We had another FINtastic FIN whale FRIday on the water, with Common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and a Fin whale sighted! We left the jetties and only a couple miles from shore we found a pod of ~50 Long-beaked Common dolphins! They were seen feeding under some diving birds! We got great looks at some cow/calf pairs that were seen in the mix. We continued to the drop-off and spotted a small pod of ~10-12 Offshore bottlenose dolphins cruising south. They were going down for 5-min deep dives, so we carried on to the west. We spotted a massive spout and caught up with a single Fin whale! It was ..read more

Here at San Diego Whale Watch we love to enjoy the FINer things in life! We found the most majestic FIN whale today located past the drop-off. We also encountered several scattered pods of long-beaked common dolphins about ~100 individual dolphins found today throughout the trip. Please stay tuned for more updates from our afternoon trip! We had an amazing afternoon trip with ~50 Long-beaked Common dolphins feeding under diving terns and pelicans! There were some tiny calves seen all around us! We continued on and found a Mola mola gulping toward Velella velella that were scattered across the ..read more

Oh what a whale of a time we had on the water today! We found the FINest FIN whales around 8 miles offshore. At first, we sighted a spout from a Fin whale which brought us to the general area where we encountered 2 more Fin whales for a total of 3 Fin whales during our afternoon trip! The smallest of the three actually circled our boat and came incredibly close to us for a once in a lifetime encounter with these gentle giants. We also saw countless of Velella velellas also known as By-the-wind-sailors. On our way back to Quivira basin, we sighted a harbor seal swimming in the channel. It is a ..read more

Fin- omenal day out to sea! There really is nothing like clear blue skies, clear blue water, and a WARM sunny day out in San Diego waters. We started the trip out with a small nursery pod of dolphins but they seemed to want to keep their distance so we watched them from a far for a short bit before heading out to fin some MUCH bigger things! Just 8 miles off of our coastline lies the drop off – or that’s where our continental shelf drops off into the depths, and that’s often where we find the best life! Today we found a gargantuan fin whale! This fin whale was staying at the surface for long ..read more

SEA MONSTER ALERT! Our Sunset trip got a wild surprise! Valella Vallella (aka By the Wind Sailors) have been INVADING our waters! With the tiny tentacled sailors, come their predators! A monstrously large Mola Mola ( aka Ocean Sun Fish) appeared to start vacuuming the valella off of the surface! We all watched and cheered as the googley eyed fish lunged towards its prey over and over again! We only really get to see this in the months of April and May but we never know when this behavior will start or stop happening – it all depends on how long the vallella stay around, they can all blow away ..read more

We had an action packed day with big swells, big whales, and big fish! After rolling through the big waves in the jetties, we set out to the west. A pod of ~50 Long-beaked Common dolphins rushed toward the Privateer! We observed them riding the bow and surfing our wake! The continued to the south and we pushed out to the west toward the drop-off. We sighted a huge, tall, columnar spout right in front of us! We hung out with the second largest whale in the world, the Fin whale! It was traveling to the south and then turned toward the coast! We observed some interesting behavior! It seemed to a ..read more

We had another day full of fins! On our one trip this afternoon we encountered at least 3 and possibly 4 fin whales out on the drop off, feeding on krill. We could tell that’s what they were doing because we went over some poop and it was red and chunky! We think we were possibly seeing a cow/calf pair but never could confirm it. We’ve been finding the second largest animal on earth almost every trip now, so it’s a great time to come out! -Ryan April 23, 2024 17April 23, 2024 18April 23, 2024 19April 23, 2024 20April 23, 2024 21April 23, 2024 22April 23, 2024 23 ..read more

We had a whale of an Earth Day today! On our one trip we made our way out to the northwest heading towards La Jolla. On our way we could see lots of feeding birds in the distance and pretty soon came into a few scattered pods of long-beaked common dolphins; probably around 150 altogether. From there we went west and at the drop off encountered two fin whales, and spotted another one about a mile north of us! We got great looks at the two, especially the closer one that popped up right next to us at one point. We’ve actually seen this whale recently as it is easy to spot with the scarring on i ..read more

Whale Sightings Today in San Diego Waters! Unforgettable Encounters Await Calling all ocean adventurers! Are you yearning to witness the majesty of whales breaching the surface or gracefully gliding alongside your boat? Look no further than San Diego, a haven for unforgettable whale sightings today. This vibrant coastal city boasts a unique combination of factors that make it a whale-sighting San Diego paradise. From diverse whale species to an ideal location and year-round opportunities, San Diego offers the perfect setting for encountering these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat ..read more

First blue whale of the Season! The Privateer had a very exciting Sunday sunset trip! With the most pleasant calm seas we headed through a very large and widely scattered pod of long beaked common dolphins. Once we were 11 miles from Mission Bay we found a sub adult blue whale feeding on an abundance of krill. We hung around for a couple of breath cycles before racing daylight back to the dock. We’re hoping this is a great sign for a bountiful and long blue whale season!! April 21 2024 9April 21 2024 10April 21 2024 11 ..read more