Whale Watching

Blue Whale Palooza and Fin Whales, including a Fin Whale cow/calf Pair! Passengers aboard Dana Wharf Whale Watch have been thrilled with Blue Whale sightings off Dana Point for 19 out of the first 25 days of June. These impressive creatures have been spotted mostly 6-9 miles offshore, moving northwest at approximately 4 knots. Many…

Beautiful Blue and Friendly Fin Whales! About seven miles off San Onofre in what is often a very productive area, we encountered one of several Blue Whales seen this week!  This whale stayed very close to the surface between dives.  Even under the gray skies, we could see its massive body’s “blue glow”!  During the…

A Rare Sperm Whale Spotted by Captain Steve at Dana Wharf! Sperm whales are some of the biggest toothed whales in the ocean, with males weighing up to 50 tons or more than 700 people, according to the National Wildlife Federation. They can be very elusive with hour-long dives and usually travel in deeper waters further…

Great Blue Whales, Feeding Fin Whales, and Mighty Minke Whales! Blue Whale season is here and usually lasts from May to September. This week we even saw a blue whale, the largest animal, believed to be the same animal seen years ago, affectionately called “Bubbles,” recognized because this whale consistently displays a large “bubble blast” before…

American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews called the fin whale “the greyhound of the sea … for its beautiful, slender body which is built like a racing yacht and the animal can surpass the speed of the fastest ocean steamship.” We have been so fortunate to see a rare Fin whale cow/calf pair as Fin whales…

Magnificent Blue and Mighty Fin Whales Still Feeding Off Our Coast! A Blue Whale was feeding for two days just outside the Dana Point Harbor early in the week before heading north!  Multiple Fin Whales are seen daily on almost every trip.  Many of these whales are VERY boat friendly, and our passengers are getting…

Blue Whale Season Has Begun At Dana Wharf! We saw our first blue whale of the season on Sunday, May 7, 2023 with Captain Tommy White on the 95ft. Dana Pride, our largest whale watching vessel who called in the sighting from the 10am trip. Tommy said “When you think that the blue whale is the…

Fin Whale Mania including a Cow/Calf Pair, Gray Whales, a Humpback Whale, and a Minke Whale! Fin whales have been seen eight of the last nine days, including a cow/calf pair where the baby whale appeared to be playing with the dolphin very close to shore just north of the Dana Point Headlands. On multiple…

FINTASTIC Week with Fins on Parade! We have had several encounters with up to four and even five fin whales. The week’s highlight was the Dana Wharf 8-hour Ultimate Whale Watch which began with a cloudy, hazy morning with three fin whales feeding off the Dana Point Headlands. The brilliant contrast of the fin whale’s…

Whales are a majestic species that captivate people’s hearts and minds with their impressive size and movements. California is known as one of the best places in the world to watch whales, with several species found along its coast, including gray whales, humpback whales, and blue whales. If you’re planning a whale-watching trip in California,…