Vanessa James
Close encounters of the WILD animal kind! A Humpback whale turned STRAIGHT AT US and came over for a BIG whale Hello! The water was so glassy and clear we could see this whale’s ENTIRE body as it cruised just feet below the boat. Motors off… just the soft lapping of waves, the powerful exhale … Read more
As many San Diego locals woke up this morning they noticed a thick layer of marine fog coating the coast, which made sightings a small challenge, but luckily for the Inspiration this humpback made themselves very VERY easy to spot! Multiple breaches over the course of 10 minutes that guests got to witness, and finished … Read more
Short‑beaked common dolphins lit up the skyline tonight, playing in the golden sunset light and showing off their EPIC high jumps. Some were launching so high they cleared the horizon line — absolute showoffs out there. We searched every inch we could, but all the wildlife seems to be preferring those deeper waters farther off … Read more
Glassy morning dolphins! The long‑beaked commons were out right at the drop‑off, playing around and surfing excitedly at our bow and in our wakes — totally surrounding us. This pod had these calm, dreamy moments where they drifted just below the surface… and then suddenly kicked into high gear, racing alongside us as we took … Read more
The crew and passengers alike were very happy to get off the dock and get some cool sea breeze on this exceptionally hot and humid Tuesday evening. It was still and on the verge of glassy as we made our way to the deeper water where the most magnificent pod of ~30 Risso’s dolphins appeared! … Read more
We left Mission bay and cruised out to the north and hung out in La Jolla! Along the way, we got lucky views at some breaching sharks, and a couple flying fish! Thank you to our other whale watch friends for calling us and letting us know there was whale sighting! We got to … Read more
Our early Sunday excursion started with the densest fog! Reminiscent of June gloom. But there was a good variety of sea birds out, tons of phalaropes, shear-waters, and even 3 cocos boobys! With all the bird life, we knew the food was plentiful out at the drop-off, which is where we found a humpback whale! … Read more
Two dolphin‑heavy trips this afternoon — and the ocean delivered. We pushed off into what felt like an endless sea of common dolphins, spread out in every direction. Short‑beaks and long‑beaks mixed together in huge, shifting pods that stretched farther than we could see. Some groups were in full lazy‑afternoon mode, cruising slow and sleepy. … Read more
Privateer had foggy conditions leaving the harbor this morning! But we didn’t let the Fogust (foggy August) blues get us down! Only 2 miles from shore, conditions cleared and left us with flat conditions to find over 1000 long beaked common dolphins! One of the dolphins even had a pigment variation with a snowy white … Read more
A killer sunset and some SUPER playful Risso’s dolphins showing off their bellies and those cute suit‑and‑bow‑tie markings! We had dolphins everywhere, but we spent most of our time with our extra‑rare visitor — the usually shy, reserved, nocturnal Risso’s. Tonight they were anything but shy: actively diving, feeding, and launching into huge celebratory leaps. … Read more