Month: February 2014

02/21/14 ORCAS! plus hundreds of Risso’s Dolphins, some White-sided Dolphins and a Gray Whale

Today we “went for it” despite a rough marine forecast. We made the right call as the conditions on the bay were just fine, with bright sunshine and good spotting conditions. We came across a huge scattered school of Risso’s dolphins and got some real good looks along with some bow-riding Pacific white-sided dolphins.  Out we went to the mouth of the bay in search of gray whales migrating north. We found one solo gray that was being very elusive. It was frustrating.  Soon we found out why. There were two huge bull Orcas on the prowl. We got some good looks at the two. It is always a thrill to see an orca with a six foot tall dorsal fin moving so gracefully through the water! To top it off we found more Risso’s close in near Moss on the way home and they were doing some head slapping and breaches. Very cool.  An excellent late February day on Monterey Bay!

 

02-12-2014 President’s Day Weekend Conditions Look Promising for Gray Whale Viewing

Light winds are predicted and much calmer seas ahead for our Fri-Mon trips this week. This is good news, as we had to cancel trips for the past two weeks due to rough ocean conditions. Well, there is a slight chance of rain, but we won’t worry about that. As long as we have light winds and long period swells, all is good for whale watching.

The straggler southbound gray whales continue and now we are expecting early northbound grays as well. This is the transition period in mid to late February where we get whales heading both ways. We have had great dolphin action this winter so far, so hope to encounter either Risso’s, Pacific White Sided or Common Dolphins as well.

Captain Mike has been off a sea sailing our sailboat, the Celtic Traveller, back home from Cabo, Baja Mexico where we had her for the fall. (That is why he hasn’t been posting much as he is too busy sailing.) It’s been a long, hard passage and he has stories to tell upon his return. Today he is sailing from Long Beach to Ventura. He’ll catch a train back home to run our weekend trips this Friday through Monday. Then back he goes to complete the last leg of the journey home to Moss Landing.