The Adventure was 'overtaken' by the Imperial County Girl Scouts this afternoon!   It was a beautiful sunny day and everyone seemed to have a great time. 

Not only did we see 5 Bottlenose dolphins in the bay-  but once we got out to the ocean, we came upon ~200 Common dolphins.  We also spent a little bit of time with 3 Gray whales.  The whales were traveling together on their journey south.  With the sunlight positioned just right- the blow of one of the whales showed a rainbow! So cool. 

Posted by Leslie at 8:59 PM PST

Updated: Saturday, 01/10/2009 9:07 PM PST

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I spent the afternoon whale watching.....  and it was a success! 1 GRAY whale and 1 FIN whale.  We also came upon ~200 Common & Pacific White Sided dolphins w/ some sea lions joining in on the fun.  

I talked with passengers visiting from Las Vegas, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Switzerland!   

Posted by Leslie at 8:02 PM PST

Updated: Saturday, 01/03/2009 8:11 PM PST

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Mood:  incredulous

Although I wasn't fortunate to witness this amazing event... I had to share the following message by one of the Whalers because seeing a Humpback whale during our season is not common!  Enjoy.  

"We saw a megapod of common dolphins - always a delight.  Then in the distance a few passengers spotted a blow towards the Los Coronados Islands.  Captain Jeff headed that way and we were rewarded with the sight of 2 humpback whales.  We saw multiple views of blows and flukes and a breach, tail slap along with rolling and beautiful views of those large fins.  Everyone on the cruise (looked like almost a full boatload) got a good view of these wonderful whales."  12/29/08 pm cruise

Posted by Leslie at 7:00 PM PST

Updated: Wednesday, 12/31/2008 7:30 PM PST

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Mood:  surprised

This morning's cruise was spectacular!  Not only was it a beautiful day out on the Pacific ocean, but we got to see the 1st breach of the season!   We sighted 2 adult gray whales...  which seemed quite comfortable being around the boats - snorkeling & fluking...   

As we were headed toward Point Loma, one of the whales BREACHED!  Not just one breach though-  4 breaches!   Incredible- I was so excited!! 

- I met some nice people...  including a family visiting from London, England and another family from Miami, Florida.  

Posted by Leslie at 3:03 PM PST

Updated: Sunday, 12/28/2008 3:20 PM PST

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Mood:  lucky

I spent the afternoon on the 2nd cruise of the '08-09 season...  and we were blessed with a sighting of a gray whale!

As you can see, the ocean & weather was kind to us... 

Posted by Leslie at 9:00 PM PST

Updated: Wednesday, 12/24/2008 9:45 PM PST

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Mood:  happy

Ok, so I missed an entire season of blogging. Oh my!  Apologies!

I promise to do better during the 2008-09 season.  Speaking of which- the first whale cruise is December 20th.   That doesn't mean, though- that I won't be able to see whales prior to that.  I just came back from a walk to the cove in Solana Beach.  From shore I spotted a female gray whale with a calf!   I quickly walked home and grabbed my binoculars and was able to find them again & got a closer look.  The calf fluked!  

As you can imagine, I was excited!   

Posted by Leslie at 4:13 PM PST

Updated: Thursday, 11/27/2008 4:23 PM PST

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Mood:  special

The 2007 Whale Watch season begins on December 15th!  I've been attending the volunteer training and have gotten a chance to meet the new "Whalers".  I have a feeling it is going to be another FUN season. 

I'm looking forward to sharing the excitement and wonder of the sightings with everyone.   
  

Posted by Leslie at 1:36 PM PST

Updated: Saturday, 11/17/2007 1:44 PM PST

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Mood:  incredulous

Today was the last day of the whale watch season with Hornblower... I wish all the gray whales a safe journey to the cold waters of the Bering & Chukchi seas - and patiently wait for their next journey south past San Diego.   It was a wonderful season - filled with alot of excitement- great display of whales, dolphins and sea lions! 

Besides the large number of calves seen during their southern migration- the other special events were seeing ALOT of Rissos dolphins.  Last season few were seen- this season --> too many to count!  The most unique sightings were the 2 gray whales with white flukes!  

I was fortunate to go out on the Adventure Hornblower on 31 Cruises!  It's been fun- and I hope you've enjoyed my blog entries!

Posted by Leslie at 5:02 PM PDT

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Mood:  special

I had someone add a comment to one of the whale polls.. and had to share since it happened during this season's gray whale migration! 

"I was surfing at Sunset Beach in California & a Gray Whale passed right by me, about 20 ft away.
They are amazing creatures!!" 

Posted by Leslie at 8:00 PM PDT

Updated: Sunday, 04/15/2007 5:00 PM PDT

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Mood:  lucky

Happy St. Patty's Day!

It's getting to be late in the season; so I took advantage of this day and spent it on the boat!  The weather was not ideal for whale sightings, but I was determined to find a whale! 

During the AM cruise, we were blessed with the sighting of RISSOS dolphins - majestic and fun to watch!  There were about 30 in the group.  The passengers were thrilled and I reminded them that this IS a special treat. 

We had better luck on the PM cruise... not only did we see a group of ~50 RISSOS- putting on a spectacular show, but on the way back to the bay (southbound along the Kelp Beds), Capt Jeff *finally* spotted a blow.  It turned out to be a Female/Calf pair.  Then, a 3rd (adult) whale showed itself.  I wish we could have stayed longer; but the boat had to return to dock...   

Posted by Leslie at 9:00 PM PDT

Updated: Sunday, 03/18/2007 9:51 PM PDT

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