We had a FIN-tastic day on the water! We caught up with 3 Fin whales, Pacific white-sided dolphins and Common dolphins throughout the day!
On our morning trip, we cruised to the SW and encountered ~7 Pacific white-sided dolphins right out of the gate! They were zooming around hanging out with a few California sea lions! We circled the area and they raced straight for the bow and also our wake! The Inspiration puts out an amazing wake that all the dolphins love to surf in! We kept cruising to the NW and we spotted a massive columnar spout to the north of us! We caught up with a Fin whale with a funky dorsal fin! It was headed mostly south and then it turned around and went back north. It circled an area before continuing to the south. We hung out a small pod of ~25 Short-beaked Common dolphins! They were fun to watch race up to our boat! They kept traveling to the south while we headed in.
We had an equally beautiful afternoon trip! We set out to the west and got caught up with another little Fin whale! We noticed a small raft of California sea lions that caught our attention. While enjoying their presence, the juvenile Fin whale popped up next to us only ~50-ft away! It was awesome to hang out with this energetic Fin whale that seemed to be playing with the sea lions. It barrel-rolled near the surface! We observed its bright white belly that looked turquoise through the water. It began racing to the East at very fast 10-mph! We could barely keep up with it! It turned back out to the west and then another one popped up to the NW. While hanging out with it started getting comfortable with us popped up next to our boat! On our way home, we spotted that same pod of ~7 Pacific white-sided dolphins that were just as fun as in the morning!
Fin whales are so fun right now, come on out soon!
Naturalist,
Vanessa
