There was no shortage of life out there today! Our morning trip came across a smaller pod of about 150 long beaked common dolphins about 4 miles from Mission Bay. We saw lots of bow-riding and wake surfing. We pushed further west and found a fin whale that had a huge spout! We stuck with it for about 4 cycles. It was pretty consistent with it’s dive time, staying down for 10 minutes each time. It popped up on our left side and surprised all of us! We headed back towards Mission Bay and saw two more large spouts in the distance. We were short on time so we didn’t get to spend any time with them. As we were coming in, we found another small pod of about 50 long beaks. Our afternoon trip was so much fun! We headed out to the southwest on a search for more wildlife and we were not disappointed! About 5 miles out, we came across a pod of at least 200 long beaks. There were a few cow-calf pairs in the mix and they were really active. We travelled a couple more miles south and found 2 Fin whales! They were about 2 minutes off with their diving cycles. One popped up right next to us and stayed by our side for 3 breaths. It was a great show!
We had a fun sunset trip! We caught up with 5 Fin whales near the drop-off. Two of the Fin whales actually mugged us! We got some incredible looks as they cruised beside us. A pod of ~5 Long-beaked Common dolphins cruised by us while watching one of the friendly Fin whales. They continued to the north. On our way in, we encountered a northbound Gray whale, only about a half-mile from the Mission Bay jetties!
Naturalists,
Brooke & Vanessa
