Pacific White-sided dolphin off of Point Lobos. Photo: Sack The Spring action pretty much kicked off today. We came across a couple of humpback whales yesterday. But today they showed up in some decent numbers. We heard reports of 10 plus humpbacks lunge feeding. But by the time we got there they must have went through the school of anchovies they were feeding on. We ended up off Point Lobos, south of the Carmel Bay. The humpbacks were pretty well broken up into a couple of different pairs and with various blows northwest of us. But there was lots of life in the area. There was a mixed ..read more

The Spring action is coming on strong with lots of humpbacks on the prowl just outside of the Moss Landing Harbor. Most of the Monterey boats are making the hour long boat ride to head north towards Moss Landing. On most trips we’re on the action within about 15-20 minutes. The Monterey Bay submarine canyon starts right at the mouth of our Harbor. The edges of the canyon is where we tend to see the most productivity. We had a great encounter with what seemed to be a playful and happy mother-calf pair basking in the abundance of the Monterey Bay ..read more

The humpback whales continue to linger in the bay, giving us amazing views on almost every trip! We have been lucky to have multiple mom and calf pairs around Moss Landing, who always seem to know how to perform for the crowds. From breaching, tail-slapping, lunge feeding, and friendly behaviors, we have been seeing it all. Beyond the humpbacks, we have also had great looks at Risso’s dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins, blue whales, sunfish, puffins, albatross, and some other wildlife! The summer action couldn’t be better and now is definitely time to get on a boat and go see some whales ..read more

June was definitely an interesting month. There were days like we’ve never seen and then days where we thought we were in the quieter off season. The whales have chasing the food up and down the central coast with fishermen reports of large groupings showing up in Pescadero, Bodega Bay, and elsewhere. Of course we have had our own surges in the bay (or just outside it) as well! Last week we ventured out beyond the edge of the bay and came across over 30 humpbacks! The seas were rough, but the whales were every where, with some lunge feeding groups of 5-6 whales. It was a wonderful event that ..read more

The past couple weeks have been superb with multiple whale species being spotted in the bay! We have been getting amazing encounters with so many whales it has been hard to keep track. The blue and fin whales have been further out on the edge of the bay feeding on krill, while around 60-100 humpbacks are roaming around all corners of the bay feeding on anchovies and krill. The orcas keep making appearances as well, even as we get towards the end of our spring orca season. We have also been having some nice encounters with dolphins including Risso’s, Pacific white-sided, and northern right whal ..read more

The action over the past month has been absolutely incredible. We had orcas almost every day in April and continue to see them into May as they patrol the bay looking for mother and calf gray whales. When they are not around, we have so much to look at, it is hard to complain. Over the past week, nearly 50-60 humpback whales have moved into the bay with thousands of dolphins joining them during the spring feeding frenzy. The other week on our 8 hour photo workshop we even witnessed an entire gray whale calf hunt with 15 orcas involved. The intensity and power of the event is hard to fully appr ..read more

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We had an incredible day of whale watching! We started the morning with four killer whales right outside the harbor as they hunted, played, and socialized with the boat in glassy seas. Towards the afternoon, we encountered friendly humpback whales and multiple migrating gray whales. We also saw 10-15 albatross! www.sanctuarycruises.com ..read more

Another incredible day of whale watching! We saw between 20-22+ humpback whales (all within one area, many more across the bay), Risso’s dolphins, and harbor porpoise! While we saw many feeding groups of whales working with sea lions, we also saw lunge feeding, tail-slapping, and had many friendly/close passes! One of the trip’s highlights was this calf who played with kelp (aka kelping) for nearly 20 minutes next to our boat. So much fun to watch! www.sanctuarycruises.com ..read more

Check out some video from today: These two humpback whales were carrying on with all manner of hijinks: Tail slapping, rolling over on their backs, on their sides, breaching and close swimbys. These animals performed.The first couple of trips were quite different than our afternoon trip today. It was nice see some Risso’s dolphins early on into the first trip. But the whales were tough. These humpbacks didn’t stop jumping for about forty-five minutes. Incredible display.There were decent numbers within about four to five miles from the Moss Landing Harbor. But they were scattered far ..read more