear sunset but the moonrise was happening at the same time and IT WAS SO STUNNING that I forgot to snap the sunset. We traveled north about 4-6 miles from shore in search of any wildlife. We managed to find a scattered pod of long beaked common dolphin cruising through the waters of La Jolla.
We’re full of gratitude for the warm peaceful weather conditions we’re having here in San Diego.

Excited to see what we’ll find out there tomorrow!
Naturalist, Alison

01/14/2025

2024 was an incredible year! Take a look at some of the amazing highlights!
Fact: Whales can be seen YEAR ROUND in San Diego!!!
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Check out the best whale sightings of 2024! 🐋 For tickets and information, visit our website: https://sdwhalewatch.com/

01/12/2025

January 12, 2025
Our day was filled with heart-shaped spouts and happy hearts! We were up bright and early today to find our cetacean friends! Our morning trip started off with a bang! We saw a small but playful pod of ~5 inshore bottlenose dolphins as we made our way out to sea. Then, we quickly saw a massive bird pile located down south. The bird pile led us to an amazing pod of ~100 long-beaked common dolphins! We also saw a great feeding frenzy of ~5 California sea lions, ~100 long-beaked common dolphins and various types of seabirds. We continued on south and saw two spouts located about~4 miles offshore in about ~300 feet of water. We found a pair of friendly Gray whales! They were traveling south towards Mexico, swimming side by side and sometimes playing follow-the-leader. They were going down for ~6 minute dives. During the last breath cycle we noticed a THIRD gray whale spout! We said goodbye to our migratory friends and wished them whale as they continued on their southbound travels.

We found another gray whale friend this afternoon located about ~3.5 miles offshore, north towards La Jolla in ~277 feet of water. We hung out with this gray whale for a good amount of time, getting great looks from all areas off of the boat. It was going down for ~5 minute dives, heading south east. Then, we caught up with an incredible pod of ~200 long-beaked common dolphins, TONS of shearwaters and some western gulls. We also saw massive bait ball of northern anchovies. We have another trip coming up evening so please stay tuned.

We had an EPIC sunset trip! We zoomed straight out to the SW and hung out with a single southbound Gray whale! It popped up on both sides of the boat and seemed to be cruising at about 5mph. It had a distinctive 10-ft spout that glowed in the low angle of the sun! It came up for 3-5 breaths and down for about 5min dives times. We were lucky enough to see its tail flukes on every sounding dive. On our last few breath cycles with the Gray whale a small pod of ~30 Long-beaked Common dolphin showed up! They went south and we went north and caught up with the rest of the pod. We traveled about 4-miles and we were hanging out with Common dolphins the ENTIRE time! We estimate there to be ~800 or more! The sunset was the cherry on top!

Naturalists,
Melissa & Vanessa

01/11/2025

We had beautiful, calm seas all day long with plenty of Common dolphins sighted everywhere!

We started the day cruising out to the west! Beyond a huge Navy ship, we could see thousands of birds diving in the water! Underneath was a massive pod of Long-beaked Common dolphin! They were slowly traveling to the south along the drop-off. We hung out with them as they enjoyed surfing our wake! They beelined it to the bow with great speed! We spotted many cow/calf pairs! We heard there was a Humpback whale sighted to the south of us, so we zoomed over as fast as we could to catch up with it. We got to the zone, but it gave us the slip! We enjoyed the smooth ride in.

On our afternoon cruise, we set out toward the drop-off. We were excited to see the Common dolphins in pretty much the same spot but this time were traveling to the north, very slowly! There were a lot of birds around, but they seemed to have calmed down and were mostly sitting on the water. We enjoyed the Common dolphins all the same! They were a little more active as they raced alongside the boat! We got the best looks!

We spotted inshore bottlenose dolphin, harbor seals, and California sea lions along our journey!

A MEGA POD of common dolphins awaited us on our evening tour, these long beaks raced around our boat and porpoised full speed towards the bow to catch a ride. Somewhere between 600- 800 dolphins surrounding our vessel made us feel right at home, part of the pod. A fiery sunset lingered in the sky as we headed back towards land!

Naturalist,
Vanessa

01/11/2025

Absolutely golden! Yeah, that’s accurate for how today went. This afternoon we found a super playful pod of short beaked common dolphins. We don’t see shorties all that often in the colder months so these playful little nuggets were quite the delight - popping out of the water and jumping every which way! On our sunset cruise - were headed towards a feeding frenzy when Cpt. John spotted a spout! NO! THREE! So we rapidly changed direction and got to hang out with three grey whales for a LONG time. With the sun setting, the golden rays caught the waterfalls cascading off of these whales flukes as the dove into the depths. Every time the whales came to the surface their spouts errupted in toasty golden glittery puffs.
Can’t wait to share more dreamy days out here with you!

Naturalist,
Alison

01/09/2025

We found a Southbound Gray whale and Short-beaked Common dolphins 9-miles from shore today!

We started our day with a quick scan of the bait receivers! There were 2 juvenile California sea lions lounging on the yellow buoy! We followed the coastline about 1.5 miles from shore in search of southbound Gray whales. It was pretty quiet in the marine mammal department, so once we got to La Jolla, we began our journey to the SW. We started seeing some intermittent splashes with a couple of birds circling the area. We set out to investigate and sure enough we caught up with some scattered dolphins. We noticed more popping up to the SW and found about ~150 in total. There were a lot of babies traveling next to their moms. We also enjoyed watching the rambunctious ones that breached and porpoised around us! We were about to do one more turn around them and then turn in, when a spout appeared before our eyes! We continued out another mile and caught up with a southbound Gray whale! It surfaced for 1-3 breaths and down for about 5-min dives. It was a large adult Gray with lots of barnacles and lice around its head. On our last look, it began to head east, and we waved goodbye! We were super happy to see both baleen and toothed whales in one spot! On our way in at the Mission Bay jetties, we spotted a couple of outgoing Inshore Bottlenose dolphin!
A MEGA POD of common dolphins awaited us on our evening tour, these long beaks raced around our boat and porpoised full speed towards the bow to catch a ride. Somewhere between 600- 800 dolphins surrounding our vessel made us feel right at home, part of the pod. A fiery sunset lingered in the sky as we headed back towards land.

We hope to see you on the next one!

Naturalist,
Vanessa

01/08/2025

We had a fun day out on the Pacific Ocean! While boarding at the dock, a couple Coastal Bottlenose dolphins came to say hello! We continued to check out the bait receivers and usually our first marine mammals we see are California sea lions, but we sighted a few more bottlenose dolphins! They followed us out to sea! We cruised to the NW and spotted a big feeding frenzy with birds diving into the water! We beelined it to the action and spotted a huge pod of ~400 Long-beaked Common dolphins! They were slowly traveling into the waves with some observed breaching and porpoising! There were quite a few calves in the area! Even some teeny tiny ones! We even spotted an imposter in the mix! A juvenile California sea lion leaped out of the water doing its best dolphin impression! The scene was like right out of a Nat Geo documentary! We couldn’t have asked for a better time with the dolphins and birds! We said our goodbyes and picked up the pace toward the NW. We went as far as we could before turning in and took the inside track near the coastline.

We hope you’ll join us for a trip soon!

Naturalist,
Vanessa

01/06/2025

WOW! What a beautiful day to be out to sea! Whales, Dolphins and glassy seas! We set out to the west but quickly got word that there was life to the south so we altered course and were lucky to hangout with a small grey whale as it journeyed south to Mexico. The conditions were so stunning that we got a near perfect reflection as the whales tail rose above the surface before each dive. While we spent time with this grey, some dolphins found us! It’s not very day that the wildlife finds you, counting our lucky stars - we went to play with the dolphins. The were moseying around socializing with each other but made sure to come over, catch a wave and check us out.

We’ll see ya out here tomorrow afternoon!
Naturalist,
Alison

01/05/2025

We LOVE Common dolphins! We started our trip with sightings of ~5 Inshore bottlenose dolphins just outside of Quivira basin. We continued out and we caught up with two pods of Long-beaked Common dolphins 11-miles from Mission Bay! Out to the west, we spotted 3 huge feeding frenzies with thousands of birds diving into concentrated piles! Once we got closer, we could see the Common dolphins zooming all around. The first pod was an estimated 300 individuals that took interest in us! We had many race up to us to ride the bow and surf alongside us! We had a blast watching the babies pop up all around us. Out of nowhere they stampeded to the NW! Almost the entire pod took off at once! We pushed out even further and hung out with an even larger pod estimating around 500 dolphins! They were also super playful! It was a very dense pod with lots of babies! We could see the bait balls under the birds with dolphins feeding with them! We cruised back in smoothly enjoying the amazing visibility!

We hope you can join us for a trip soon!

Naturalist,
Vanessa