February 24, 2019

It was another gorgeous day on the Pacific! We encountered both baleen whales and toothed whales throughout the day. During the morning, we set out to the SW, and then hooked up to the north. Along the way, we sighted a HUGE pod of Common dolphins! We estimate we had a total of ~500 dolphins that were spread out in a long line, spanning about a mile long! Many of them came straight over to us to bow ride the Privateer, and to also surf in our wake. We enjoyed watching mother dolphins escorting their calves to us. We continued on and found a pair of Northbound Gray whales almost 9-miles from shore!
During the afternoon, we set out to the SW and found our first whale of the day! We encountered a southbound Gray whale! At first it seemed to be long-winded, but became comfortable with us and had more consistent breathing cycles, and diving patterns. We watched as it surfaced for breaths, evening getting lucky in seeing a rainblow! Prior to all sounding dives, we got flashed with flukes! Many guests recorded video or got photos of the iconic whale tail! We continued to the west, into the sun, and were pleasantly surprised to find a pod of ~100 Common dolphins that were traveling south! They were sighted all around us, surfing in our wake, bow-riding or doing some people watching!
During both trips, we successfully retrieved a single Mylar balloon!
We are in the middle of Gray whale season, so we hope to see you on our next trip which is tomorrow morning!
-Vanessa