Trip Reports

Hello whalewatchers:

Our last day in the lagoon did not disappoint.  We woke up to three adult grey whales swimming around the boat.  They hung out during breakfast and for a while after.

Our group split up and the birders went for a skiff ride to the mangroves, and the whalers went whalewatching. There were a few curious mother/calf pairs throughout the day and a few lucky folks had a special encounter with an adult. We finished another great day in Laguna San Ignacio with a beach walk.

We’re southbound again, headed for Bahia Magdalena.

Captain Mike and the boys

Hello whalewatchers:

We arrived at the entrance to Laguna San Ignacio right at sunrise.  We were greeted at the sand bar by numerous gray whales.  We got across the bar and into the anchorage by around 8am and got the groups in the pangas right away.

The latest census stated that there were 57 singles and 21 mother/calf pairs here so there were plenty of whales to look at today. Before the wind came up in the afternoon the folks had multiple friendly encounters. We’re hoping for some more tomorrow.

Captain Mike and the boys

February 13

Hello whalewatchers:

We had a nice day at Isla San Benito today. The weather has been fair at best. It has been windy and rainy, but it looks like it’s starting to back off.

The island’s Guadalupe fur seal colony seems to be growing and healthy. Rob, our naturalist, says he has never seen so many on West island.  So this is a nice suprise along with the Elephant seals on the beach.

We took off around 3pm and after about a hour of looking, we found an area of feeding fin whales and humpbacks.  We spent about a hour with them and we were able to get some very good looks.  We will be at Laguna San ignacio first thing in the morning.

February 12

Hello whalewatchers:

Good afternoon,

Hello all,

This was our final day at the Revillagigedo Islands. We started in the anchorage at Isla Soccoro. We went around the east side of the island looking for birds and whatever we could find. We saw a few boobies and some Wedge-tailed shearwaters that nest on Isla San Benedicto.

We travelled the 25 miles to Isla San Benedicto and went to the east side of that island to look for the tropicbirds. We saw two red-tailed tropicbirds which was a highlight for the bird team. Unfortunately due to a large swell, we couldn’t land on the island. We sent a skiff in to look for a spot to snorkel but there were sharks around and we wanted to keep everyone safe.  We did see a giant Manta ray and we put a few people in the water  but it swam away and the reef sharks gathered, so everyone got out of the water.

We had a back deck BBQ buffet with ribs, mac and cheese, corn bread, coleslaw and brownies with margaritas. After dark was a “Searcher Shark Show” with at least 50 sharks around the boat feeding on needle fish and flying fish. There were also bottlenose dolphin feeding on flying fish. It was the highlight of the day.

We are headed to Cabo tonight and arriving Thursday morning.

Captain Art and Team Searcher

Hello all,

We arrived yesterday to Isla Soccorro. There’s a photo of the pier and bay where we go ashore.

The ride here was pretty good with light winds and a rolling sea. We noticed lots of birds as we approached: Boobies, Brown noddies, Sooty terns, and Cook’s petrels associated with bottlenose dolphins. Once we got the anchor down in front of the navy base and pier, we went through a detailed inspection. Once that was completed we were able to go ashore.

The bird team is looking for the endemic mockingbird, Soccorro wren, and Red-tailed hawk. The plant team found some new records and the insect team set some traps to be looked at tomorrow. (Insect team organizing their Isla Clarion collections at a galley table on board.)

Last night’s dinner by chef Josh was a pork loin with wild rice, veggie medley and an apple-thyme demiglaze that was delicious!

More later,

Captain Art and Team Searcher