Trip Reports

Hello Whalewatchers,

We had a wonderful morning, we saw 4 different species of baleen whales. The group was able to see Fin, Humpback, Brydes and Blue whales all before lunch! We saw plenty of sea birds including shearwaters and phalropes. A few of our dolphin friends made an appearance as well.

After a lazy lunch (naps included), we started to see even more sea birds and sea turtles. We had some additional whale sightings in the afternoon, and ended the day with a group of 5 humpbacks.

Capt Aaron shared one of his many hidden talents rolling pretzels with homemade pretzel dough made by our fabulous Chef Charley which everyone enjoyed as a special mid-day treat.

We’ll be headed around lands end in the morning.

Team Searcher

Hello Whalewatchers,

Spyhopping gray whale in Laguna San Ignacio

A great day here Laguna San Ignacio! We started early with a trip to the mangroves, everyone had a fantastic time. After a brief break, we went off in search of whales. It couldn’t have been a more perfect combination of weather and whale sightings. There has been a constant flow of whales going by all morning. Everyone had an opportunity to get close to a whale! Here we have a panga full of whalewatchers and a close encounter with a cow and calf gray whale close to the Searcher.

We were also privileged to have Steve Swartz and his team come aboard for lunch, do a quick presentation and host a short Q&A. It is always great to have Steve aboard to tell everyone about his research here in the lagoon. You can go to their website www.SanIgnacioGraywhales.org and get the latest information about their research, and make a donation if you are in support of the work!
Team Searcher

 

 

Hello again,
Our final day in Laguna San Ignacio ended with a visit from a mother and baby whale to the Searcher. It made my trip having the opportunity to interact with them! We got the brush out and I was able to scrub the calf with a brush.
Everyone had an awesome visit to Laguna San Ignacio, including me…it was another magical trip!

Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers,
We arrived to Laguna San Ignacio this morning after breakfast and were greeted by lots of life outside the lagoon–birds and dolphins feeding on small bait fish, gray whales and calm weather.

After we anchored inside the lagoon, we sent the pangas out right away and everyone had a close encounter with a whale on the first trip! That doesn’t happen every time we are here, so it was truly special. A mother and calf gray whale came by the boat as you can see in the photo.

The recent census from March 10 reported 48 singles and 89 mother/calf pairs, for a total of 226 gray whales.

More later,

Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers,

Today was a great day for everyone ashore at Isla San Benito! There were elephant seal pups and some remaining males, Guadalupe fur seals, and nesting ospreys. The photography options were great! In addition, the island looks a lot greener this trip, so I am sure the photographers were busy with blooms and plants that were more leafy than usual.

The weather was partly cloudy with a light breeze and that made for a pleasant day for a walk around the island.

We used our Searcher skiffs today to offer rides over to the island and some shoreline looks.

We are now headed south to look for some whales or dolphins before sunset. We should arrive at Laguna San Ignacio after breakfast tomorrow.

Team Searcher

NOTE: We encountered humpback whales after departing the island. They surfaced and fluked for us. Great to see another whale species today!

Hello whalewatchers,

We entered Mexico in Ensenada this morning at daylight and then traveled out to Islas Todos Santos for a look at some pinnipeds (seals and sea lions). Three different species were there: Northern elephant seals, harbor seals and California sea lions. We also saw a variety of birds, some on nests like double-crested cormorants and peregrine falcons. We watched a falcon capturing an oystercatcher too!

We encountered lots of northbound gray whales for the first time this season. It’s the time when the juveniles and perhaps some of the breeding-age adults start their trip back north. The mothers and calves will stay the longest in Baja California.

The gray whale census on March 5 reported 120 singles and 79 mother-calf pairs, for a total of 278 whales in Laguna San Ignacio!

Photo by Rob Nawojchik

We really enjoyed seeing a large herd of common dolphin before lunch and another large area of dolphins for the afternoon. The photo is of people on the bow watching common dolphin.

Later in the day, we also spent time watching fin whales!

Our naturalists this trip are Mark Webber and Paul Jones, They gave a binoculars clinic in the bow for anyone interested. Binoculars will get a real work-out this trip!

Team Searcher

Hello whale watchers,

What a day we had today! It started with an early morning wake-up wat Los Islotes where we would fit in an early snorkel session. All the snorkelers returned with big smiled from swimming with sea lions and all the colorful reef fishes. Many thanks to Naturalist Rob N. for the photo use above AND the article in the link provided. Then we had a skiff ride for everyone for nice photography of the island wildlife, including blue-footed boobies!

We hoisted the skiffs aboard and headed south into La Paz bay. We were met by our local expert Jesus. He  provided two pangas for our whale shark trip. Our snorkelers and observers went out for 2 hours and returned with glowing reviews of their great looks at big whale sharks!  The sharks were in shallow water so the observers were able to get good looks in clean water too.

Naturalist Lee’s photo from a 2016 whale shark expedition.

We departed and headed north to get to the Cerralvo channel for the afternoon. Along the way we stopped and looked at jumping smooth-tailed mobulas. We entered the channel and it didn’t take long for the crew to spot pilot whales! We stayed with the pilot whales for over an hour and then it was time to start traveling towards Cabo San Lucas.
What a trip! We were able to so much of Baja California’s wildlife. Looking forward to next trip with plenty of potential for another great trip!

Team Searcher

Hello whalewatchers!
After a great breakfast and beautiful sunrise ,we went offshore to find blue whales. It didn’t take very long to find a blue whale. It was the same whale in the same area as the day before, so it felt like an old friend!

Then the “boyz on the roof” spotted multiple spouts further away, so off we went. As we arrived on scene and found four blue whales within a mile of each other and two of them showed their flukes with each dive. Here is a photo of one of the “flukers.”

We came across yet another pair of blue whales on our way to Isla Santa Catalina after spending 90-minutes with the flukers. We had some great looks at the pair and one of those whales showed its fluke multiple times. So it was a great morning whatching blue whales!

We arrived at Isla Santa Catalina after lunch and since the sun was high, we opted to have a snorkel session and a “Krazy Koastal Kruise.”

Returning from the “coastal cruise” to see island wildlife and views!

After a quick break, everyone went ashore for the rest of the afternoon.

Tonight is margarita night and our traditional “back deck buffet” so it’s time for our dinner under the stars!
Team Searcher

Hello all,

We had a great visit to Bahia Tombobiche this morning. The bird watching ashore was fantastic, and the group also enjoyed another snorkeling opportunity. Today, we had a couple visitors on board! Our old friend Manuel, who has been a friend of ours for over 20 years, brought us some fresh fish which the group enjoyed this evening for dinner. And, this guy (pictured below) decided to hangout with us for a bit as well!

After lunch we left the anchorage, and enjoyed increasingly nice weather as we moved north. A good size group of common dolphin were headed in the same direction making it easy for everyone to hangout on the bow and watch the dolphins. We were also lucky to have a blue whale surface close by, and spent another hour enjoying the blue whale. All in all, a great day!

Team Searcher

Hello all,

We had an amazing morning at Isla San Francisco, as you can see in the photograph the sunrise was spectacular. The group enjoyed a nice walk with a great view of the bay,  followed by an exciting snorkel session where garden eels were spotted!

After a cheeseburger lunch in paradise, we pulled the anchor and headed up the San Jose channel. The further we traveled up the channel the better the weather got.  We even came a cross a group of bottle nose dolphins along the way.

We anchored at Bahia Tambobiche for the night, and enjoyed rack of lamb for dinner! Tonight was extra special as we celebrated several birthdays with ice cream cake for everyone. Here the birthday trio are blowing out the candles, and enjoying the birthday festivities.

Team Searcher

Hello all,

Incredible whale watching this morning! Humpback whales were abundant for 40 miles this morning, all the way from Cabo San Lucas to Los Frailes. We had great views of flukes, flippers and whales breaching close to the boat! The weather is phenomenal with a surface temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius), calm seas and light winds.

We arrived at Los Frailes for a walk after lunch. The Grey Thrasher was seen and heard by the group. We also had 16 snorkelers head over to the reef for our first snorkel session.

Team Searcher