Trip Reports

Hello whalewatchers,

We had an excellent day today in the Sea of Cortez. We started with a great sunrise at Punta Colorado on Isla San Jose, then a walk on the island, followed by a snorkel session with great visibility. We headed north looking for whales and it didn’t take long to find a blue whale. Everyone had hoped to see a blue whale on this trip! The whale was great to watch with a 9- ,minute dive and plenty of time on the surface so we could get a good look, and then the whale fluked.

We continued north and came across an area of pilot whales. There were multiple spots of pilot whales so we had some good viewing. Another large blue whale was next up and some great looks at a big whale.

The weather was fantastic with calm seas and no wind. The landscape as always is a highlight. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Captain Art and Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers,

We started our day in La Paz Bay. The group went out to the whale shark reserve to snorkel and observe whale sharks. It was a beautiful day with calm seas and sunny skies. Everyone had a great time and good views of whale sharks.

We continued north ending our day with a visit to Los Islotes with a skiff ride to view the sea lions above the water and then a snorkel session to see them in the water along with a great variety of tropical reef fishes. What a great day for all!

Captain Art and Team Searcher

View of Los Islotes from Searcher

Hello whalewatchers,

Today was humpback day! There were groups, mother/ calf pairs and they were all exhibiting behaviors such as lots of breaching, flipperflapping and fluking.

It was difficult to stay with them when the wind came up, but we made a day of it. We anchored to take a swim to check snorkel gear before we swim with whale sharks tomorrow morning.

Captain Art and Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers,

We had a great day in really good conditions of light winds and calm seas. We saw multiple spots coming from a herd of common dolphins–one herd was over 2000 animals. We also saw plenty of humpback whale sightings, over 20 individuals. We spent some time with a few of them and watched them  fluke, flipper flap and breach. We also saw multiple green sea turtles, and for the birders there were Masked boobies, black-vented and Pink-footed shearwaters, Black storm petrels, Craveri’s murrelets, Northern fulmars and of course rigatebirds. There were some flocks of Red phalropes as well.
Looking forward to more humpacks tomorrow.

Captain Art and Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers,

It’s our second day in Laguna San Ignacio, the gray whale winter lagoon.

We sent a group of birders to the mangroves first thing this morning and everyone had a great trip with lots of birds seen. Another panga with whalewatchers went out and had a great trip also. We had a break and sent the whole group out whalewatching.  We all enjoyed lots of sightings and saw all the usual gray whale behaviors. After lunch the group went to the beach for a walk and a look at a gray whale carcass from earlier in the season.

Here is our highlight with a curious whale visiting the Searcher again for at least an hour. The crew got the deck brush out and gave the whale a scratch on the head.

We are departing this afternoon and heading south tonight.

Captain Art and Team Searcher

Hello all,

We arrived safely to Laguna San Ignacio this morning and were greeted with several gray whales at the entrance. Our pangas arrived, and we are lucky to have some old friends to work with this trip; Victor, Domingo and Chopi. These guys were part of the original panga drivers from the start 24 years ago. It’a been so good to reconnect with them. The conditions are pleasant with light winds so far. We had a whale come by the bow and the anchor line this morning and here is a picture next to Searcher.

More later,

Captain Art and Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers:

We started our first trip of 2022 with challenging weather, wind and rain for the first 24 hours. But the further south we travel, the better the weather.

Yesterday we travelled south from Ensenada and in the afternoon we had some good views of Laysan albatross and a pair of fin whales. We also saw plenty of Black-vented shearwaters, Northern fulmars and a distant view of a Black-footed albatross. Great seabirding in the wind!

We are arriving at Isla San Benito this morning and the weather looks much better with a few clouds and light winds. It should be great hiking weather. I’m sure the group will appreciate stopping and watching the nesting osprey and resting elephant seals.

Capt Art and Team Searcher

Baja sunrise this morning just north of Isla San Benito island with Isla Cedros in the distance

Good afternoon whalewatchers:

We arrived just after breakfast this morning and it was great to stop the boat in a calm spot. Everyone enjoyed the walk and saw plenty of pinnipeds: Northern elephant seals and Guadalupe fur seals. There were approxiamately 100 fur seals which is great to see at this time of year. The island was dry with not much in bloom. Here is a photo of the group on the trail Everything else is going well, we hope for less wind tomorrow as we arrive at Laguna San Ignacio.

Capt Art and Team Searcher

Group on the trail on Isla San Benito