Day 2 of 2026 and we had a fun time hanging out with Offshore bottlenose dolphins! We encountered them on the drop-off west of Mission bay! We cruised to the SW initially and were cruising through some dense fog for awhile but it cleared and we were lucky to spot them as we searched for wildlife on the drop-off. They popped up in front of us surprising us all! They liked to hang out on the bow and also in our wake! We got a couple breaches from a couple of them. We turned back to the north and scanned the gray whale highway for any southbounders. We have one more trip to go and will update you soon!
Naturalist,
Vanessa
We ventured off shore this afternoon and on the second day of the new year, we found TWO grey whales HAULING TAIL down to Mexico. The grey whales have the longest migration of any mammal, from Alaska down to Mexico. Nearly 7k miles each way and usually by the time they’re this close to the end of their journey, they’re slowing down traveling about 3-4 knots – these whales were DOUBLING that speed at 8 knots! As they surfaced from the swell, we would see their teal glow just beneath followed by an eruption of air, and really good looks at the dorsal ridges. These whales gave us a great wave goodbye with a fluke to send us off!
Naturalist, Alison
