Captain's Blog

Hello whalewatchers: We had a visitor before daylight this morning–a gray whale cow with her calf hung out at  Searcher for over an hour and most everyone got to see them. It was like the Searcher was a big panga. It is always nice when this occurs, the view from the deck is great. You can see the entire whale which can be difficult from the pangas.
It turns out that the first panga trip had a close encounter with these whales as the calf had some of the Searcher‘s bottom paint on it’s nose. the pangas had a great session.
Everyone had a great morning and they are right back out there after lunch in great conditions–just light winds from the southwest and clear skies.
Last night we had lights out with the generator off for 30 minutes. It was a little windy but the skies were clear and the star gazing was great.
Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers: Our first day in Laguna San Ignacio was great with good conditions, light winds out of the north for the majority of the day and clear skies. There are lots of whales here with the cow and calf numbers higher than 2 weeks ago. The latest census had 151 cows with calves! Numbers like this haven’t been seen since 1987, according to Steven Swartz.
Everyone had a great day with good whalewatching in the pangas. Today’s photo is a panga and a breaching calf next to it close to Searcher.
Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers: Today at Islas San Benito we had clear skies and breezy conditions all day. The island is still in bloom with lots of flowers. There is a change happening with the northern elephant seals with a lot of the females leaving. Their pups need to fend for themselves now. It doesn’t seem fair to only have your mom for a few months and then it’s up to them but that is how it goes for elephant seal pups. There are still several males on the beach.
The group got to see all four pinnipeds hauled out in one spot which is rare: elephant seal, CA sea lion, harbor seal and Guadalupe fur seal. There are ospreys on the nest now so some good photo opportunities there. Everyone had a good walk and enjoyed the island. We are grateful we are headed south with the wind.
Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers: We started our trip with a rare San Diego rain storm! In some rolling seas, we mortored to Ensenada to clear Mexican customs. Then we went to Islas Todos Santos in better weather for a look at some pinnipeds, comorants, brown pelicans and oystercatchers. The island is very green with the recent rains.
We saw plenty of gray whales heading north, and some groups of whales were exhibiting mating behaviors. Everyone had a good look at gray whales today. As for pelagic birds, we found some black-vented shearwaters, Cassins auklets, Scripps murrelets and northern fulmars.
All in all it was a good day with much better weather than last night.
Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers: We woke up to a great sunset and flat calm seas, then organized a great trip into the mangroves at Isla San Jose. We found more dolphins on the way to Los Islotes for a snorkel session with sea lions. Everyone enjoyed the fun snorkeling with them. We headed offshore for a final look at a whale and added a new species with two Bryde’s whales. What a great trip for sightings and weather!
Team Searcher