Another Blue Whale today, along with 800 Common Dolphins and a handful of Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins! It was a long day, starting with a trip to Catalina, then whale watching in Laguna, and one last whale watch off of Point Vicente. I drove approximately 130 nautical miles today. I'm a tired Captain...

Capt. Carl

 

 

We found a Blue Whale today, but we had to make a 15 mile haul to get there. We tried to locate her again on our next trip but were rewarded by a breaching Minke Whale. The picture above is the closest I could get of the sneaky little whale! Also today we were rewarded by 400 Common Dolphins and a friendly pod of Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins. The Bottlenose and Commons have been giving us great shows over the past days. The weather really kicked up on our second trip, which made for an adventure of it's own. Off to Catalina in the morning, but no time to look for Bald Eagles. We've got to be back in time for the whalewatch at noon.

 

Capt. Carl

Denise and I went on a Green Sea Turtle Safari today. I used to do turtle research with NOAA and I am glad to see I still have a knack for finding these guys. We found them in 2 different areas, I'd estimate 6 or 7 turtles total at minimum (a couple times 3 turtles surfaced at a time). I know where to find these guys in San Diego from my research days, but this was my first attempt in this area. Now that I know what to expect and where to go I'll pack a lunch and prepare for a serious photo expedition next time.

Capt Carl

 

 

Wow, great days with THOUSANDS of Common Dolphins, HUNDREDS of Offshore Bottlenose, a HUNDRED or so Risso's Dolphins. Plus an extra: During our Catalina trip today we found 2 Bald Eagles feeding on fish in the kelp beds. SO COOL! At one point an eagle got into a little fight over a fish with a sea lion. AMAZING! Who knows what we'll see tomorrow!

 

Capt. Carl

 

 

 

We got a Blue Whale today! She was past Point Vicente lighthouse. It was a long haul but we got her! Today was also filled with over 2000 Common Dolphins! Another great day.

 

Capt. Carl

 

 

It was a long day today, over 100 nautical miles... We started out with a trip to White's Landing on Catalina Island to pick up a great group of campers. It was totally fogged at 6 am when we started the crossing but the fog lifted a couple miles off of the island. After Catalina we still had 2 whale/dolphin trips. We found over 1500 Common Dolphins today, 15 Offshore Bottlenose, and 6 Coastal Bottlenose today. Another great day.

 

Capt. Carl

 

 

Beautiful day on the water. A great way to escape the heat! We were surrounded by over 1000 Common Dolphins today and also found a pod of over 40 Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins that put on a high flying show. On a sad note we found a dead Gray Whale. It's the wrong season for Grays to be here and this was probably the animal that was tangled in ropes from a week or so ago. Sad.

 

Capt Carl

 

I picked this picture today because you can see the boat reflected on the dolphin. And if you zoom WAY in you can see me and the other people standing along the rail on the boat. Really kinda cool. Anyway, two more days of Catalina trips down, another on Sunday. We've had hundreds and hundreds of Common Dolphins, as well as Bottlenose Dolphins and Risso's Dolphins. No Catalina trips for me tomorrow, just 3 Dolphin/Whale Watching trips. Let's see what we can find...

Capt. Carl

 

Rare visitor: a Green Heron hanging out with me. Back out on the boat Thursday to Catalina.

 

Capt. Carl

 

It was a great trip to Catalina today with over 1000 Common Dolphins, 40 Risso's Dolphins, and 12 Bottlenose Dolphins. Oh, plus I got to drive a boat to Catalina, which is just plain fun.

 

Capt. Carl

I've been running trips to Catalina Island every day. Catalina Is one of my favorite places I go to, and I used to live there. It was good to see old friends at Catalina Ocean Rafting along the way. The past couple days have been filled with Common Dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, Risso's Dolphins and a BALD EAGLE. So cool. I'm heading back tomorrow.

Capt. Carl

Thousands of Common Dolphins today, and a really playful group of Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins. We had a report of Pilot Whales off of Catalina Island, and it just so happens that we're heading to the island in the morning, so say a prayer... Another beautiful day on the water.

Sightings today:
3600 Common Dolphins
20 Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins

Capt. Carl

Dolphins, dolphins, dolphins! Common Dolphins, Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins, and Coastal Bottlenose Dolphins today!

We started the day with a report of 5 Baird's Beaked whales 8 miles off of Catalina. We hustled out there and missed them by 20 minutes! UGH! Our diligence was rewarded by the return of Blue Whales and dolphins! Another great day on the water.

Sightings today:
4 Blue Whales
700 Common Dolphins
20 Bottlenose Dolphins

Capt. Carl

 

Another great day of high-flying Common Dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins, and Risso's Dolphins.

 

Capt. Carl

We started out the day taking a group from the Sierra Club out to Emerald Bay on Catalina Island. What a cool place to spend a long weekend. After Catalina we went searching for whales, but the Blues seem to have left town with the krill. We did have the treat of spending some quality time with Common Dolphins and their babies, as well as a large pod of Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins. All in all another great day on the water.

Capt. Carl