Vanessa James
This morning the Privateer headed out in silvery flat water with the hope of finding cetaceans. And we did! A small group of about 12 Pacific white sided dolphins surprised us as we neared a report of common dolphins. They played with the boat and left passengers wanting more dolphins! We headed to the commons … Read more
The sunset trip headed back to the feeding area we saw on the afternoon tour. This time, we knew where to go! We headed for the drop where the buffet was still open and the humpback and the commons were continuing the feast. After some breaches and tail lobs from our humpback friend, we were … Read more
This afternoon there was an epic meet-up on the ocean. We searched high but ended up lower (to the south) for a humpback feeding amongst a pod of common dolphins! It was a relief after searching for over half the trip before finding their hiding spot on the drop off. One more day of trips … Read more
FALL IS BACK! 🍂🐬 We found a FEW HUNDRED long-beaked common dolphins today, and they were MOVING! Traveling at a steady 7-8 knots, they erupted from the swells in synchronized chorus lines as they raced through our waters. Thankfully, they took a little time to investigate us, surfing our wake and checking out the boat. … Read more
A dense fog bank hid the horizon for most of our trip, but once it lifted, we struck gold — a friendly fever of Spinetail Devil Rays (Spinetail Mobulas). What made this encounter extraordinary was how curious they were. Five to six rays circled the boat, gliding down the rail, wrapping around the stern, and … Read more
So we heading west out to the ocean to cool down with an entirely full boat! Unusual for a Monday afternoon trip, but getting in the pleasant sea breeze made it more bearable than being on land. On the drop-off, we saw some gentle splashes from a vastly increasing pod of ~500 long-beaked common dolphins. … Read more
This Autumn has kept us guessing between the insanely hot land (100f in San Diego??) and water temperatures (75f off shore today), and the roulette of what are we seeing on the water on any given trip. Today was no exception and definitely a memorable for crew and passengers alike. Although we saw them on … Read more
BLUE WHALES? YEP. FOUR OF THEM. This streak of unexpected wildlife is absolutely MIND-BOGGLING. We headed north this evening, and within four miles of the jetty we found two blue whales traveling side by side. Earlier, we’d spotted a spout about a mile offshore, but nobody had seen ANY life north of the Mexican border … Read more
The Privateer left land this morning in search of some much needed “A/Sea” to cool off and enjoy the water. The day brought us not one dolphin species but a mixed pod of common dolphins and Pacific white-sided dolphins! I have personally never seen these two species hanging out together although both are known … Read more
MORE EXOTIC BLACKFISH IN SAN DIEGO?! 🐋🌅 PILOT WHALES made an appearance on our sunset cruise! What else does this extra spicy El Niño have in store for us this fall? We headed out to barren seas today, with barely a peep on the community radio. Windy, choppy conditions had us searching completely on our … Read more