We hung out with FIVE Gray whales and 200 Long-beaked Common dolphins today! We wanted to stay out all day long, the sea conditions were smooth and the visibility was amazing! The wind was chilly which reminded us it was winter! We spotted an inbound Bottlenose dolphin in the Mission Bay jetties to start our trip. We began to head to the NW when a spout was spotted to the SW. We were excited to see numerous spouts in one pod! We caught up with five gray whales migrating south to Mexico! We had the best time watching them surface with heart-shaped spouts and going for dives. They lifted their tail flukes every time! One peeled off and continued on its own, while the other four pushed it inside, closer to the coast. We waved goodbye and continued to the south in search for more wildlife! We were in luck! Only a mile south of the Gray’s was a huge spread out pod of ~200 Long-beaked Common dolphins! They milled around trending to the south. Passengers were amazed by how boat friendly they were! Many beelined it straight to the bow! Some showed off by launching out of the water, porpoising beside the boat! We spotted a raft of California sea lions nearby. On our way in, we encountered a couple more Coastal Bottlenose dolphins!

We look forward to tomorrow’s trips! Hope to sea ya on the water soon!

Naturalist,
Vanessa