We had a Wacky Whale Wednesday with Fin whales and dolphins sighted on both tours! We began our morning tour with a small pod of ~5-7 inshore bottlenose dolphins feeding in front of the Ocean Beach pier. We continued on and a couple miles from shore we encountered a dense fog bank engulfing the Privateer! We got to the drop-off and followed that to the south when we found a huge clearing with ~7-miles of visibility! We searched the area and after picking up a couple of Mylar balloons, we sighted a Fin whale! It circled the area, likely feeding! After the fourth breathing cycle, we spotted another Fin whale to the west of us. We only had time for one look but it was exciting to see multiple in the area. There was also a small handful of Long-beaked Common dolphins spotted passing by the first Fin whale! We had a nice smooth ride in!
We had an awesome afternoon trip with a school field trip on board! The seas were smooth and had great visibility all around. We found a small pod of Long-beaked Common dolphins feeding under a bunch of diving birds! We continued to the drop-off and found a huge spread out pod of Short-beaked Common dolphins traveling west. They raced over to us and surfed our wake and rode the bow! We sighted teeny tiny calves all around. We were in 1000-ft of water when a huge spout was seen to the north! We caught up with a Fin whale cow/calf pair! The mom was coming up for 2-3 breaths, while the calf came up twice as much! This is our first Fin whale cow/calf pair seen this spring! We sighted more Common dolphins on the drop-off on our way in. We had Velella vellela sighted everywhere out in deeper water on both trips!
Sea ya on the next one!
Naturalist,
Vanessa
