We sighted a Northern elephant seal and ~150 Short-beaked Common dolphins out at the 9-mile bank! We made it 14-miles from shore and skirted the Mexican border! The sea conditions were beautiful and calm with amazing visibility. We could see down into Mexico and up toward Del Mar. Once we got to the bank, we sighted a dark blob on the surface and quickly realized it was a rare sighting of an adult male Northern elephant seal. It actually stayed at the surface for a good amount of time, but as we got within 1/4-mile it sank down into water. We were at about 1600-ft of water at the time. Just beyond it, we spotted some major splashes from our Short-beaked Common dolphriends! They were socializing by breaching, tail-slapping, and playing at the surface.
We have another trip this evening so we are excited to see what’s in store for us!
Ring ring ring, what do dolphins use to communicate? – They use their shell phones! We got in touch with two massive pods of dolphriends today! Around ~8 miles offshore we encountered a massive pod of ~350 short-beaked common dolphins. It was a fairly widespread pod. The pod seemed to go on for miles and miles! We saw so many adorable baby calves swimming right next to mom. The adults were showing off their acrobatics like how shorties love to do! We peeled off and continued on to the northwest. We saw some massive splashes from a distance and caught up with a stunning pod of ~75 offshore bottlenose dolphins! They were leaping out of the water and doing some impressive tail-slaps! The cherry on top was the dreamy sunset we enjoyed on the way home to Mission Bay. Please join us soon, the fun never stops on the Privateer!
Naturalist,
Vanessa & Melissa
