Whale Watching

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,…

Dana Point, California, is a beautiful coastal town in Orange County, known for its scenic views, sandy beaches, and water activities. If you’re planning a visit to Dana Point, here are five things you should definitely do: Visit Dana Point Harbor: The harbor is the heart of the town, offering stunning views of the Pacific…

Babies on Parade! As the last phase of the Gray Whale northbound migration begins to peak, we are seeing several cow/calf pairs.  The highlight of the week was watching a northbound gray whale cow/calf gray pair swimming together off Victoria Beach. They clearly entertained whale watchers and beachgoers as this calf was “playing” displaying surface behaviors…

By-the-Wind-Sailors Along For the Ride! This week’s sightings include Gray Whales, cow-calf pairs, Fin Whales, Bottlenose, and Common Dolphin, plus By-the-Wind-Sailors or Velella velella and a Blue Shark. With the recent red tide, we saw hundreds of By-the-Wind-Sailors or Velella velella in our local waters.  This organism is actually a colony of many polyps that…

Gray Whale Calves Join Northbound Migration Each year by mid-February, most, if not all, of this season’s gray whale calves have been born.  These cow-calf pairs are the last to leave the lagoons giving the calves time to grow, including developing a blubber layer before beginning their first migration north to their feeding grounds.  Traveling…