Vanessa James
ORCAS. OFF. SAN DIEGO. AGAIN. You heard that right — our favorite big black‑and‑whites showed up once more just off the coast this morning, and we booked it out there FAST. With a little help from friends on the water, we ended up hanging out with 5–6 killer whales, brand‑new babies in tow. At first … Read more
We headed out EARLY — our one shot before the offshore hurricane swells roll in. Right off the bat we spotted a 7‑ft hammerhead shark cruising the surface – the sharks broad cephalofoil showing through the surface Then we found a pod of short‑beaked common dolphins SURGING through the swells — and these shorties were … Read more
DEFINITELY a dolphin day out there. The ocean felt back to its usual rhythm — the dolphins have stopped RUNNING for their lives and are fully back in play mode. Both trips had well over a thousand dolphins total. We kept rolling into pod after pod, each with its own vibe. Some were sleepy and … Read more
We may not have found killer whales today but we sure did find one KILLER (humpback) whale! JUST when you think the week on the water can’t get any better… it DOES! Our morning trip had two awesome pods of long‑beaked common dolphins, but sunset had a single humpback whale… and for almost TWO. WHOLE. … Read more
Privateer headed out at sunset tonight for a ride in pretty swelly conditions, but that didn’t stop a pod of ~100 long-beaked common dolphins from finding us! Did not expect to see common dolphins as they are a regular prey of the pod of eastern tropical pacific killer whales who have spent the week visiting … Read more
KILLER WHALES LESS THAN 2 MILES FROM SHORE. We were NOT ready. We headed out thinking we’d find nothing. The ocean has been so wild lately we figured the orcas had either eaten everything or scared it all out of town. But just 4 miles into the trip, we spotted a pod of long‑beaked common … Read more
Tuesday morning, we got a hot tip that a pod of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Killer whales were seen heading north just a few miles south of the Mexican border. So with the most enthusiastic all-female crew, we loaded up the Privateer on an exciting hunt for our favourite black and white matriarchal apex predators. … Read more
We had a case of the “fun days” out on the Pacific Ocean on our Monday afternoon excursion. We had our fingers crossed for a second orca sighting but no luck there, but we had an abundance of other wildlife. There were red-necked phalaropes everywhere to be seen and sometimes congregating in groups over 100 … Read more
🌊 KILLER WHALES. Do I need to say more? A pod of ~12 Eastern Tropical Pacific ORCAS was just 7 miles straight off the coastline today — and we got out there FAST. For almost 2 straight hours, these whales put on one of the most interactive shows I’ve ever seen. They were bow riding, … Read more
The party never stops with common dolphins. Inspiration headed into the swells with cetaceans on our mind. Common dolphins as the name suggests are often sighted off the California coastline in small pods. But today we got a treat of a DENSE pod probably 500 or more all surfing the swells! Lots of babies and … Read more