Actually, my wife and I didn't go on a San Diego-based whale watching excursion, but embarked on our sailing trip a short drive up the coast in Dana Point, a coastal city just north of the San Diego-Orange County border. But the experience is likely very similar whether you board in San Diego or Dana Point.
We made our reservations with the Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching, which is recommended if you plan on doing this on the weekend. We made the outing a nice day trip, and Dana Point is a pleasant seaside community. Dana Harbor is a picturesque little harbor, with a shopping and dining complex where you board your excursion.
We boarded and sailed promptly at our noon departure time aboard the Sum Fun, one of the smaller charter boats in the fleet. As we made our way out of the harbor, our captain gave us a little background on what to expect on our excursion. It was a beautiful, clear and warm day, so being out on the water was a pleasure in itself.
With sailboats and motorboats skimming by us, we made our way out to sea. Within 15 minutes, our captain alerted us that there was a whale spotting. Two, actually. So we made our way towards them. Our captain told us what to look for...to observe the slick spots on the ocean surface because that is where the whales are submerged.
Suddenly, we spot it: there she blows! The whale is coming up for air. Then another arches through the surface. They do this a couple of more times, then submerge again. We aren't able to get real close to the animals, but we trail them along the ocean.
Our captain gives us more background on the California grays...their size, how they eat, how they breath, where they're going. He also tells us that the pair we're watching is likely a mother and calf, because of the zig zagging manner in which they are swimming (the calf is swimming with curiosity and the mom is trying to keep it in line).
We have several more spotting before they head out to see. After trying to locate more whales, we spot three more closer to shore. We get a bit closer to these, and are able to see them arch and blow through the surface. Unfortunately, we didn't catch any tail fluking or spectacular breaching of the head out of the surface of the water. But nonetheless, it was an interesting two hours on the water.
Heading back to harbor, I couldn't help but wish that we had seen more whales and had gotten closer. But, hey, that's nature...you can't expect the whales to accommodate our whims, right? Besides, we were outside, on the open sea and no one got seasick.
It doesn't get any better than that, eh?
Note: Most whale excursion charters guarantee whale or dolphin sightings, or they will issue a "whale check" to come back another time.
