Captain's Log

A pod of dolphins This whale report documents the activities and successful sightings of whales, dolphins and sea lions on Hornblower Cruises & Events Whale & Dolphin Watching Cruises in partnership with the San Diego Natural History Museum.

See more information at
www.sandiegowhalewatching.com

Dates	AM Cruise Sightings	PM Cruise Sightings
1/7/2009	8 Gray Whales	4 Gray Whales
	The morning was spectacular, beautiful weather and beautiful whales. We had eight total whales. Four together in a pod surrounding the boat, everyone got a great view, Then we had a mom and calf drop over to see us and two more single whales.	The afternoon was great as well! Four whales in a pod that we followed.

1/8/2009	6 Gray Whales	3 Gray Whales
	Two solo Grays and pod of four Grays. Scattered Common and Pacific White Sided Dolphins.	One solo gray and a pair of grays. Scattered Pacific White Sided Dolphins.

1/9/2009	2 Gray Whales	4 Gray Whales
	Underway in light fog, headed south for good sightings of two singles as well as numerous dolphin sightings.	South from the bay back to the north for a single gray, then pod of three grays with good views. Many dolphins as well.

1/10/2009	9 Gray Whales	3 Gray Whales
	Found a pod of 5-6 juvenile grays near Coronados, then a pair of calves and then a solo gray. Also, many scattered Pacific White Sided Dolphins. People were ecstatic!	Three whales one single and a mom and calf. The pair was wonderful to watch. We witnessed the mother teaching her baby and it simply was breathtaking.

1/11/2009	8 Gray Whales	2 Gray Whales
	The morning trip revealed eight whales total. We had three very close to us. We also had about 100 Pacific White Sided Dolphins.	The afternoon was beautiful as well, we had two good whales, and many Pacific White Sided Dolphins, about 50 total. We were given a great show from the two whales.

1/12/2009	8 Gray Whales	4 Gray Whales
	Eight whales this morning! We had one pair and four singles. There were many tail flukes and wonderful displays. We also had over 100 Pacific White Sided Dolphins that were leaping and jumping right next to the boat. It was a great experience.	The afternoon trip brought us a pair of whales that stopped right in front of us to mate. What a display from mother nature! We also had two other whales in the afternoon. We had wonderful views very close to us, and Pacific White Sided Dolphins all around us!

1/13/2009	3 Gray Whales	1 Gray Whale, 2 Humpback Whales
	One solo Gray near Coronados and two other grays in the distance; many scattered Pacific White Sided and Common Dolphins.	Solo adult Gray towards the south and two Humpbacks south west of Point Loma. Also found a pod of more than 250 Common Dolphins.

1/14/2009	5 Gray Whales	7 Gray Whales
	We had five whales and one breaching whale. He breached right in front of us three times! Our guests got fantastic views.	The afternoon had seven whales, three together, one pair and two singles. Then we found about 12 Common Dolphins that played with us as we returned to shore. A very wonderful day of whale watching

1/15/2009	7 Gray Whales	7 Gray Whales
	One solo Gray, then three pairs of Grays. Pod of around 100 Common dolphins.	One pod of three grays, two mother and calf pairs, then about 5 Pacific White Sided Dolphins.

1/16/2009	7 Gray Whales	5 Gray Whales
	More whales than we could count, including a mom and calf pair and a pod of 5 grays. More than 100 dolphins.	A mom and calf pair, another pair, and a solo Gray. Then approximately 50 dolphins.

1/17/2009	4 Gray Whales	4 Gray Whales
	The morning trip was wonderful! We had four whales and followed them for over an hour. There were also several Pacific White Sided Dolphins.	We had four more whales in the afternoon, three together and one single. We had great shows from all of the whales and saw many tail flukes. There were also about 1000 Pacific White Sided Dolphins that played all around our boat. Our guests got to see a wonderful show when the dolphins played on our bow wake. A beautiful warm and clear day, perfect whale watching.

1/18/2009	5 Gray Whales	10 Gray Whales
	Many whales on both trips. In the morning we had one pair and several singles.	The afternoon was great. 10 whales in all and three breaches. We saw pairs and singles everywhere. A wonderful day of whale watching.

1/19/2009	3 Gray Whales	4 Gray Whales, 2 Minke Whales,
1/19/2009	3 Gray Whales	2 Humpback Whales
	Pod of three grays and pod of approximately 500 Common Dolphins.	Whales were everywhere! We found two Gray Whales, two more Gray Whales, two Minke Whales and then two Humpback Whales breaching and tail-slapping! Also found the same mega-pod of dolphins from the morning cruise.

1/20/2009	5 Gray Whales	2 Gray Whales
	Whale watching in the morning revealed five whales in the form of two pairs and one single. Also about 50 or so common dolphins.	Two very special Grays. It was a mother and two calves; one of them was very young. The mom cared for the young ones and allowed us to watch her teach her new baby. It was one of the most beautiful gifts mother nature gives us. It touched each and every person on the boat.

1/21/2009	1 Gray Whale	2 Gray Whales
	Smooth seas, excellent views of a single Gray, sea lions and Common Dolphins.	Excellent views of a mating pair and close up views of Pacific White Sided Dolphins alongside ship.

1/22/2009	4 Gray Whales, Two Humpback Whales	2 Gray Whales, 2 Humpback Whales
	Four Grays, two Humpbacks and scattered Pacific White Sided Dolphins.	Pair of grays, pair of humpbacks, scattered Pacific White Sided and Common Dolphins.

1/23/2009	2 Gray Whales	10 Gray Whales
	Found a mom and newborn calf. We followed them for a while then left her alone. It was a beautiful sight.	Beautiful day with whales everywhere! We had 10 whales in all, and about 100 Pacific White Sided Dolphins, everyone on the boat got to see the whales and dolphins. It was a very successful trip.

1/24/2009	15 Gray Whales	5 Gray Whales
	Headed south in the morning for five separate pods of one to three whales each. Found a pod of two later. Also saw about 20 Common and 15 Pacific White Sided Dolphins.	Out from Point Loma to the west for a pod of three in the afternoon. Good show of tails. Found two young Grays on the kelp line too.

1/28/2009	4 Gray Whales	4 Gray Whales
	First spotted a mom and calf. It was a beautiful experience seeing the mom teach her little one, our guests were thrilled. Also had two separate single big whales.	the afternoon, was great right off point loma at the entrance of the harbor we had one very small little stray whale, we got to see him for a while then went off to let him find his way, then we followed tswo very large whales for over a hour, great show, flukes and wonderful displays, also another single whale, total 4 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon, a wonderful day.

1/29/2008	1 Whale	4 Gray Whales, One Other Whale
	Solo Minke or Humpback whale -- hard to tell which, as it showed no tail flukes and was quite shy. Then a solo Gray. Also saw more than 1,000 Common Dolphins.	Same Minke or Humpback, same shy display, no flukes. Then a pod of four grays west of Point Loma. Several hundred Pacific White Sided Dolphins.

1/30/2009	4 Gray Whales	2 Gray Whales
	in the morning we had 4 whales, 2 singles and 1 pair,also about 1000 white sided dolphins that jumped and played with us.	In the afternoon we had a mom and calf, the mom breached for us four times, and it was spectacular!

1/31/2009	2 Gray Whales	6 Gray Whales
	Bottlenose Dolphins in the bay on first cruise. Several scattered groups of Commons and Pacific White Sided Dolphins. A juvenile and a separate adult whale to the south.	Small single and a pod of two. Scattered Common and Pacific White Sided Dolphins. Back north for another pod of three.

2/1/2009	2 Gray Whales	3 Gray Whales
	Pair of Gray Whales in morning	Three Gray Whales in afternoon. Good views.

2/2/2009	4 Gray Whales	6 Gray Whales
	Four whales in total, one single and then three very big adult whales. We got great views of them - a wonderful show. Also about 1,000 Pacific White Sided Dolphins.	The afternoon we caught up with the three big whales from the morning but they met up with three more for a total of six whales all circling our boat and giving us the absolute best show I have ever seen! All our guests had a wonderful time, it was just spectacular. We also had the dolphins again, about 1,000, that rode our bow wakes for a long time. Then two more whales to top it all off!

2/3/2009	3 Gray Whales	6 Gray Whales
	One solo Gray, a pair of courting Grays and scattered Pacific White Sided Dolphins.	Two trios of Grays and scattered Pacific White Sided Dolphins.

2/10/2009	Cruise Cancelled Due to High Winds	2 Gray Whales
		Pair of courting grays southbound, approx. 20 Common Dolphins amongst them.

2/8/2009	6 Gray Whales	3 Gray Whales
	Six Gray Whales, good views, 10-15 Common Dolphins.	Pair of Gray Whales & single, 15-20 Pacific White Sided Dolphins.

2/7/2009	2 Gray Whales	Cruise Cancelled
	Pair of grays and about 30 Common Dolphins.

2/6/2009	1 Gray Whale	5 Gray Whales
	Brief sighting of single gray.	Two singles, a pair of grays and another single in distance. Six Pacific White Sided Dolphins.

2/5/2009	2 Gray Whales	3 Gray Whales
	A pair of Grays and around 100 Common Dolphins.	Three solo Grays. All grays today were southbound, which is a good sign. Means we will see them again coming back up north soon.

2/4/2009	1 Gray Whales	1 Gray Whale
	Found one whale, a good showing. Had about 50 or so Common Dolphins.	We had one mature whale, a good show, and maybe 20 or so dolphins

2/11/2009	12 Gray Whales
	Spotted 12 Gray Whales with good views. Also saw Pacific White Sided and Common Dolphins.	Plenty of Pacific White Sided and Common Dolphins in the afternoon, but no whales.

2/14/2009	2 Gray Whales	1 Gray Whale, 1 Finback Whale
	Two Gray Whales on the morning cruise.	In the afternoon we found one Gray Whale and one Finback Whale.
		and 1 finback whale
2/15/2009	2 Gray Whales	1 Minke Whale, One Finback Whale
	Pair of adult Grays southbound along with hundreds of Common and Pacific White Sided Dolphins.	We caught glimpses of one Minke Whale and another Finback Whale at the bank, then approximately 600 Common Dolphins. Even a Mola-Mola fish today!one mola-mola.

2/17/2009	1 Gray Whale	8 Gray Whales
	Breif looks at a juvenile gray in the kelp. Approximately 100 Common Dolphins.	One solo Gray southbound; seven northbound Grays near the bank.

2/18/2009	10 Gray Whales	No Report
	In the morning we found 10 Gray Whales and more than 1,000 Common Dolphins

2/19/2009	3 Gray Whale	2 Gray Whales
	One solo and one pair of Grays, northbound at the bank.	Mother and calf pair northbound to the west of Point Loma. Around 200 Common Dolphins.
		Loma; approx 200 common dolphins.
2/20/2009	3 Gray Whales, 1 Humpback Whale	5 Gray Whales
	Started with a mega-pod of 2,000 Common Dolphins, the found three Gray Whales and then ended the trip with one Humpback Whale that breached seven times!	Spotted five Gray Whales in the afternoon.

2/21/2009		7 Gray Whales
	More than 500 Common Dolphins and around 15 Rissos.	Pod of five northbound Grays at the bank and 30 or so Common Dolphins. Two more northbound Grays about nine miles out. Also, some of the same Rissos dolphins from the morning.

2/22/2009	No Report	Four Gray Whales
		Excellent views of pod of four Grays and several other pairs in distance. Many Common Dolphins.

2/23/2009	1 Gray Whale
	Solo gray northbound at the bank and about 30 common dolphins. Several Pacific White Sided Dolphins.	Several thousand Common Dolphins and around 25 Rissos.

3/3/2009	6 Gray Whales	3 Gray Whales
	Two pods of three Grays, approx 25 Rissos and several Bottlenose Dolphins.	Pod of three Grays, approx 25 Rissos.

3/2/2009	6 Gray Whales	2 Gray Whales
	Started with six big, mature whales. Also found about 1,000 Common Dolphins.	Two northbound Grays and about 50 large Bottlenose Dolphins. We all got great views and it was a specacular day!

3/1/2009	3 Gray Whales	3 Gray Whales
	Pod of 3 Grays in the morning, excellent views.	Also 3 Grays in afternoon, excellent views. Also a very active pod of 500+ Common Dolphins.

2/28/2009	5 Gray Whales	5 Gray Whales
	Found five big Grays headed northbound, they gave us a wonderful display! We also had about 1,000 Common Dolphins.	We spotted the same five whales from the morning cruise, but they were very far out.

2/26/2009	5 Gray Whales
	Five northbound big Grays that gave us a wonderful showing. Then we found about 2,000 Common Dolphins. What a great show!	We had that same mega pod of about 2,000 dolphins from the morning.

2/25/2009	5 Gray Whales	5 Gray Whales
	Pod of five grays at the bank.	Another pod of five grays at the bank.

3/4/2009	1 Humpback Whale, 1 Gray Whale	5 Gray Whales
	One wonderful humpback whale that breached four times right in front of our boat, then came very close to the boat to say hello. Later, we had a mom and calf pair of Gray Whales.	Three nice northbound Grays and two separate singles, a wonderful day.

3/5/2009	4 Gray Whales	3 Gray Whales
	Two solo grays, then a pair. 500-plus common dolphins, a dozen Pacific White Sided Dolphins and several Bottlenose.	Pair of Grays at kelpline, northbound; solo Gray exiting kelpline, southbound.

3/6/2009	4 Gray Whales	6 Gray Whales
	Pod of four grays with good views and plenty of sea lions.	Sveral singles and a pod of six Grays with excellent views. Lots of sea lions along with several Bottlenose Dolphins coming back into the bay.

3/7/2009	5 Gray Whales	3 Gray Whales
	A pod of three and a mother and baby calf pair. Great views of the trio.	Three big whales about 8 miles out

3/8/2009	7 Gray Whales	3 Gray Whales
	Pod of five Grays and pod of two Grays with five breaches all together. Also an active pod of Rissos Dolphins.	Pod of three Grays accompanied by Common Dolphins and six Rissos Dolphins.

3/9/2009	2 Gray Whales	5 Gray Whales
	Two Gray Whales about four miles off of Pt. Loma that gave us a wonderful showing. We also had a mega pod of about 2,000 common dolphins.	Found a pod of five giant whales headed northbound about nine miles out. We had great shows with tails and all!

3/10/2009	5 Gray Whales	6 Gray Whales, 3 Fin Whales
	Pod of four Grays at the bank and many other spouts in near distance. Approximately 200 Common Dolphins and 25 Rissos Dolphins. Came back in to sightings of the "Wayward Whale" that found its way into the bay.	Started with the solo "Wayward Whale" inside the bay. Once we got out, found another solo Gray at buoy 3 and then a pod of four Grays at bank with several other spouts in the near distance. Got brief glimpses of a solo Fin Whale, then a pair of Fin Whales that came in very close. They were so entertaining they made us 25 minutes late!

3/11/2009	5 Gray Whales, 1 Humpback Whale	3 Gray Whales
	In the morning, we had 5 Grays and a Humpback near the boat. Also about 2,000 Common Dolphins.	Two Grays out in the ocean and views of "Diego" the whale in the bay.

3/12/2009	2 Gray Whales	6 Gray Whales
	A pair of Grays on the bank, along with 1,000 Common Dolphins and two pods of 20-30 Rissos.	A mom and calf pair, plus a pod of four Grays on bank. Also, about a dozen Pacific Whitesided Dolphins.

3/13/2009	6 Gray Whales	3 Gray Whales
	Excellent pod of 6 Grays and many Common Dolphins.	Pod of 3 Grays and Common Dolphins.

3/14/2009	5 Gray Whales	3 Gray Whales
	Excellent pod of four Gray Whales and brief views of "Diego" the Gray in the bay on the return trip.	Three big Grays about 8 miles out

3/15/2009	1 Fin Whale, 2 Gray Whales	1 Humpback Whale, 10 Gray Whales
	Brief view of a Fin Whale and a pod of two Grays. 500+ Common Dolphins too.	One Humpback, a pod of four Grays and six other Grays in the distance.

3/16/2009	5 Gray Whales, 1 Fin Whale	6 Gray Whales, 1 Humpback Whale
	In the morning we had 2,000 Common Dolphins and then five big Gray Whales and one Fin Whale.	Six Grays and one Humback that breached right in front of the boat!

3/17/2009	5 Finback Whales	1 Finback Whale, 1 Gray Whale
	A pod of 5 Finback Whales.	One outstanding Finback, 25 Common Dolphins and a good look at "Diego" the bay whale from a very safe distance.

3/18/2009	1 Fin Whale
	Views of a single Fin Whale.	Bottlenose Dolphins in the bay this afternoon, a rare treat!

3/20/2009	1 Gray Whale, 1 Fin Whale	1 Humpback Whale
	Brief sightings of Diego the Gray in bay. Out in the ocean spotted a Fin Whale and possibly even a Minke Whale. Also 300+ Common Dolphins.	Excellent views of humpback whale.

3/21/2009	3 Gray Whales	4 Fin Whales
	Two big Grays and one calf.	Four Fin Whales.

3/22/2009	3 Gray Whales
	Pod of three grays with spy hops, flukes, pectoral fins, rolling over and mating behavior. Accompanying dolphins nearby, around 300 Commons.	About 100 commons. Had to come in early due to rough seas, but all guests were issues Whale Checks to come back.

3/24/2009	1 Fin Whale	1 Gray Whale, 1 Humpback Whale
	Solo Fin whale and approximately 15 Rissos and 15 Pacific Whitesided Dolphins.	Diego the Gray in the Bay near Island Prime. Out in the ocean, a solo young Humpback that gave us 8 breaches, 6 tailslaps, and 3 pectoral slaps.

3/25/2009	1 Minke Whale	5 Gray Whales, 6 Fin Whales
	1 Minke Whale, then about 25 Risso’s Dolphins jumping and leaping - very rare behavior for Risso's. About 50 common dolphins mixed in with the Risso's.	11 whales in the afternoon! Five Grays and six Fins. We had a spectacular showing from them all. We had whales surrounding the boat, whales everywhere! It was the ultimate in Whale watching.

3/26/2009	1 Humpback Whale	3 Fin Whales, 1 Minke Whale
	Solo young Humpback, gave us several good spy hops, played with kelp patties both on its nose and on its dorsal hump. Fin Whale spouts seen in distance. One Mola-Mola fish too.	Solo Fin and pair of Fins. One very young Minke and approximately 50 Common Dolphins.

3/27/2009	2 Gray Whales	2 Gray Whales
	Brief sightings of two Grays and 500+ Common Dolphins.	Two northbound Grays. Followed them along the kelp line. Found a pod of five Bottlenose Dolphins in the bay on return trip.

3/28/2009	1 Gray Whale	1 Fin Whale
	Great views of Diego, the whale that has been in the bay.	One Fin Whale. 1,000 Common Dolphins and about 20 Risso’s dolphins. Great shows from all.

3/29/2009	2 Humpback Whale	1 Gray Whale
	Two Humpback Whales, 200+ Common Dolphins, 30 Risso’s Dolphins and six Bottlenose Dolphins.	1 Gray Whale, 100+ Common Dolphins and six Bottlenose Dolphins.

3/30/2009	1 Gray Whale	4 Gray Whales, 1 Humpback Whale
	One juvenile Gray. About 60 Risso’s Dolphins, 20 Common Dolphins. Guests had a wonderful visit with our marine friends.	The afternoon was a whale fest! Four big Grays and one Humpback. 60 or so Risso’s, that were very friendly and came right up to our boat giving our guests a thrill.

3/31/2009		1 Humpback Whale
	Four separate pods of Risso's Dolphins, ranging between 10 and 40 dolphins each in size. The biggest group was only one mile out of the bay.	Solo Humpback, 15 Risso’s and 10 Pacific White Sided Dolphins.

4/1/2009	5 Fin Whales
	50 Risso’s Dolphins and five Fin whales. One juvenile four large 85 ft. They were "lunge" feeding and we got to see them eating, it was spectacular.

4/2/2009	1 Humpback Whale	2 Gray Whales, 1 Fin Whale
	Solo humpback breached fully-extended and twisting approx 50 feet from vessel. Also 20 Risso's and a solo mola-mola.	Mom and calf Gray pair at kelp beds. Solo Fin lunge-feeding beautifully.

4/3/2009		1 Gray Whale, 2 Fin Whales
	50 or so Common dolphins.	Good views of Diego the whale in the bay, several sightings of two Fin Whales.

4/5/2009	2 Gray Whales	2 Gray Whales
	Gray whale pair performed the mating dance with accompanying Pacific Whitesided Dolphins. Later, a megapod of quite possibly 2,000 Common Dolphins. One of the best cruises of the season.	Gray mother and calf pair approaching the kelp. Also, about 25 Pacific Whitesided Dolphins with about 15 accompanying sea lions.

4/6/2009	2 Gray Whales
	Found a mom and calf, and followed them up the kelp line, a good showing.

4/7/2009
	Over 100 Common Dolphins in different areas. dolphins in three separate megapods