Ok everybody, we had a really cool day on the water, and we also started a new blog site.
Check it out: http://coastal-explorer.com/

We hope to see you at the new site.

Capt. Carl

Amazing day on Christmas eve, eve! I was all set to run the last Huntington Harbor Cruise of Lights. It's for a great cause, but 9 nights straight was...enough for one year. I got a call early in the day about Orcas and figured: who needs sleep? It was worth the trip! We had Orcas feeding on a Sea Lion, Gray Whales, and Common Dolphins! So Cool!
(In one of the pics the Sea Lion's flipper is circled.)

Sightings on 12/23:
4 Orcas
6 Gray Whales
1000 Common Dolphins

Capt. Carl

 

It's been non-stop Christmas Lights Cruises in Huntington Harbor each night since December 14th. A couple more nights, then I'm back looking for whales. The procedes from these cruises go to the Huntington Harbor Philharmonic, which brings music to over 200,000 school kids in Orange County. This is the 50th anniversary of the Huntington Harbor Cruise of Lights, and last year they had over 25,000 passengers on these trips. Kinda cool to be a part of it all. 

 

 

 

I was working on the boat late last night, but it was a fantastic day on the water yesterday, with whales, dolphins, and a curious Sea Lion.

Sightings today:
Gray Whales - 3
Fin Whales - 2
Common Dolphins - 100
Bottlenose Dolphins - 8

Capt. Carl

 

Great day on the water! The Fin whales are back, lunge feeding and putting on a great show! We also had Pacific Whitesided Dolphins and a mega pod of Common Dolphins with BUNCHES of babies. Such a great trip.

 

Today's Sightings:

Fin Whales - 5

Pacific Whitesided Dolphins - 15

Common Dolphins - 600

 

Capt. Carl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A great trip up the Central Coast this week through Morro Bay, Cambria, Piedras Blancas, and Ragged Point. We went looking for the Northern Elephant Seals, but we also found many other animals, including; Sea Otters, Harbor Seals, Vultures, Hawks, Kites, Golden Eagles, and even a Bobcat. We are already planning our next trip for January.

 

Capt. Carl   

 

Off the water for a week-long Elephant Seal Photo Safari at Piedras Blancas, and look what shows up! Orcas off of Pt. Vicente today, feeding on Common Dolphins right under the boat. ARRRRGH!!!!!

Capt. Carl

A rainy day on the water. We had a boat load of school kids out on a Floating Lab trip and we caught a baby Black Seabass in our net! So cool. We called our friends at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro came out and took him to his new home. Kinda cool, only the 2nd time I've ever found one of these little guys. They are endangered from overfishing. You can see from the pic above how big they can get.

You never know what you'll find...

 

Capt. Carl

 

Let Gray Whale season begin! It's been great lately with Fin Whales, Minke Whales, Common Dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, and Risso's Dolphins. But today a Gray Whale showed up! Woohoo!

Capt. Carl

 

 

 

A cold and rainy day on the water yesterday, but life was everywhere. Market squid and Bonaparte's gulls were having a feeding frenzy on krill. On our first trip we saw 3 Fin Whales and 1 Blue Whale. On our second trips we had 6 Fin Whales, all surface lunge feeding. It was one of those special days on the water that few people ever get to experience.

 

Capt. Carl

 



 

Another amazing day, starting with a Floating Lab, then Whale Watches. We found over a thousand Common Dolphins, 2 Fin Whales, 2 (maybe 3) Minke Whales, and 2 Blue Whales. We had surface lunge feeding from both the Fins and the Blues. The second Blue hung around until the sun went down. Wow.

 

Capt. Carl

We started out the day with a great LASD Floating Lab trip, we had a great catch (later released) today of lizard fish, halibut, swimming crabs, and a HUGE sea star. The kids also did a plankton tow and got a sediment sample. Later we did a couple whale/dolphin watch trips with hundreds of dolphins.

Capt. Carl

 

 

 

It has been hectic...lots of trips to Catalina, kids Floating Lab Marine Science trips, over a thousand dolphins every day, including Commons, Risso's, Offshore Bottlenose, and Coastal Bottlenose. Baleen whales have been hard to find, but we've had Fins and Minkes. Molas have been here every day. A visit from White Pelicans was an unexpected treat. Also the winter bird crew has shown up with Surf Scoter, Western Grebes, Eared Grebes, Pie Billed Grebes, Reddish Egrets, plus all the usuals, too many to list.

 

Capt. Carl

I've been back and forth to Catalina Island so many times this week, but it's always a surprise what you'll find. Today we had over 3000 Common Dolphins about 5 miles off the island, 50 or so Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins mid-channel, and a great group of Risso's Dolphins moving lazily along Arrow Point. Such a cool place.

Capt. Carl

 

 

A great day with 2 Blue Whales yesterday, lots of Common Dolphins Risso's Dolphins, and Offshore Bottlenose too. All in one trip!

 

Capt. Carl