Weekly Report ~ May, 1 2023 – May 7, 2023

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 largest animal to live on the planet; bigger than a dinosaur or a megalodon, that is amazing!”  Our first blue whale had an average dive time of 12-minutes and stayed between the Dana Point Headlands and north of the San Clemente Pier the entire day as it circled while feeding, moving from 3.5 miles offshore to within a mile of the coast.

Blue whales are the largest mammal known to ever exist on EARTH and are feeding on krill, their favorite food right off the Dana Point coast!  The second largest mammal on Earth, the fin whale has also been feasting on the abundance of krill.  They have been observed circling schools of fish at high speed, rolling the fish into compact balls then turning on their right side to engulf the fish.  We have seen up to seven different fin whales feeding in one day!  With so many Mola molas feasting on the plentiful By-the-Wind Sailors still blooming, we often enjoy watching them between the surface intervals of these baleen whales.

Risso’s, bottlenose and common dolphin have also been encountered including nursery pods and impromptu feeding frenzies often just outside the Dana Point Harbor.

See more pictures on Facebook of our First Blue Whale Encounter here