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September 24th: This was one of the best days we’ve had so far this year. Constant lunge-feeding close to the boat and even some competitive behavior! 20+ Humpback Whales, rafts of California Sea Lions and huge variety of sea birds! Anothe amazing lunge-feeding sequence!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
September 23rd: Purple-striped Jelly; Amazing lunge-feeding sequence! Breaching and lunge-feeding Humpback Whales!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
September 22: Amazing variety of wildlife, including close looks at Humpback Whales “Bottlenose” and “CRC-12316”, California Sea Lions, Southern Sea Otters and Harbor Seals!
September 20th: We had an awesome day with 15+ active Humpback Whales and schools of Mola-Molas! We also had a Red-breasted Nuthatch (last photo) land on our boat and hitch a ride back to shore!
September 18th: IT’S A GIRL! Photos from our FRIENDLY Humpback Whale on Monday’s trip, 9/18/23! She gave us a nice up close and personal look at all different aspects of her while we sat in neutral (whale approached us)! First photo shows the hemispheric lobe on her underside, which lets us know this is a female! We also saw 10+ actively feeding Humpback Whales, including mom/calf pair “Right Eye” and “Ciao”!
September 17th: Playful Humpback Whales, mom and calf pairs, schools of Mola-Molas and Southern Sea Otters!
September 16th: Humpback Whales “Little Dimple” and her new calf, “Two Faces” and more actively feeding Humpback Whales outside of Santa Cruz!
September 15th: Humpback Whales Gavin and HW-MN0502730 actively feeding! We also saw breaching Mola-Molas and California Sea Lions!
September 13th: 12+ actively feeding Humpback Whales, including breaching calves!
September 10th: A Humpback Whale feeding with a variety of sea birds and California Sea Lions!
September 9th: 1000+ Common Dolphins and 6+ Humpback Whales, including 2 mom/calf pairs!
September 8th: TUFTED PUFFIN! We also saw Humpback Whale “Gavin”, California Sea Lions, Mola-Molas and Southern Sea Otters!
September 7th: 10+ Humpback Whales, including 3 mom/calf pairs, actively lunge-feeding and breaching!
September 6th: 20+ Humpback Whales, Bottlenose Dolphins, Risso’s Dolphins, California Sea Lions, Mola-Molas and much more!
September 4th: On Labor Day we had amazing sightings, including a massive breach from Humpback Whale “Clubs” and 200+ Long-Beaked Common Dolphins!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
September 3rd: Humpback Whale “Slice” and her new calf! Harbor Seal lounging in the Santa Cruz Harbor!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whales
Harbor Seal in Santa Cruz Harbor
September 2nd: Wildlife Trip: Graphic Warning! A California Sea Lion feasting on a Skate, Harbor Porpoise and Southern Sea Otters!
September 3rd WILDLIFE trip: Southern Sea Otters, California Sea Lions on the Santa Cruz Wharf and a Brown Pelican flying by!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
California Sea Lion eating a Skate
Harbor Porpoise
Brown Pelican
Southern Sea Otter
Raft of Southern Sea Otters
California Sea Lions resting on the Santa Cruz Wharf
September 2nd: ORCAS! Distant looks at 4 Orcas, as well as 3 Humpback Whales, Harbor Porpoise and California Sea Lions!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Orca
Orcas!
Orcas!
Harbor Porpoise
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
California Sea Lions
September 1st: Humpback Whales, including “Lefty” and “Waterfall”, California Sea Lions, Mola-Molas and a Harbor Seal!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Ocean Sunfish (Mola Mola)
August 31st: 10+ Humpback Whales, including “Quicksilver” and “Seal face”, California Sea Lions and 4 juvenile Mola-Molas (Ocean Sunfish). The birds are Rhinoceros Auklets!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Ocean Sunfish (Mola Mola)
Rhinoceros Auklets!
California Sea Lion
Humpback Whale
August 29th: Amazing friendly encounter with Humpback Whale “Shadow” while our boat sat in neutral! We also saw multiple mom/calf pairs, dozens of Harbor Porpoise and Southern Sea Otters!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Harbor Porpoise
Southern Sea Otters
August 28th: Epic lunge-feeding sequence from Humpback Whale “Right Eye” and her calf! Plus, Bat Rays seen near the Cement Ship, large raft of Southern Sea Otters and Brown Pelicans!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Sun Fish/ Mola Mola
Brown Pelicans
August 27th: “Chin Up” and her new calf again feeding with rafts of California Sea Lions and other Humpback Whales!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
August 26th: Amazing looks at “Chin Up” and her new calf feeding with “Bottlenose” and other Humpbacks! We also saw massive rafts of California Sea Lions, a small pod of Common Dolphins and Common Murre eating anchovies!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whales "Chin up" and her calf
Anchovies for lunch!
California Sea Lions on the hunt
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales "Chin up" and her calf
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale fluke
So many California Sea Lions!
August 24th: 10+ Humpback Whales, including local favorites “Polaris” and “Clubs”, California Sea Lions, Southern Sea Otters and Common Murre feasting on anchovies!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale fluke
California Sea Lion
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Common Murre feasting on anchovies
Humpback Whale
Southern Sea Otters
California Sea Lions
Humpback Whale
August 22nd: 6+ Humpback Whales, including “Bottlenose”, California Sea Lions and Risso’s Dolphins!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale fluke
Risso's Dolphin
Humpback Whale
Risso's Dolphins
California Sea Lions
Beautiful Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale tail
August 21st: A new Humpback Whale mom/calf pair, California Sea Lions, Southern Sea Otters and Harbor Porpoise!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale
California Sea Lion flying!
Humpback Whales
Black-footed Albatross
Humpback Whales
Southern Sea Otter raft
Humpback Whale pectoral fin
Harbor Porpoise
Humpback Whale fluke
Sleepy California Sea Lions under the Santa Cruz Wharf
August 19th: Unique fluke shots we saw from 10 of the Humpback Whales (30+ on this trip)! The pattern on the underside of the tail is unique to each Humpback (like a thumbprint) and that’s how we’re able to tell individuals apart!
Photos & text by Sidney Minges
August 20th: Active Humpback Whales, including this frisky calf, and large rafts of California Sea Lions!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale breach!
Humpback Whale breach
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale tail-throw
Humpback Whale tail
California Sea Lions porpoising
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale tail
California Sea Lions
August 19th: 30+ Humpback Whales total, including a horde of 20+ Humpbacks feeding with 2000+ California Sea Lions!
Photos by Sydney Minges
August 18th: Humpback Whales feeding with California Sea Lions!
Photos by Sydney Minges
California Sea Lions
August 17th: Humpback Whales feeding with large rafts of California Sea Lions and Black-footed Albatross! We also saw Southern Sea Otters and a Harbor Seal.
Photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale fluke
Southern Sea Otters
August 16th: 3 Humpback Whales, including ‘Percent’, and a massive raft of California Sea Lions!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales
Harbor Seal
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
California Sea Lions
Humpback Whale & Sea Lions
August 14th: We found Humpback Whales “Miracle” and “Marvel” again, lunge-feeding. Also, Southern Sea Otters, Harbor Seals and Common Dolphins!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Southern Sea Otter with pup
Humpback Whales
Common Dolphins
Southern Sea Otters
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale pectoral fin
Harbor Seal
Humpback Whales
Common Dolphins
August 13th: Active Humpback Whales feeding with California Sea Lions! We also saw a Black-footed Albatross and Southern Sea Otters.
Photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale breach
Humpback Whale tail-slap
California Sea Lions
Humpback Whale
Black-footed Albatross
Brown Pelican
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
Southern Sea Otter
Humpback Whale fluke
August 12th Marine WILDLIFE trip: Bottlenose Dolphins, Harbor Seals, California Sea Lions and Southern Sea Otters! Also, lots of seabirds on the Cement Ship.
Photos by Sydney Minges
Bottlenose Dolphins, interesting markings
Bottlenose Dolphins
Bottlenose Dolphins
Harbor Seal
Southern Sea Otters
California Sea Lions snoozing
California Sea Lions
Seabirds on the Cement Ship
Cement Ship, often we see Sharks near this area, but no luck today
Solo seabird
August 12th Whale Watching trip: Lunge-feeding from Humpback Whale “Sketch” and jellies!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Lunge-feeding Humpback Whale!
Lunge-feeding Humpback Whale with California Sea Lion!
Humpback Whale taking a breath
Beautiful Humpback Whale tail!
Jelly fish
Lunge-feeding Humpback Whale! Anchovies everwhere!
Lunge-feeding Humpback Whale!
Lunge-feeding Humpback Whale!
Lunge-feeding Humpback Whale!
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
August 11th: So many animals and birds foraging for food in Monterey Bay! We saw Humpback Whales feeding with California Sea Lions!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale pec-slap
California Sea Lion getting in on the action
Humpback Whale pectoral fin (with a notch cut out)
Humpback Whale spout
Beautiful Humpback Whale tail with waterfall
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale fluke
August 10th: A fun day on Monterey Bay! We saw Humpback Whales, acrobatic California Sea Lions, a curious Southern Sea Otter and many seabirds!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Acrobatic California Sea Lion
Southern Sea Otter
Brown Pelican
Young Common Murre
Seabird in flight
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale fluke
August 8th: We found Humpback Whales feeding, birds feeding, a raft of Southern Sea Otters, a Purple-striped Jelly and a Harbor Seal relaxing in the Santa Cruz Harbor!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whales
Harbor Seal in the Santa Cruz Harbor
A raft of Southern Sea Otters
Humpback Whale spout
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale tail slap
Common Murre with a nice snack
Purple-striped Jelly
Humpback Whale lunge-feeding
Humpback Whale tail
August 7th: Humpback Whales, California Sea Lions, Southern Sea Otters and Harbor Porpoise! Plus, a Purple-striped Jelly!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whales
Purple-striped Jelly
Common Murres
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale feeding
Humpback Whale fluke
Harbor Porpoises
Southern Sea Otters
California Sea Lions
August 6th: 1000+ Common Dolphins plus, Humpback Whales, California Sea Lions and sea birds!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Comoon Dolphins
Common Dolphins
Common Dolphins
Common Dolphins
Common Dolphins
Common Dolphins
Common Dolphins
Common Dolphins
Common Dolphins
Common Dolphins & Brown Pelicans
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
California Sea lions
Humpback Whale
Pink-footed Shearwater
Brown Pelicans
Humpback Whale tail
Brown Pelican
August 5th: Whale Watching: 15+ Humpback Whales! Rafts of Southern Sea Otters and lots of seabirds! Check out the 5 unique humpback whale flukes!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Unique Humpback Whale fluke #1
Humpback Whale #2
Humpback Whale fluke #3
Humpback Whale fluke #4
Humpback Whale fluke #5
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
Common Murre
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
So many birds!
Southern Sea Otters
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whales
August 4th: On our Marine Wildlife Encounter Trip: A surprising breach from this little THRESHER SHARK right off Sea Cliff State Beach. We also saw California Sea Lions, Southern Sea Otters and a rare encounter: Risso’s Dolphins charging right outside the Santa Cruz Harbor (most likely chasing food)!
Thresher Shark Breach!!!
Brown Pelicans flying by the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
California Sea Lions on the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf
California Sea Lions on the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf
Southern Sea Otters
Cement Ship
Risso's Dolphins
Risso's Dolphins
Risso's Dolphins
Risso's Dolphins
August 4th: On our Whale Watching trip we saw active Humpback Whales; breaching, feeding, pec slaps! And lots of cool sea birds!
Humpback Whale Breaching!
Humpback Whale breach
Humpback Whale breach nearly complete
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale pectoral fin
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale feeding
More from August 2nd: We found a beautiful Humpback Whale mom & calf pair (CRC-17774 and her new calf). At first, they were just traveling as mom was feeding, but then the calf decided to get active for us with 3 breaches and 2 chin-slaps! We also saw Southern Sea Otters and California Sea Lions!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale mom & calf
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale
Beautiful Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale breach
Humpback Whale breach
Humpback Whale breach
Southern Sea Otters
California Sea Lions
August 2nd: New Humpback Whale calf of CRC-17774 decided to get active for us! Nice breach sequence!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale breach part 1
Humpback Whale breach part 2
Humpback Whale breach part 3
Humpback Whale breach part 4
July 31st: We found Humpback Whales “Right Eye” and her calf “Ciao” again, and “Clubs” feeding!
Humpback Whale fluke 7/31/23
July 30th: Great looks at Humpback Whales “Clubs” and “Bread Knife” again, along with Great White Sharks!
Humpback Whale lunge-feed 7/30/23
July 29th Wildlife trip: We found 3 Humpback Whales close to Santa Cruz, as well as a Great White Shark and California Sea Lions!
Great White Shark 7/29/23
July 29th: Whale Watching trip: We saw Humpback Whales feeding plus other surface behaviors.
Humpback Whale with pectoral fin up! 7/29/23
July 28th: We saw Humpback Whale “Right Eye” and her new calf “Ciao”, as well as, Harbor Porpoise, Great White Sharks and Southern Sea Otters!
"Ciao" Humpback Whale tail throw
July 27th: 5+ Humpback Whales, including “Clubs”, California Sea Lions, 3 Great White Sharks and a huge raft of Southern Sea Otters!
Common Murre chick & dad 7/27/23
Humpback Whale tail 7/27/23
July 26th: On our Whale Watch we saw Humpback Whales, Harbor Porpoise, seabirds including a Red-footed Booby, and Great White Sharks!!!
Great White Shark 7/26/23
Red-footed Booby 7/26/23
July 25th: On our Whale Watching trip we saw 10+ Great White Sharks! We also saw Humpbacks and Southern Sea Otters.
July 24th: Humpback Whales “Bread Knife” and “Clubs” feeding, as well as, Great White Sharks and Southern Sea Otters!
July 23rd: Active Humpback Whale in front of the Santa Cruz Boardwalk! We also saw 10 Great White Sharks and Southern Sea Otters! Great Breach sequence!
July 22nd Marine Wildlife Encounter: Great White Sharks and Southern Sea Otters!
July 22nd Whale Watching trip: Humpback Whales and large groups of California Sea Lions porpoising!
July 21st: Four Humpback Whales plus an about 9 foot Great White Shark!
July 20th Marine WILDLIFE Encounter: 6 Great White SHARKS!!!
July 20th: EPIC day with tail-slapping and throwing, lunge-feeding and a friendly Humpback Whale who circled our boat while we sat in neutral! We also saw California Sea Lions, Common Murre dad/chick pairs and Southern Sea Otters!
July 17th: Snowy Owl” along with female, CRC-10929, and her new calf lunge-feeding! In total we saw 15+ Humpback Whales and California Sea Lions!
July 16th Marine WILDLIFE Encounter: California Sea Lions, Southern Sea Otters, Birds!
July 16th: We found Humpback Whale, “Prop Mom”, and she had a new calf with her! We also saw many Common Murre dad/chick pairs feeding on anchovies, porpoising California Sea Lions and Southern Sea Otters!
July 15th Marine WILDLIFE Encounter: California Sea Lions, Southern Sea Otters, Birds!
July 15th: Humpback Whales, California Sea Lions, many seabirds!
July 14th: 4 Humpback Whales, including “Snowy Owl aka Trick-or-Treat”, porpoising California Sea Lions, Common Murre feeding on anchovies, and Southern Sea Otters!
July 13th: We found Humpback Whale “Nexus” in the fog, as well as dive-bombing Brown Pelicans and some of the first Common Murre dad/chick pairs of the season!
July 11th: Two adult Humpback Whales “kelping” and playing with Risso’s Dolphins and Pacific White-Sided Dolphins!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
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Humpback Whale "kelping"
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale tail
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Humpback Whales
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Risso's Dolphins
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Humpback Whale fluke
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So many birds!
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Solo time
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Humpback Whales
July 10th: Humpback Whales, California Sea Lions, thousands of Sooty Shearwaters and dive-bombing Brown Pelicans!
July 9th: 5 Humpback Whales, including “Ratchet” and “Clubs” again, Risso’s Dolphins and California Sea Lions!
July 8th WILDLIFE: The star of the show was this beautiful ~7 foot GREAT WHITE SHARK! We also saw large rafts of Southern Sea Otters, California Sea Lions and the Cement Ship.
July 8th: We saw Humpback Whales with a big tail throw! Tons of Sooty Shearwaters & Brown Pelicans. The Cement Ship was again covered in so many birds! We also saw Southern Sea Otters & California Sea Lions!
Great White Shark from our Wildlife Encounter on 7/8/23
Great White Shark from our Wildlife Encounter on 7/8/23
Great White Shark from our Wildlife Encounter on 7/8/23
Great White Shark from our Wildlife Encounter on 7/8/23
Great White Shark fin from our Wildlife Encounter on 7/8/23
Southern Sea Otters, Marine Wildlife Encounter 7/8/23
California Sea Lions on Santa Cruz Wharf, Marine Wildlife Encounter 7/8/23
Cement Ship covered with birds! Marine Wildlife Encounter 7/8/23
July 7th: Double lunge-feed right behind our boat from Humpback Whales “Ratchet” and “Clubs”!
July 6th: We found 3 Humpback Whales, including two adult females “Ratchet” and “Clubs”! Harbor Porpoise, Southern Sea Otters and a Harbor Seal.
July 4th WILDLIFE trip: We saw California Sea Lions sun bathing on the Santa Cruz Wharf, Southern Sea Otters frolicking in the kelp beds, and so many species of shore and sea birds perched on the Cement Ship!
July 4th: Two beautiful adult Humpback Whales lunge-feeding, California Sea Lions and Southern Sea Otters!
July 3rd: Whale Watching trip: We found Humpback Whale “Stitches” and he did a few lunge-feeds for us, including one right next to the boat! We also saw a sweet Southern Sea Otter mom cuddling her pup!
July 2nd: Marine Wildlife Encounter trip: We had a foggy afternoon, but we were able to see California Sea Lions, Southern Sea Otters and even a ~9 ft Great White Shark!
July 2nd: Whale Watching trip: Dense fog made for a long search, but we managed a few looks at Humpback Whales “Miracle” and her new calf “Marvel”!
July 1st: We found Humpback Whale “Gulper” feeding again, Moon Jellies, California Sea Lions and Southern Sea Otters!
June 30th: Good looks at Humpback Whales and Albatross!
June 28th: 3 Humpback Whales, including “Gulper”, who went from sleeping to “gulping” up anchovies!
June 27th: Good looks at 6+ Humpback Whales, Black-footed Albatross, a Mola-Mola, California Sea Lions and Southern Sea Otters!
June 26th: We had an incredible encounter with Humpback Whale “Miracle” and her active calf, “Marvel”! Marvel was breaching and pec-slapping almost the entire time we were with them!
June 25th: We ventured a long way to the west but managed to find 3 Humpback Whales, including a mom/calf pair and Black-footed Albatross. We also saw hundreds of Risso’s Dolphins, a couple dozen Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, and half a dozen Northern Right Whale Dolphins!
June 24th Wildlife trip: We saw a SHARK! It zipped by quickly but was a juvenile Great White Shark! We also saw our typical furry friends in the water: Sea Lions, Sea Otters and Harbor Seals!
June 24th: DOLPHIN DAY! Unfortunately, no large cetaceans due to high winds, but we did find multiple groups of Risso’s Dolphins and Pacific White-Sided Dolphins!
June 20th: ORCAS! We observed 5 Orcas, including well-known male “Jimmy” (we saw him solo two weeks ago) and a less frequently encountered pod that had a new calf. Adult male “Jimmy” (OCT016B/CA50B) and a rarely encountered adult female with her 3 offspring (OCT038s/CA122Bs)! The new calf is most likely less than a year old and was being very playful with porpoising and tail slaps. We also saw thousands of Sooty Shearwaters, Black-footed Albatross, Southern Sea Otters and two massive California Sea Lions.
June 20th: Five ORCAS!
June 17th: EPIC lunge-feeding displays from well-known Humpback Whale “Lexus” and friend!
June 16th: Humpback Whales, lots of Risso’s Dolphins and Pacific White-sided Dolphins!
June 15th: Lunge-feeding Humpback Whales, Sunfish, aka Mola Mola, Steller & California Sea Lions, Southern Sea Otters and Harbor Porpoise.
June 14th: Humpback Whales, Southern Sea Otters, a Harbor Seal and even an Elephant Seal!
June 13th: Pec-slapping Humpback Whales and “Pepper’s Mom aka Venus” resting!
June 11th Wildlife trip: California Sea Lions lounging on the Santa Cruz Wharf, Southern Sea Otters in the kelp, Harbor Seals & tons of Marine Birds at the Cement Ship!
June 10th: The wind made it tough, but we still managed to find a few Humpback Whales! We also saw Velellas, a dozen different types of sea birds and a Southern Sea Otter eating a crab!
June 9th: SHARK! On our whale watching trip we saw a Salmon Shark. We also saw Humpback Whales, including a mom & calf, thousands of Velellas, California and Steller Sea Lions!
June 11th: Humpback Whales, California Sea Lions and Harbor Seals!
June 7th: We found adult male Orca “Jimmy” cruising around by himself (usually he is with Aurora’s pod, but occasionally adult males like some alone time) and two feeding Humpback Whales! We also saw thousands of Velellas (by-the-wind sailors).
June 4th: Humpback Whale “Waterfall” again, as well as, half a dozen Black-footed Albatross, California Sea Lions and Harbor Seals!
June 3rd WILDLIFE Trip: Beautiful views of the Santa Cruz coastline, Harbor Seals, Southern Sea Otters and California Sea Lions!
June 3rd: We observed Humpback Whale “Waterfall” playing and rolling around in a kelp pattie! This is a fun behavior we occasionally get to witness; Humpbacks seem to enjoy the feel of the slimy kelp along their skin. We also saw Southern Sea Otters and Harbor Seals.
June 2nd: Humpback Whales, Black-footed Albatross, Velellas (by-the-wind sailor), Harbor Porpoise and Southern Sea Otters.
June 1st: So many SOUTHERN SEA OTTERS, including one munching on an octopus! We also saw Humpback Whales and a Black-footed Albatross.
Photos to follow soon or you can check out our Facebook page for up to date photos!
May 31st: Mom & calf Humpback Whale pair and Risso’s Dolphins!
May 29th: Playful Risso’s Dolphins and Humpback Whales!
Photos to follow soon! Or see our Facebook page for up to date photos!
May 27th: Whale Watching trip: Friendly Humpback Whales close to the boat. One rolled over on its back, appeared to have a couple entanglement scars.
May 27th Marine Wildlife Encounter: Sea Otters, Harbor Seals and Sea Lions.
Photos by Abby Rumph
Humpback Whale spy-hop
Humpback Whale bubble
Humpback Whale head
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Humpback Whale fluke
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Humpback Whale spy-hop
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale tail
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Humpback Whale
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Harbor Seal in Santa Cruz Harbor
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Harbor Seal
May 26th: About 5 Humpback Whales, California Sea Lions, Harbor Seal moms & pups, cute Southern Sea Otter and Harbor Porpoise!
May 24th: Humpback Whales, Sooty Shearwaters, Southern Sea Otters and Harbor Seals! Our second trip had a Humpback Whale breach!
5/24 photos by Sydney Minges
Harbor Seal in Santa Cruz Harbor
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Sooty Shearwaters
Harbor Seals and lots of birds on the Cement Ship remnants
5/22: Humpback Whales, Black-footed Albatross and California Sea Lions!
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale blowhole
Humpback Whale pectoral
Humpback Whale fluke
Black-footed Albatross
Humpback Whale
California Sea Lions
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale diving
5/21/23: Third day with Orcas! Richie’s pod again; we also saw a single Humpback and some cute Harbor Seals.
Orca, large dorsal fin
Orca: Richie's pod
Orca
Orcas
Orca
Orca
Brown Pelicans
Orcas
Humpback Whale
Harbor Seals
5/20: ORCAS AGAIN! Second day in a row with Orcas, a different pod this time! The large male is “Richie” and he was with his sister and her calf, as well as another female and her calf. We also saw more Black-footed Albatrosses and a Humpback Whale!
Photos & text: Sydney Minges
Orcas including a calf
Orcas, Richie's pod
Humpback Whale
Orcas
Orcas with calf
Orca dorsal fin
Mom & calf
Harbor Seal
Orcas
Black-footed Albatross
May 19th: On our new Marine Wildlife Encounter trip: 10+ Great White Sharks & Southern Sea Otters!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Great White Shark near Cement Ship, Aptos, CA
Great White Shark
Great White Shark fin!
Great White Shark!
Great Whate Shark
Southern Sea Otters
May 19th part 2: Velellas (“by-the-wind” sailors), Humpback Whales, Black-footed Albatross, Brown Pelicans and Harbor Seal!
Photos & text: Sydney Minges
Velellas (“by-the-wind” sailors)
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Black-footed Albatross
Black-footed Albatross
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales
Harbor Seal
Brown Pelican
May 19th: Whale Watching trip: We observed 7 Orcas yesterday! Aurora’s pod, adult males Jimmy and Glacier and a few others. The females lead the hunt for a male California Sea Lion while the adult males hung out on their own a little ways off. One of the females did a spy hop for us while they were zipping around! We also saw: Velellas (“by-the-wind” sailors), Humpback Whales, Black-footed Albatross, Brown Pelicans and Harbor Seal!
Photos & text: Sydney Minges
Orca doing Spy-hop!
Orcas
Orcas
Orca
Orcas!
Orca
Three in a row!
Dorsal fin
Orcas
Orcas!
May 19th-May 21st: ORCAS!!! (pictures coming soon!)
May 17th: 5 Humpback Whales, including “Snake Eyes”, Sooty Shearwaters, a Northern Fur Seal, Southern Sea Otters and a Harbor Seal mom/pup!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale "Snake Eyes"
Northern Fur Seal
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Sooty Shearwaters
Southern Sea Otter
Harbor Seals, mom & pup
May 15th: Close looks at 4 Humpback Whales, including “Fallon” (surface feeding), “Walter” (traveling close to Santa Cruz) and this individual with an incredibly unique tail (photos 1-3). The scarring and folded over left fluke indicate this individual most likely had a previous entanglement with marine debris. We also saw California Sea Lions and a Harbor Seal.
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale with scarring & folded over fluke
Humpback Whale with damage to his tail, probably from an entanglement
Humpback Whale damaged tail/fluke
Humpack Whale fluke
Humpback Whale pectoral fin
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale fluke
California Sea Lions
Harbor Seals in Santa Cruz Harbor
May 14th: 1st MARINE WILDLIFE ENCOUNTER of the season! We found a Humpback Whale, California Sea Lions on the Mile Buoy and the Santa Cruz Wharf, and Harbor Seals!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
California Sea Lions on the Santa Cruz Wharf
California Sea Lions on the Mile Buoy
California Sea Lions
Western Gull
Pigeon Guillemot
May 14th: We had some tough ocean conditions for Mother’s Day, but were lucky to find multiple Humpback Whales just a few miles from the Santa Cruz Harbor, including “Barbbarryn”; one even did a quick breach for us! We also saw silly Western Gulls, California Sea Lions and Harbor Seals!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale "Barbbarryn"
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale tail
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Humpback Whale "Barbbarryn"
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Humpback Whale fluke
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Humpback Whale breach
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Humpback Whale breach
Western Gulls
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California Sea Lions
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Harbor Seals
May 13th: Southern Sea Otter mom and her brand new pup, Humpback Whales and Brown Pelicans!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Southern Sea Otter mom & pup
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Southern Sea Otter mom & pup
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale fluke
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale fluke
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Brown Pelicans
May 12th: 10+ Humpback Whales, including a mom/calf pair, tail throws from “Checkmarks” and lunge-feeding from “Inverse” and “Bread Knife”! We also saw thousands of Velellas (“by-the-wind sailor”), California Sea Lions, Southern Sea Otters and Harbor Seals!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
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Humpback Whale pectoral fin
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Velellas (“by-the-wind sailor)
Southern Sea Otters
Humpback Whale tail throw
Humpback Whale mom & calf
Humpback Whale feeding
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California Sea Lions
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Humpback Whale calf
Humpback Whale "Checkmarks"
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Harbor Seals
May 10th: 10+ Humpback Whales; including a new calf (yellowish fluke) and a familiar pair feeding together, “Inverse” and “Bread Knife”! A curious juvenile Humpback that was spy-hopping and playing with California Sea Lions, many feeding adult Humpbacks and silly Harbor Seals!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale tail, a calf!
Humpback Whale fluke, juvenile
Humpback Whale fluke "Bread Knife"
Humpback Whale fluke, "Inverse"
Humpback Whale fluke, adult
Humpback Whale spy-hop!
Humpback Whale, spy-hop
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
Juvenile Humpback Whale playing with California Sea Lions
Juvenile Humpback Whale playing with California Sea Lions
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Harbor Seals
Harbor Seal
May 7th: Humpback Whales, California Sea Lions, a Southern Sea Otter eating a crab and large flocks of Brown Pelicans!
Photos: Sydney Minges
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Humpback Whale fluke
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale tail
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Humpback Whale tail
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Humpback Whale fluke
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Humpback Whale
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Brown Pelican
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California Sea Lions
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Southern Sea Otter
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Southern Sea Otter
May 6th: Humpback Whales, the first Mola-Mola of the season and Harbor Seals!
Photos: Sydney Minges
Harbor Seal Mom & Pup
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Harbor Seal
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale fluke
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale calf fluke
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Humpback Whale tail
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Humpback Whale
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Mola Mola (aka Sunfish)
Humpback Whale tail
May 5th: More surface skimming Humpback Whales feeding on krill out by the canyon. They were joined by hundreds of Brown Pelicans! We also saw California Sea Lions and Gray Whales right by the Santa Cruz Harbor. Last photo shows a stealthy mom & calf Gray Whale (mom is right below the surface as her baby surfaces behind her)!
Photos & text: Sydney Minges
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Brown Pelican
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California Sea Lions
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Humpback Whale fluke
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Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale skim-feeding
Humpback Whale pec fin
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Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale spout
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Humpback Whale
Gray Whale mom & calf
April 30th: Humpback Whales and FIN Whales! Humpbacks did some breaches! Also, we saw out first Sharks of the season!
Photos by passenger Sam Davidson
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Humpback Whale breaching
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Humpback Whale breaching
Humpback Whale breaching
April 29th: 20+ Humpback Whales, including distant breaches, and Velellas (“by-the-wind sailors”), an organism similar to a jelly/coral!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Breaching Humpback Whale
seabird on a log
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale diving
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
Velellas
Humpback Whales
April 28th: Surface skimming HUMPBACKS!!! There has been an abundance of krill in the Bay lately and yesterday’s tour got to witness Humpback Whales skim-feeding along the surface! This behavior is most often seen by Blue Whales and Fin Whales whose primary diet is krill! Typically, Humpbacks in this area feed below the surface in the water column or in fast bursts of lunging at the surface on anchovies, so it was very interesting to see this pair slowly skimming the surface picking up pockets of krill! In total we saw 12+ Humpback Whales, including our surface skimming pair, and a Southern Sea Otter using its favorite rock to open a clam!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Southern Sea Otter
Humpback Whales skim-feeding
Humpback Whales skim-feeding
Humpback Whale tail-slap
Humpback Whale skim-feeding, great shot of baleen
Common Murre
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale blowhole
Humpback Whales feeding
Humpback Whale skim-feeding
Humpback Whale diving
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales skim-feeding
Humpback Whale wide open mouth!
April 26th: 10+ Humpbacks and large flocks of Red-necked Phalaropes! We saw some unique Humpback Whale flukes.
Photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
Unique Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale feeding
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale blowhole
Humpback Whale spy-hop
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale fluke
Red-necked Phalaropes
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale
April 23rd: We watched active juvenile Humpback Whales and 2 Black-footed Albatross hanging out with the whales! Plus, California Sea Lions and Southern Sea Otters!
Photos by: Sydney Minges
Albatross
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
Black-footed Albatross (that wingspan!)
Breaching Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale spout with Black-footed Albatross
Southern Sea Otter
California Sea Lions getting some rest before hunting
April 22nd: We had a very foggy Earth Day! But after a long search we were rewarded with half a dozen Humpback Whales, including two we know, “McFly” and “Murph”! “Murph” and another whale decided to get active for us displaying breaching, tail throws and lobs, and pec-slapping! We also saw multiple large rafts of California Sea Lions feeding with the whales!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale tail throw
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail throw
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
California Sea Lions
April 21st: BLUE WHALE! We found a Blue Whale surfacing. Plus, a fun Humpback Whale playing in kelp and a black-footed Albatross.
Photos by: Sydney Minges
Blue Whale
Blue Whale
Blue Whale
Black-footed Albatross
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale playing in kelp
Humpback Whale in kelp
Humpback Whale
April 18: In addition to the pod of Risso’s Dolphins we also saw 4 Humpback Whales, including “Murph” again, and a Brandt’s Cormorant!
Photos by: Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale tail
Brandt's Cormorant
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale fluke with unique markings
Humpback Whale
April 18: We found a fun pod of 30-40 Risso’s Dolphins! They had a tiny calf with them that was probably only a few days old and the adults were occasionally breaching and spy-hopping! Check out all the unique markings along their bodies; these come from encounters with prey, like squid, and from raking their teeth along each other as they socialize!
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
Risso's Dolphin spy-hop
Risso's Dolphins
Risso's Dolphin, check out the markings
Risso's Dolphins kelping
Risso's Dolphin
Risso's Dolphins
Risso's Dolphin saying hi!
Risso's Dolphin
Risso's Dolphin
Risso's Dolphins
April 16th: Aria stole the show but we also saw 10+ Humpback Whales, California Sea Lions feeding with them, some Harbor Porpoise and 30+ Southern Sea Otters lounging in the kelp near Pleasure Point!
Photos & text by Syndey Minges
Humpback Whale blowhole
Humpback Whale
California Sea Lion
2 Harbor Porpoise
Humpback Whale fluke
Southern Sea Otters frolicking
Humpback Whale
California Sea Lions acrobatics
Common Murre
Humpback Whale
April 16, 2023: ARIA is alive!!! Aria is the 2021/2022 calf of Fran, a well-known Humpback Whale seen along the coast of California for 17 years! In late August 2022 Fran’s body was found washed ashore in Half Moon Bay and she was determined to have died from a cargo ship strike. Today was the first time Aria has been seen since before her mom died and it was very emotional for all the crew! The last 8 months we have all been wondering if Aria had survived and if we would see her again! Photos 1-7 show Aria today, photos 8-10 show Aria and Fran together last summer! @happywhale_official
Photos & text by Sydney Minges
"Aria" Humpback Whale 2023
Aria 2023
Aria 2023
Aria fluke 2023
Aria fluke 2023
Aria 2023
Aria fluke 2023
Aria & her mom, Fran, 2022
Aria & her mom, Fran, 2022
Aria & her mom, Fran, 2022
April 15th: Santa Cruz Whale Watching found 6+ Humpback Whales and a raft of California Sea Lions plus diving seabirds!
Photos by: Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale blowhole
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale tail waterfall
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale fluke
California Sea Lions
Humpback Whale fluke showing distinct markings
Common Murre diving
April 14th: We watched four Humpback Whales and 1 Gray Whale!
Photos by: Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale diving
Humpback Whale tail
Gray Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
April 10th: We found 6+ Humpback Whales and California Sea Lions! A humpback whale breached in the distance.
Photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whales
California Sea Lions
California Sea Lions 'nap time'
April 9th: Humpback Whale season is in full swing! We also saw California Sea Lions, seabirds and Harbor Seals relaxing on the Cement Ship!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Harbor Seals and seabirds relaxing on the Cement Ship
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale spout
Seabirds
California Sea Lions
April 8th: Both whale watching trips saw a mom/calf Humpback Whale pair (our first of the season) and a small pod of Risso’s Dolphins! The 10am whale watch also saw a pair of distant Gray Whales!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale fluke
Red-necked Phalaropes
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale
Western Gull
Risso's Dolphins
Risso's Dolphin
Gray Whale
April 7th: 2 Humpback Whales, distant Gray Whales and California Sea Lions!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
Sea Birds
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale diving
Humpback Whale diving
Humpback Whale blow hole
Gray Whale
April 6th: These photos show the first Killer Whale pod we encountered on our tour (5 in total, including two large males). Second to last photo shows something the Killer Whales were munching on (we had heard reports of them potentially hunting a Gray Whale earlier in the day), and the last photo is of a distant Humpback we also saw on this trip!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Killer Whales aka Orca
Killer Whales
Killer Whale pod
Orca
Killer Whale big dorsal fin
Killer Whales
On the hunt
Killer Whale big dorsal fin
remains of feeding
Humpback Whale
April 6th: 2 different pods of ORCAS yesterday, plus a distant Humpback Whale and some California Sea Lions! Below are photos of the second pod we encountered; Louise’s pod (CA140Bs/OCT030Bs)!
Photos & text by: Sydney Minges
Breathtaking!
April 5th: Friendly Humpback Whales! Close to the boat! We had a friendly encounter with 2 Humpback Whales, “Amiga” and “Murph”! “Amiga” has the fluke with cutouts on the top right side (most likely from an entanglement) and “Murph” has the fluke with all the white speckles!
Photos by: Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale "Amiga's" fluke with cut outs
Humpback Whales "Murph's" fluke with speckled markings
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale spout
Humpback Whale blowhole
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale blowhole
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whales
California Sea Lions
March 27th: 15+ Gray Whales (mating and socializing), 4 Humpback Whales (feeding) and dozens of Pacific White-Sided Dolphins zooming around!
MATING GRAY WHALES!!! We were watching a group of ~8 Gray Whales roll around and socialize at the surface. It is not uncommon for Gray Whales to continue to mate on the northbound migration due to the 12-13 month gestation period.
Photos by: Sydney Minges
Gray Whales mingling
Gray Whales and Pacific White-Sided Dolphin
Gray Whales and Pacific White-Sided Dolphin
Gray Whales
Gray Whales with a tail throw
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whales
March 26th: Dolphin Day!! 200+ Pacific White-Sided Dolphins (small, black/white, fast and acrobatic), a dozen Risso’s Dolphins (large, scarred, squid eaters) and of course some California Sea Lions in the mix as well! Plus, good looks at 4 northbound Gray Whales!
Photos by: Sydney Minges
Risso's Dolphins
Gray Whale fluke
Pacific Whaite Sided Dolphin
Gray Whale
Gray Whale blow
Gray Whales
Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Risso's Dolphin
Risso's Dolphin
California Sea Lion
Pacific White Sided Dolphin
Gray Whale
Pacific White Sided Dolphin
Gray Whales
Gray Whales
Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Gray Whale
Gray Whale fluke
Gray Whale
California Sea Lions
March 25th: Beautiful looks at a northbound Gray Whale, California Sea Lions, a Southern Sea Otter and a Harbor Seal! The bird flying by is a Surf Scoter!
Photos by: Sydney Minges
Gray Whale
Gray Whale
Gray Whale
Gray Whale tail
Gray Whale fluke
Harbor Seal in Santa Cruz Harbor
Surf Scoter
Southern Sea Otter
California Sea Lions on Santa Cruz Wharf
Sea Lions fighting for a spot?
March 24th: I SEE YOU! 3 Gray Whales up close (5 in the area), California Sea Lions and Southern Sea Otters! 2 of the Gray Whales were rolling around and spy-hopping for us! Check out the Gray Whale’s open eye in the first two photos (usually when they surface their eyes are closed, so this was very unique)!
Photos & text by: Sydney Minges
Gray Whale eye!
Gray Whale eye!
Gray Whale (nearshore!)
Gray Whale
a pile of California Sea Lions
Gray Whales
Gray Whale fluke
Take off!
Southern Sea Otter
Gray Whale
April 4th: 3 juvenile Humpback Whales feeding, sleepy California Sea Lions, a Pigeon Guillemot and some Brandt’s Cormorants!
Photos by Sydney Minges
Juvenile Humpback Whale
a Pigeon Guillemot
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale tail
Sleepy California Sea Lions
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale
Brandt's Cormorants
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Southern Resident Killer Whales L pod (Photo by Samuel Boyce, 3/18/23)
March 18th: We had a very special Whale Watching trip today! We found about a dozen Killer Whales (Orca) including a calf! They are L-pod, a Southern Resident Killer Whale pod from Puget Sound. We also saw 2 pods of Gray Whales, about 10 total and a Humpback Whale! (photos to follow!)
March 17th: Lots of marine mammals on Friday! 10 Gray Whales, Harbor Porpoise, California and Steller Sea Lions, a Southern Sea Otter and a Harbor Seal! The bird is a Common Murre!
Gray Whales
Gray Whales
Gray Whale
Gray Whale
Gray Whale
Gray Whale fluke
California Sea Lions and Stellar Sea Lions
California Sesa Lions and Stellar Sea Lions
Southern Sea Otter
Common Murre
March 3rd: Our first Northbound Gray Whales! We saw 7 different individuals (3 groups)! Plus, Southern Sea Otters, California Sea Lions, Steller Sea Lion, Western Gull and Common Murre!
Gray Whale tail
Gray Whale tail
Gray Whale
Gray Whales
Gray Whales
Gray Whale
Gray Whales
Gray Whale tail
Gray Whales
Gray Whale tail
Southern Sea Otter Mom and pup
Southern Sea Otter
Southern Sea Otters
Southern Sea Otter
California Sea Lions & Stellar Sea Lions
California Sea Lions
California Sea Lions
Common Murre
Western Gull
February 25th: Close looks at 3 beautiful Humpback Whales, including this individual with a unique shaped dorsal fin (first picture), massive flocks of feeding sea birds and a Southern Sea Otter!
Humpback Whale with unique dorsal fin
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
Southern Sea Otter
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale spout
Birds!
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale spy hop
February 20th, Part 2: We also saw a nice array of sea birds: Common Murre, Common Loon, Rhinoceros Auklet & Kittiwake.
Rhinoceros Auklet
Common Murre
Kittiwake
Common Loon
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Common Murre
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Common Murre
February 20th: Humpback Whales again! 3 Humpback Whales including one individual we have now seen 3 days in a row! It is not uncommon to have a small group of juvenile Humpbacks decide to stay in the feeding grounds for the winter instead of making the long trek down to the breeding grounds in Baja with the rest of the population! We also saw California Sea Lions, a Southern Sea Otter and Moon Jellies!
Humpback Whale fluke
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Southern Sea Otter
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Moon Jellies
Sleepy California Sea Lions
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California Sea Lions
February 19th: Humpback Whales being frisky, dozens of California Sea Lions and some Southern Sea Otters! The birds are a Northern Fulmar and a Common Murre!
Humpback Whales
Northern Fulmar
Humpback Whale
California Sea Lions
California Sea Lions
Common Murre
Humpback Whales
Southern Sea Otter
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale fluke
February 18th: 6 Humpback Whales, 3 Steller Sea Lions, California Sea Lions and a Southern Sea Otter!
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whales
Southern Sea Otter
Common Murre
Pile of California & Stellar Sea Lions
California Sea Lions
February 12th: Unfortunately, the weather kept us from going offshore again and we were unable to locate a large cetacean! But we did find many other marine mammals; including Southern Sea Otters, California Sea Lions and Harbor Porpoise!
Harbor Porpoise
Harbor Porpoise
Southern Sea Otter
Southern Sea Otter
Southern Sea Otter
Southern Sea Otter
California Sea Lions
Flock of Common Murre
Common Gull
The Cement Ship, Aptos (what is left)
February 10th: Offshore winds limited our Gray Whale search but luckily we found a juvenile Humpback Whale feeding in the shallows closer to shore! Also saw a Common Murre, Bonaparte’s Gull and the Walton Lighthouse!
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Common Murre "take off"
Bonaparte's Gull
Walton Lighthouse, Santa Cruz Harbor entrance
January 21, 2023: We were finally able to go out whale watching after a series of storms! Close looks at a group of 5-7 Gray Whales, with another 3-5 scattered around the area!
Gray Whales! all photos by: Sydney Minges
January 3rd, 2023:
Happy New Year! It has been stormy but we did get out Jan. 3rd. The stealthy gray whales were hard to photograph but here are some silly California Sea Lions! We also saw lots of birds: Western Gull, Brown Pelican, Common Murre, Brandt’s Cormorants and a Great Blue Heron!
Photos: Sydney Minges
Peek-a-boo!
Those teeth!
California Sea Lions resting
California Sea Lions
California Sea Lions, barking orders
December 26th, 2022: Five unique Humpback Whale flukes from our trip! The markings, notches, scrapes and living growths are amazing!
All photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale fluke with Sea Lion
December 28th, 2022: Despite the large swell we still managed to get out and find a Humpback Whale, Steller Sea Lion and California Sea Lions! Last photo shows the whale doing a massive chin-slap out on the horizon; that’s how it got our attention. We also saw a Belted Kingfisher in the Santa Cruz Harbor! The bird on the water is a Common Murre!
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Sleepy California Sea Lions
California Sea Lions
California Sea Lions
Common Murre
Belted Kingfisher
Humpback Whale doing massive chin-slap
December 26th: Calm before the storm! 10+ Humpback Whales still around feeding! One juvenile breached for us at the end and showed off its nice belly! Been working on building up their blubber reserves all year. We also found a Steller Sea Lion hanging out with California Sea Lions on the 1-mile buoy (check out the size difference)! California Sea Lions max out at around 800lbs, Steller Sea Lions can get up to 2500lbs! Also, a Rhinoceros Auklet!
Humpback Whale breach
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
California Sea Lions frolicking
Humpback Whale
Rhinoceros Auklet
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales
Steller Sea Lion (on left, large) and sleepy little California Sea Lions
Dec. 24th: Half a dozen Humpback Whales! Steller and California Sea Lions! We saw one Humpback Whale breach; it was in the glare but still great!
Humpback Whale breach
Humpback Whale breach
Humpback Whale breach
Humpback Whale spout
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale tail
Sea Birds on a raft of kelp
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Steller Sea Lion (the big one!) and California Sea Lions
Steller Sea Lion
December 23rd: 15+ Humpback Whales feeding with thousands of California Sea Lions! We also saw dozens of Harbor Porpoise and some Southern Sea Otters!
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Harbor Porpoise
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale fluke
Sea Lions
Southern Sea Otter
December 18th, Part 2: We saw "Tornado" the Humpack Whale again! He had some other Humpback Whale friends with him today. More porpoising Sea Lions as well!
California Sea Lions
Humpback Whale fluke
Sea Lions
Sea Lions porpoising
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale "Tornado"
Dec. 18th: We found FIVE Humpback Whales! And of course, Sea Lions.
Dec. 17th: Still seeing Humpback Whales around feeding! We saw "Tornado" an adult Humpback Whale and another juvenile Humpback Whale. Plus, porpoising California Sea Lions and Common Murre!
Photos by Sydney Minges, Dec. 17, 2022
Humpback Whale "Tornado"
Humpback Whale "Tornado"
Common Murre
Juvenile Humpback Whale
Juvenile Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale "Tornado"
Juvenile Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale "Tornado"
Porpoising California Sea Lions
California Sea Lions
December 2nd: Lots of scattered Humpback Whales still around, including this cute rolling pair. We also found two Steller Sea Lions hanging out with the California Sea Lions on the Santa Cruz Harbor 1-mile buoy!
All photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale pectoral fin
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale pec
Humpback Whales
California Sea Lions
Humpback Whale fluke, so many interesting markings
Humpback Whale
California & Stellar Sea Lions on Santa Cruz Harbor Mile Marker buoy
California Sea Lions on Santa Cruz Harbor Mile Marker buoy
November 27th: Some photos from our friendly whale encounter! 10+ Humpback Whales, scattered Risso’s Dolphins, rafts of California Sea Lions and some Southern Sea Otters!
All photos by Sydney Minges
Friendly Humpback Whale surfacing near the boat
Friendly Humpback Whale surfacing near the boat
Friendly Humpback Whale surfacing near the boat
Friendly Humpback Whale surfacing near the boat
Friendly Humpback Whale surfacing near the boat
Friendly Humpback Whale surfacing near the boat
Humpback Whale spy hop
Humpback Whale rainbow spout
Friendly Humpback Whale surfacing near the boat
Friendly Humpback Whale surfacing near the boat
Risso's Dolphin
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Southern Sea Otters
November 26th: 15+ Humpback Whales and some Southern Sea Otters rolling in kelp! We had a Humpback breach. Also, Common Murre.
All photos by Sydney Minges
Southern Sea Otter in kelp
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale
Common Murre
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale fluke
Southern Sea Otter in kelp
Humpback Whale breach
Southern Sea Otter
November 25th: 10+ Humpback Whales, including two friendly whales who were playing with an acrobatic California Sea Lion! Sea Otters too!
All photos by Sydney Minges
Acrobatic Sea Lion
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale pectoral fin
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Southern Sea Otters
November 23rd: Breaching Humpback Whale! We saw this adult Humpback Whale two days in a row! The first day it was pec-slapping and yesterday it did a handful of breaches! We also saw 15+ Humpback Whales, including one active adult, California Sea Lions and Ancient Murrelets!
All photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale breach sequence #1
Humpback Whale breach sequence #2
Humpback Whale breach sequence #3
Humpback Whale breach sequence #4
Humpback Whale
Ancient Murrelets
Humpback Whale
California Sea Lions
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale flukes
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale pectoral fin
November 22nd: A little juvenile Humpback Whale did some kelping for us! We also saw some pec-slapping Humpback Whales, porpoising California Sea Lions, a talkative Steller Sea Lion, a grooming Southern Sea Otter and a Rhinoceros Auklet!
All photos by Sydney Minges
Juvenile Humpback Whale "kelping"
Juvenile Humpback Whale "kelping"
Juvenile Humpback Whale "kelping"
Juvenile Humpback Whale "kelping"
Juvenile Humpback Whale "kelping"
Juvenile Humpback Whale "kelping"
Juvenile Humpback Whale "kelping"
Juvenile Humpback Whale "kelping"
Juvenile Humpback Whale "kelping"
Juvenile Humpback Whale "kelping"
Porpoising California Sea Lions
Humpback Whales
Porpoising California Sea Lions
Rhinoceros Auklet
Humpback Whale fluke
Southern Sea Otter
Sea Lions barking
Humpback Whale pec-slap
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale pec-slap
November 20th: Today we had 20+ Humpback Whales within a few miles of Santa Cruz! California Sea Lions joined in the fun of course.
All photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale active tail
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
California Sea Lions
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale fluke
November 19th: 20+ Humpback Whales still in the area, including a playful calf! Last photo shows a California Sea Lion under the water after it jumped!
All photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale breaching
Humpback Whale breaching
Humpback Whale tail lob
Humpback Whale tail throw
Humpback Whale tail throw
Humpback Whale spout
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale spout
Humpback Whale tail
California Sea Lion under water
November 18th: 7 feeding Humpback Whales, including a juvenile that kept doing fast lunge-feeds all around the boat! We also saw 300+ California Sea Lions and some baby Mola-Molas. The sea lions were displaying some crazy acrobatics!
All photos by Sydney Minges
California Sea Lion acrobatics!
Sea Lion raft
Sea Lion raft up close
Sea Lions
Sea Lion "hello"
Sea Lion
Sea Lions
Sea Lion flop
Sea Lion dive
Humpback Whale feeding
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale spout
Humpack Whale tail
Humpback Whale fluke & pectoral fin
Humpback Whale lunge feed
Baby Mola Mola!
Humpback Whale feeding
Humpback Whale
November 13th: 10+ Humpback Whales, hundreds of California Sea Lions and thousands of jellies (moon jellies and pacific sea nettles). Amongst the Humpback Whales was a Mom and calf pair. Some of the Humpback Whales surfaced close to the boat! We were lucky and saw some Rainbow spouts, the lighting was perfect.
All photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
California Sea Lions
Humpback Whale Rainbow Spout!
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale Rainbow Spout
Humpback Whale fluke
Humpback Whale with Sea Lions
Humpback Whale fluke with Sea Lions
Brown Pelican
Humpback Whale rainbow spout
Pacific Sea Nettle
November 12th: The weather was tough but we still managed to get out and find 6 feeding Humpback Whales and hundreds of California Sea Lions!
All photos by Sydney Minges
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale
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Sea Lions
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Sea Lions
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale
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Humpback Whale
November 11th: Competitive group of 4 Humpback Whales! 3 had very unique flukes and one whale kept doing chin lifts!
All photos by Sydney Minges
Unique Humpback Fluke #1
Unique Humpback fluke #2
Unique Humpback fluke #3
Humpback Whale doing chin lifts
Humpback Whale doing chin lifts
Humpback Whale doing chin lifts
Humpback Whale doing chin lifts
Humpback Whale doing chin lifts
Humpback Whale doing chin lifts
Humpback Whale doing chin lifts
Humpback Whale doing chin lift
Humpback Whale spout
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale spout
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale pectoral fin
Humpback Whales pectoral fins
Humpback Whale
November 6th: 20+ Humpback Whales, including a couple close passes by the boat! We saw Humpbacks “kelping”; they like the slimy feel on their skin. Sea Lions were in the kelp too. One of the Humpback Whales we saw was CRC-30091, the calf of “Direwolf”. (CRC-30091 was born in 2020 or 2021). Check out www.happywhale.com for more information about identified whales.
Photos: Sydney Minges
Kelping whale (they like the slimy feel on their skin)
Humpback Whale, close to boat
Humpback Whale, another close-up
CRC-30091 (2020/21 calf of Direwolf)
Sea lions in the kelp
Close Humpback Whale
Close Humpback Whale
Common Murre
Humpback Whale tail
November 5th: 15+ Humpback Whales, hundreds of California Sea Lions, a tiny Mola-Mola, Sea Otters, a Harbor Seal and a Heron in Santa Cruz Harbor.
All photos by Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale blow hole
Humpback Whales & Sea Lions
Tiny Mola-Mola (or Ocean Sunfish)
Lots of Sea Lions!
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whales
Jellyfish
Southern Sea Otters
Harbor Seal and Heron in Santa Cruz Harbor
November 2nd: 10+ Humpback Whales and hundreds of California Sea Lions! Plus so many Pelicans!
Photos: Sydney Minges
Humpback Whale surrounded by California Sea Lions
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales with spout
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale blow hole
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale spout
Humpback Whale with Sea Lion entourage
Humpback Whale and friends
California Sea Lions
So many Brown Pelicans!
October 31st: Lunge-feeding Humpback Whales and California Sea Lions. We also saw a Harbor Porpoise, Rhinoceros Auklets and Sea Otters.
Photos: Sydney Minges
Rhinoceros Auklets
Harbor Porpoise
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales
Southern Sea Otters
California Sea Lions
Humpback Whale
October 30th: The fog made it tough but we still managed to find a pod of Risso’s Dolphins, a pair of Humpback Whales and a Southern Sea Otter mom & pup!
Southern Sea Otter and pup
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
Risso's Dolphin
Risso's Dolphin
Risso's Dolphin
Brown Pelican with Heermann's Gull
Harbor Seal
October 29th: Breaching and Lunge-feeding Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale breach sequence #1
Humpback Whale breach sequence #2
Humpback Whale breach sequence #3
Humpback Whale breach sequence #4
Humpback Whales lunge-feeding
Humpback Whales lunge-feeding
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale tail
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales
California Sea Lions porpoising
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales diving
October 28th: 4 Humpback Whales right outside the Santa Cruz Harbor, including a pair that were lunge-feeding and did a close pass by the boat! Then we ventured offshore and found a large, active group of dolphins! 100+ Risso’s Dolphins and a dozen Pacific White-Sided Dolphins mixed in! The dolphins displayed breaching, tail-slapping, spy-hopping; and even had some newborn Risso’s mixed in.
Humpback Whale lunge-feeding, Anchovies flying!
Humpback Whale lunge-feeding
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale lunge-feeding
Humpback Whales lunge-feeding
Risso's Dolphin spy-hop
Risso's Dolphins
Risso's Dolphin breach
Risso's Dolphins
Risso's Dolphin
Dolphin dive
Southern Sea Otter
Brandt's Cormorants
October 24th: 20+ Humpback Whales, including many large feeding and competitive groups! Plus, RED-FOOTED BOOBY! The same bird we saw about a month ago, nicknamed “Nelson”, decided to land on our boat again! It hung out on the stern (back of the boat) for a while, then flew off. But some Western Gulls immediately started bullying it, so it came back and landed on the bow (front of the boat) and stayed for about an hour!
October 23rd: Breaching and feeding Humpback Whales, along with hundreds of California Sea Lions and seabirds!
Red-Footed Booby
Red-Footed Booby
Red-footed Booby being harrassed by Western Gulls
Three Humpback Whales
Humback Whale Breach
Humpback Whale with friends hoping for scraps
California Sea Lions
October 21st: 6 Humpback Whales, including “Fallon” and CRC-16040! Unfortunately, CRC-16040 had an entanglement around its right pectoral fin (first photo), we let the local whale entanglement team know! There were also acrobatic Sea Lions and a sleepy Harbor Seal.
October 19th: We saw 3 Humpback Whales total (and only had to go a few miles from the Santa Cruz Harbor) and all 3 breached multiple times! We also witnessed a synchronized double breach, unfortunately, the camera could only get one whale in the frame! But it was so exciting for our passengers to witness such a moment from this pair of Humpback Whales! We also saw California Sea Lions and Southern Sea Otters!
Humpback Whale has entanglement on right pectoral fin
California Sea Lion getting air
Sleepy Harbor Seal
Southern Sea Otter eating
Humpback Whales Breaching
October 17th: (Part 2) The adult Humpback Whales from the competitive group, cuddling jellies (moon jelly and pacific sea nettle) and hundreds of porpoising California Sea Lions!
October 17th: (Part 1)
20+ Humpback Whales, including an active, competitive group that hung out right next to our boat for a while! The competitive group consisted of “La Flor” and her male calf “Nitro” along with 4-5 adult Humpback Whales (most likely males) trailing them! The calf “Nitro” was showing off, breaching and other surface behaviors!
October 16th:
Humpback Whale mom and calf pair. The calf breached a bunch of times while mom was sleeping! We also saw two tiny Blue Sharks! Lots of jellies, Sea Lions and seabirds also.
October 15th:
Active Humpback Whales, (tail throws, tail slaps and pec slapping), a Steller Sea Lion and we found a shark offshore near some of the whales (possibly either a blue shark or short fin mako; was hard to tell with the overcast conditions).
October 14th:
15+ Humpback Whales, including “Flopsy” and “Dragon”, two older females who decided to pop up right next to the boat!
October 13th: Humpback Whales! We found them right outside the Santa Cruz Harbor, then found more over Monterey Bay trench, then more breaching & feeding!
10/14/22 Southern Sea Otter Mom & pup
10/15/22 Shark Fin (Blue or Short Fin Mako?)
10/16/22 Breaching Humpback Whale
10/16/22 Breaching Humpback Whale
10/17/22 Cuddling Jellies (Moon Jelly & Pacific Sea Nettle)
10/16/22 Breaching Humpback Whale--calf named "Nitro"
October 10th: 15+ Humpback Whales, a nursery pod of Risso’s Dolphins and a massive Mola-Mola! One of the Humpback Whales is known as “Nacho”.
October 9th: 30+ Humpback Whales, including some large competitive groups! Also, small schools of young Mola-Molas and hundreds of California Sea Lions!
October 8th: 10+ Humpback Whales including a close encounter from “Little Dimple.”
Calfornia Sea Lions
Mola-Mola aka Ocean Sunfish
Brown Pelican landing
Humpback Whale named "Nacho"
Humpback Whales in large, competitive groups
Risso's Dolphin
Humpback Whale tail
Oct. 7th: 4 Orcas! Aurora’s pod again. Lunge-feeding Humpback Whales and one big breach from a calf. 10+ Humpback Whales in total!
Oct. 4th: We found Humpback Whales! Of course, the California Sea Lions were close by and seabirds too. We also saw a large gathering of Sea Otters.
Oct. 3rd: Humpback Whales within 2 miles of the Santa Cruz harbor and hundreds of porpoising California Sea Lions.
Oct. 2nd: 15+ Humpback Whales and hundreds of California Sea Lions!
Oct. 1st: Humpback Whales breached, Red-necked Phalarope, Harbor Seal and an Osprey!
Sept. 30th: 5 ORCAS! Aurora, her 3 offspring, and adult male Jimmy who frequently travels with Aurora and her family! Aurora is the daughter of Star (has her own pod with the rest of her offspring), and her three children are Andi (female, 11), Dipper (unknown, 9), and Eclipse (male, 1). Other boats reported that the Orcas had hunted a seal or sea lion before we arrived! We were watching them socialize and feed when out of nowhere 10+ Humpback Whales charged in to harass them out of the area! The Humpback Whales were charging, trumpeting, tail and head slapping as they attempted to get the Orcas to flee!
Sept. 26th, part 2: Along with all the lunge-feeding Humpback Whales we saw on Monday we also found multiple groups of dolphins! First, we found a nursery pod of Risso’s Dolphins, then later we came across a larger group of Risso’s Dolphins that ended up having half a dozen Northern Right Whale Dolphins with them! These dolphins are shaped like a dark torpedo, they have no dorsal fin and are extremely fast! Lucky for us they love to bow-ride, so we got some amazing looks at them! Finally, we also saw a Harbor Porpoise, which is the second smallest cetacean in the world! (Adults average 4-6 feet) To put that in perspective, an adult Harbor Porpoise is about the same size as a newborn Risso’s Dolphin!
Risso's Dolphins, mama & baby
Pod of Risso's Dolphins
Northern Right Whale Dolphin
Northern Right Whale Dolphin
Harbor Porpoise
Sept. 26th: Northern Right Whale Dolphins bow-riding today!!! We also had continuous lunge-feeding from about 10+ Humpback Whales and 100's of Risso’s Dolphins!
Humpback Whale lunge-feeding 9/26/22
Sept. 25: We encountered two known humpback whales; “Flopsy” and “Little Dimple,” both are adult females. Today they enjoyed socializing with each other and playing with some California Sea Lions. “Flopsy” is the one with the smushed dorsal fin, it was most likely caused by an entanglement with marine debris that led to nerve damage, her first sighting was in 1986!
"Flopsy" Humpback Whale 9/25/22
9/24: Humpback Whales breaching and putting on a show. A Sea Lion and Harbor Seal greeted us in the Santa Cruz Harbor.
Humpback Whale 9/24/22
Sept. 23rd: We found Humpback Whales! Of course there were also Sea Lions and many birds were out on the Monterey Bay. And a Harbor Seal was sunning in Santa Cruz Harbor!
Harbor Seal 9/23/22
Humpback Whale 9/23/22
September 10th: Humpback Whales showing many surface behaviors: Breaching, lunge feeding, spyhops, peck slaps, tail lobs.
September 11th: Humpback Whales!
September 16th: So Many Whales!!! We found about 20 Humpback Whales on Monterey Bay. Plus, a rare Red Footed Booby was hanging out with us!
Photo:Megan Petersen
9/9/22: ORCAS!!! We had also been with an active group of Humpback Whales.
9/6: We saw 20+ Humpback Whales and at least 10 got friendly with the boat. They really loved sticking their heads out a lot! A Sea Otter was eating a clam.
9/5: 10+ Humpback Whales, Sea Otters and a Harbor Seal.
9/4: 20+ Humpback Whales, California Sea Lions, Risso’s Dolphins and Southern Sea Otters!
9/3: Humpback Whales, Harbor Porpoises, Brown Pelicans & Southern Sea Otters staying cool on Monterey Bay!
9/2: 20+ Humpbacks and THOUSANDS of California Sea lions feeding with them! We also saw a few large Mola-Molas and Southern Sea Otters!
8/29: We found Humpback Whales, Risso’s Dolphins and a Sea Otter mom & pup. Also, in open water, we saw a Great White Shark with a large gash in the dorsal fin!
8/28: Active Humpback Whales, showing off surface behaviors; Breaching and Peck Slaps! Awesome jellies, Sea Lions.
8/27: We found a group of 100+ Risso’s Dolphins yesterday and Casper was in the group! He is a male, albino Risso’s Dolphin that was first seen as a juvenile in 2014 (so he’s at least 8 years old)! Also, Risso’s and Pacific White-Sided Dolphins together and Humpback Whales.
8/25: Blue Whale! Also, Risso’s Dolphin nursery pod, Humpback Whale, Purple-striped Jelly and California Sea Lions!
8/22: Beautiful juvenile Humpback Whale, another large group of active Risso’s Dolphins (100+), a massive, concentrated smack of Moon Jellies and a Southern Sea Otter mom & pup. Risso’s breaching!
8/27/22 "Casper" albino Risso's Dolphin
8/29/22 Great White Shark Dorsal fin with large gash
8/25/22 Blue Whale Tail
8/21: The Risso’s Dolphins steal the show again; 5 days in a row now! This time it was an active nursery pod! We also saw two Humpback Whales, including “Quicksilver”, and large rafts of California Sea Lions!
8/20: A Risso’s Dolphin was breaching! We found 4 Humpback Whales and 50+ Risso’s Dolphins that were being active! Cool Jellies too.
8/19: More Risso’s Dolphins today, this time a large, active group! We also had two big, beautiful Humpback Whales! Also, a Sunfish, Sea Lions and Harbor Seal.
8/18: Humpback Whales and Risso’s Dolphins!
8/17: Humpback Whale, Risso’s Dolphins, a HUGE smack of Moon Jellies and a Southern Sea Otter with a huge crab!
8/16: The fog was thick, but we got lucky and had two large Humpback Whales pop up right next to the boat! We also saw Black-footed Albatross, Mola-Molas and California Sea Lions!
8/15: Humpback Whale “Clubs” and her calf again, this time the calf breached over two dozen times for us! We also had good looks at Harbor Porpoise, Southern Sea Otters and porpoising California Sea Lions!
8/14: Santa Cruz Whale Watching again saw a pod of Orcas! We also saw a Humpback Whale, Sea Otters, Mola Mola/Sunfish, and a Great White Shark! Another great trip on Monterey Bay!
8/13: ORCAS!!! We had a beautiful Humpback Whale doing tail-slaps, but then we were alerted to some Killer Whales feeding on a California Sea Lion! We rushed over and got to see “Star’s” pod (CA51s/OCTO44s) celebrating their hunt! The whole family did a close pass right by our boat and then one of the females breached three times! SUCH AN AMAZING DAY!!!
8/12: Humpback Whale depositing a fecal sample! We also saw another juvenile Great White Shark and Southern Sea Otters!
8/11: So much life on the bay today! We had Humpback Whales feeding with California Sea Lions and all kinds of sea birds! We also had great looks at Harbor Porpoise and two beautiful juvenile Great White Sharks! And finished the tour off with Southern Sea Otters and a sleepy Harbor Seal!
Orca breaching 8/13/22
Risso's Dolphin breaching 8/20/22
8/7: Active Humpback Whales again and large rafts of California Sea Lions!
8/6: 15+ Humpback Whales close to Santa Cruz! We also found large, social pods of Risso’s Dolphins and lots of jellies!
8/5: Active Humpback Whale mom & calf; and “Little Dimple” & friend! We also saw California Sea Lions, Southern Sea Otters and a few huge Mola-Molas!
8/4: We saw Humpback Whales, Sea Otters, Sun Fish and sea birds.
8/3: We found the male Humpback Whale “Quicksilver” and he decided to give us some nice looks at his tail with over 20 tail-slaps and throws! We also found a beautiful mom & calf and a few single Humpback Whales! Black-footed Albatross, Common Murre, Brandt’s Cormorant and Southern Sea Otters!
8/2: Great look at Humpback Whale baleen (the keratin structure in their mouths used for filtering), large rafts of California Sea Lions and fuzzy Southern Sea Otters! We also saw some iridescent clouds, also called “fire rainbows”, that occur when sunlight diffracts off the ice crystals in certain types of clouds!
Friday 7/29-Sunday 7/31: Humpback Whales!
Wednesday, July 27th: 20+ Humpback Whales again, large rafts of California Sea Lions and thousands of jellies!
Tuesday, July 26th: 20+ Humpback Whales have moved into the area, including “Fran” and her calf! We witnessed breaching, pec slapping, spy-hopping and more! We also saw an elusive Minke Whale feeding at the surface and found a pod of Risso’s Dolphins on the way home!
Monday, July 25th: Humpback Whales, another beautiful pod of Risso’s Dolphins, California Sea Lions and a Southern Sea Otter with a large crab!
Sunday, July 24th: Santa Cruz Whale Watching found a Risso’s Dolphins nursery pod! We also saw mama Humpback Whale “Clubs” and her new calf nicknamed “Spades.”! This girl only did one breach, but it was pretty spectacular and everyone was watching. We just could not get enough of the playful, active Humpback Whale calf named “Spades”. She was putting on a show of surface behaviors. There was also a Small Mola-Mola, Brown Pelicans & Common Murre.
Saturday, July 23rd: Beautiful close encounters with a Humpback Whale, along with Southern Sea Otters!
Thursday, July 21st: Four Humpbacks again, Mola-Molas and Southern Sea Otters!
Wednesday, July 20th: Four Humpbacks, we knew two of them: “Percent” and CRC-15882! We also saw Mola-Molas and California Sea Lions!
Monday, July 18th: 2 Humpback Whales, many Black-footed Albatross and California Sea Lions!
Sunday, July 17th: We saw Humpback Whales. It was “Clubs” and her new calf again! “Clubs” breached for us as her baby rolled around next to her! We also saw lots of large Ocean Sunfish (Mola-Mola) and California Sea Lions!
1st photo: Breaching Humpback Whale "Spades"
2nd photo: Minke Whale feeding
July 15th: Friendly Humpback Whales including a baby whale right next to the boat!
July 14th: Juvenile Humpback Whale doing tail throws, a pod of a dozen Bottlenose Dolphins bow-riding, Common Murre feeding on anchovies and with their chicks, plus a raft of Southern Sea Otters!
July 12th: Santa Cruz Whale Watching found three Humpback Whales, one did a roll-feed right next to the boat! We also saw Sea Otters, Sea Lions and Sunfish (Mola Mola).
July 10th: Mom & calf Humpbacks, Risso’s Dolphins and another sighting of rare Beaked Whales (most likely Cuvier’s Beaked Whales again)!
July 9th Shark trip: Sea Otters, Brown Pelicans, Sea Lions and Bottlenose Dolphins!
Photo: Beaked Whale (possibly Cuvier's Beaked Whale) from July 10th.
July 7th: Santa Cruz Whale Watching saw Humpback Whales, Sea Otters, Jellies and birds!
July 6th: We found about 8 Humpback Whales including “Rastrillos” and “Bottlenose” & her calf! We also saw thousands of jellies (4 different species), a few massive Mola-Molas and the “Shark Week” blimp!
July 5th: We saw at least 9 large Ocean Sunfish (Mola-Mola) on our trip! We also found three Humpback Whales in the fog. They were showing surface behaviors. We think possibly it was 2 males showing off for a female.
July 4th: Happy 4th everyone! We got great looks at two well-known juvenile Humpback Whales (“Rastrillos” and HW-MN0502209) that were seen socializing together for the first time! “Rastrillos” even did some pectoral fin-slapping for us! We also saw some other Humpback Whales and California Sea Lions, but the most interesting part of our trip is the second to last photo! The captain and I believe we may have seen a basking shark fin, although as we tried to approach it descended down so we didn’t get a great look at the body! (Photos are on our Facebook page)
July 3rd: Two pairs of Humpback Whales today! The first pair got friendly with the boat and second pair did some massive tail throws! Both pairs had Risso’s Dolphins hanging out with them as well! Such an awesome day!
July 2nd: Windy weather made it tough to find whales, but we still managed to find one traveling Humpback Whale; it even breached for us as we were leaving! We also saw Southern Sea Otters, Ocean Sunfish, California Sea Lions and lots of Egg-yolk Jellies over by the Wharf!
June 30th: Yesterday we saw “Fallon” plus a few other Humpback Whales! “Fallon” was first seen in 2012, so at least 10 years old, and decided to get playful for us! We got to see “Fallon” breach, spy-hop, tail-slap and pec-slap!
June 29th: Monterey Bay is teeming with wildlife! We saw Humpback Whales, Sea Otters, Sea Lions and many different birds.
June 28th: BREACHING BABY WHALE! 4 Humpbacks in total, including a mom/calf pair and two juveniles we’ve seen before! The calf decided to get active for us with breaching and tail throwing! We also saw 3 Mola-Molas (Ocean Sunfish), Southern Sea Otters, California & Steller Sea Lions, and finally the first Common Murre chicks of the season!
June 27: The fog made it tough but we finally managed to find “Rastrillos”. A juvenile Humpback known for the large amount of rake marks all over its body; these markings come from orca teeth, so clearly this individual was preyed upon in the past but got away! We’ve been seeing this individual since July 2021! We also saw a sleepy group of Risso’s Dolphins!
6/26: EPIC tail throwing from “Blooming Onion” today; we first saw this little female Humpback Whale as a calf last year, but now she is over a year old and off on her own! We also got to see “Fran” and her calf again, as well as many other adult Humpbacks! California and Steller Sea Lions round out the list!
6/24: 5 Humpback Whales today! One adult did a large tail throw, and we got to see “Fran” and her newborn calf! We have been seeing "Fran" for many years in Monterey Bay.
6/22: Lots of Humpback Whales including older male “Train Wreck” and a playful mom & calf pair! We also saw California and Steller Sea Lions!
6/21: A Fin Whale! Plus, active Humpbacks again, tail throws and breaching.
6/20: We saw active Humpback Whales doing tail throws! Also, we saw Risso’s Dolphins.
Photo: Fin Whale by Sydney Minges
6/19: Sunday we had close looks at one Humpback Whale that breached and did multiple tail throws! We also saw a massive Mola Mola and some Southern Sea Otters rolling around!
6/17: Ended up with a trio of Humpback Whales offshore that did tail throws!
6/16: On our June 16th Whale Watching trip: we saw Humpback Whales, a Great White Shark, a pile of Sea Lions and bobbing Sea Otters!
6/15: We saw “Speckles” the Humpback Whale. We also had some great looks at a Great White Shark near the Cement Ship.
6/14: Four humpback whales. 1 shark. Sea lions and sea otters.
6/12: Sunday June 12 on the Whale Watching trip we had a friendly Mama Humpback Whale and her calf, plus a few other Humpbacks.
6/11 Shark Trip: Awesome looks at a Great White Shark from our Shark Trip on Sat. 6/11! We also saw a Humpback Whale, sea lions and birds feeding.
6/11: Saturday June 11 on our Whale Watching trip we saw about 5 Humpback Whales and a few sharks.
6/10/22 Three Humpback Whales plus a little juvenile Humpback, Risso’s Dolphins, a Great White Shark and a Mola-Mola.
6/9/22 Two Humpback Whales (“Bottlenose” and her 2022 calf), Risso’s Dolphins & Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, 10+ Great White Sharks, Southern Sea Otters and Sooty Shearwaters! We also saw a Mola-Mola
6/7/22: We saw 4 Humpback Whales today, 5 Great White Sharks, and a Southern Sea Otter eating an octopus!
6/6/22: Mom/calf Humpback pair, 8 GREAT WHITE SHARKS, Steller Sea Lion, California Sea Lion and Southern Sea Otter!
This is from our Naturalist:
“We witnessed an incredible, intimate moment between a mom and her calf today, 6/6/22! These photos show the beautiful, wiggly Humpback Whale calf as it snuggled and nursed from its mother. They rolled around for almost 45 minutes sharing their special bonding moment with us! It was truly unreal, I have never seen this type of behavior in this area! The bond between a mother and her calf is simply amazing!"
6/5/22 Awesome looks at Humpback Whales, Risso’s Dolphins, California and Steller Sea Lions, and of course a playful Southern Sea Otter!
6/4/22 10+ Humpback Whales, Risso’s Dolphins, a pile of California Sea Lions and a cute Harbor Seal! Also a Mola Mola!
6/3/22 Humpback Whale in the fog, Brown Pelicans, sunning Sea Lions and a Harbor Seal hanging out with a gull!
5/27-5/30: Active Humpback Whales breaching and feeding amongst many birds and sea lions. Also, we have regularly been seeing Sea Otters, Sun Fish, Risso’s Dolphins and Pacific White Sided Dolphins.
5/22-5/24: Active Humpbacks and then 5/25: 20-30 Humpbacks!
5/20 & 5/21: Blue Whales!
5/18/22: 20+ Humpbacks feeding.
5/14-5/16: Active Humpback Whales feeding.
Humpback Whales, Blue Whales, Fin Whales enjoying the sunny skies and abundant food near Santa Cruz.
Look up and see a juvenile bald eagle! Beautiful Day.
Front to back: Fin Whale, Fin Whale and Blue Whale
ALL PHOTOS: Sydney Minges, one of our fantastic Marine Biologists on board every Whale Watching Trip!
Visit Sydney's photo gallery for more!
Fin Whale head; you can see the white jaw. Fin Whales have a white jaw on the right side only (asymmetrical coloration).
Juvenile Bald Eagle
May 11-12, 2022
We saw about 8-10 Blue Whales on May 12! And a Humpback Whale near Santa Cruz.
We hit the Whale Watching Jackpot on May 11th!
We saw at least 6 Humpback Whales, 10 or more Killer Whales (Orca). Then a Fin Whale hanging out with a Humpback Whale. And on our way back there was a single Gray Whale. And of course, we had California & Stellar Sea Lions. Jellies. Plus, tons of birds including a Black Footed Albatross. What a great day on Monterey Bay!
This video of a sunfish (mola mola) was taken during our April 20th whale watching tour. Mola mola spend time at the surface to warm up after a deep dive to feed in cold waters. Sunfish can grow up to 4200 pounds.
Friday April 29
AWESOME DAY! Hundreds of Risso’s Dolphins with dozens of Pacific White-Sided Dolphins mixed in. Humpback Whales displaying almost every behavior in the book including breaching, lunge-feeding, tail throwing, tail slapping/lobbing and rolling! Massive feeding frenzy right off Capitola with thousands of Bonaparte’s Gulls, hundreds of California Sea Lions and a few Humpback Whales!
Humpback tail slapping PHOTO: Sydney Minges
Risso's Dolphins, PHOTO: Sydney Minges
Seagull enjoying his lunch!
Saturday, March 26, 2022. Humpback Whales, Sea Lions, Otters.
Friday, March 25, 2022. Humpback whales, sea lions, otters, cormorants, and more.
Spring Break! Weekday trips added for April ~ Get your tickets now for your Ocean Adventure in Santa Cruz!
Humpback Whales Monterey Bay Photo: Sydney Minges 3-26-22
Cormorants Cruising Monterey Bay, photo Sydney Minges 3-25-22
Humpback Whales, Monterey Bay March 2022 Photo: Sydney Minges
It's been an exciting week of whale watching, with stormy weather one day and blue skies the next, still lots of whales and dolphins, birds, otters, sea lions and wonderful adventurous people!
Monday 3/21/22 Humpback whales and Risso’s dolphins. 3 humpbacks, 4 gray whales and Risso’s dolphins! The first humpback we encountered was a juvenile with some sort of entanglement, which we reported to the fabulous Marine Life Studies' Whale Entanglement Team.
Sunday 3/20/22 On Legacy, we got good looks at northbound gray whales along the Santa Cruz coastline. Seas were a little bumpy, so we enjoyed exploring the coastline for southern sea otters, California sea lions and surfers enjoying the swells.
Saturday 3/19/22 Multiple whales! We got good looks at both humpbacks and grays. There was light rain while we travelled but skies were dry for our viewing time with the whales.
Friday 3/18/22 Humpback whales, otters, nice weather all across Monterey Bay.
Thursday 3/17/22 It was a great trip! So many whales. As we headed out of the harbor we were greeted by a gray whale. Further out we found a group of 6 gray whales. There was a spout in the distance, it was a humpback! We noticed more spouts and ventured out to see about 10 more humpback whales. Later followed a group of 4 humpbacks escorting a single gray whale.
Wednesday 3/16/22 Gray whales and a juvenile humpback whale.
Gray Whales Monterey Bay March 2022 Photo: Sydney Minges
Risso's Dolphins Monterey Bay March 2022 Photo: Sydney Minges
California Sea Lions Monterey Bay March 2022 Photo: Sydney Minges
Otter surveying the scene, Monterey Bay March 2022 Photo: Sydney Minges
Monday 3/14/22
Gray Whales
Bottlenose Dolphins
Birds: Northern Fulmar
Sunday 3/13/22
Gray Whales
Otters
Sea Lions
Saturday 3/12/22
Gray Whales
Bottlenose Dolphins
Otters
Sea Lions
Friday 3/11/22
Gray Whales
Risso’s Dolphins
Sun Fish (Mola Mola)
Sea Otters
Birds: Northern Fulmar
Beautiful sunny days
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Gray Whale, photo: Sydney Minges
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Risso's Dolphins photo: Sydney Minges
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Bottlenose Dolphins photo: Sydney Minges
Mola Mola (Sunfish) photo: Sydney Minges
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Northern Fulmar photo: Sydney Minges
Otter photo: Sydney Minges
Sunday March 6, 2022 Gray whales continue to migrate across Monterey Bay on their return voyage to the Bering Sea. On Sunday we got to watch a group of Gray Whales hanging in closely along the Santa Cruz shoreline.
Winter Gray Whales, Monterey Bay, CA. Pod of 3 gray whales.
Gray Whales near Santa Cruz, CA 2022. Tail and Spout!
2/27/ Sunday * Killer Whales today, Fatfin and Tofina, munching on a sea lion and playing with the boat! After that we found 3 northbound Gray Whales!
2/26/ Saturday * 7 northbound Gray Whales at the beginning and then we traveled further west and found multiple groups of Humpback Whales, two of them decided to take the boat hostage! They played around the boat for about 30 min, it was AMAZING!
2/25 Friday * 3 northbound and 1 southbound Gray Whales!
Humpback Wahles stayed close to the boat on Saturday! Photo: Sydney Minges
Killer Whale "Fat Fin" Photo: Sydney Minges
Visit our Facebook Page for more photos and Video
2/21 Bird List:
Western Gull
Brown Pelican
Common Murre
Brandt’s Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Rhinoceros Auklet
Pacific Loon
Western Grebe
Eared Grebe
Northern Fulmar
Black-vented Shearwater
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Common Murres
Gulls and Pelican
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Gray Whale
Sunday 2/20/22
Breaching Humpback Whales!
Saturday 2/19/22
Really good looks and action with Risso’s Dolphins, plus Gray Whales, Albatross, Sea Lions, Harbor Seals
Friday 2/18/22
Five Gray Whales and two Humpbacks! Lounging Harbor Seals, California Sea Lions, Pelicans.
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Harbor Seals
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Risso's Dolphins
Juvenile Humpback Whale Breach 1
Juvenile Humpback Whale Breach 2
Juvenile Humpback Whale Breach 3
All Photos: Sydney Minges
2/13/22 Sunday, Cuvier’s Beaked Whales!
Cuvier's Beaked Whales, the deepest diving marine mammal!
Very interesting day! Started with a large pod of Risso's Dolphins, then came across a single southbound Gray Whale with a very white fluke. While waiting for the Gray to resurface we spotted Cuvier's Beaked Whales off in the distance, they dove before we had a chance to get too close though. We also saw a juvenile Short-Tailed Albatross that's been in the area. Finally, we found a pod of sleepy Risso's Dolphins on the way back in.
2/12/22 Saturday: Another gorgeous day on Monterey Bay! Santa Cruz Whale Watching was able to see 3 Gray Whales and a dozen Risso’s dolphins.
2/11/22 Friday: What a beautiful, warm, sunny day with calm waters on Friday's Whale Watching trip. We were quickly greeted by a single Northbound Gray Whale. Then we found a group of about six Southbound Gray Whales. They fluked and dove. Lots of great views of diving tails and arching backs.
Risso's Dolphins
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Risso's Dolphins
Northern Fulmar
Short-Tailed Albatross
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Gray Whales
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Gray Whale Fluke
Photos:Sydney Minges
Come ride along with Chip Curry and guests on the January 23rd Whale Watching Trip on Velocity!
Music: Chip Curry
Sunday 1/30/22 Sunday Whale Watching on Monterey Bay with Gray Whales, Harbor Seals, Northern Fulmar!
We're having mild winter weather and lots of gray whales this season. Welcome aboard!
Photos: Sydney Minges
Two Gray Whales
Harbo Seal
Northern Fulmar
Sunday 1/23/22 Close encounters with a group of 4 amazing Gray Whales, Sea Lions and an Otter!
Sat 1/22/22 Started off with a couple groups of shy Gray Whales, then came across two Humpback Whales and finished the tour with an active group of Gray Whales that were rolling, waving and spy-hopping. The active group also had Pacific White-Sided Dolphins with them.
PHOTOS: Sydney Minges
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Gray Whales January 22 Monterey Bay
Gray Whales Rolling and Spy Hopping
Gray Whales Winter in Santa Cruz, CA
Sea Lion at the Mile Buoy
Three Gray Whales, Monterey Bay
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Gray Whale Spout
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Southern Sea Otter
Monday, January 17, 2022
Three amazing Gray Whales
At least 8 Black-footed Albatross
California and Steller Sea Lions
We were able to get off shore again after the unexpected tsunami surged into the Santa Cruz Harbor last Saturday. Nice weather and wonderful whale watching.
PHOTOS: SYDNEY MINGES
Black-footed Albatross
Black-footed Albatross Posse
Gray Whale Tail, Monterey Bay, January 2022
Gray Whale, Monterey Bay, January 2022
Gray Whale Spout (note the heart-shape of the blow)
California and Stellar Sea Lions at the Mile Buoy
Steller Sea Lion with CA Sea Lion in the back peeking thru
Gray Whale Fluke
Gray Whales, Santa Cruz, CA
Gray Whale, Santa Cruz, CA
Brown Pelicans
Thanks to our friend Mike Nelson, who got some nice footage of the Sperm Whale we saw just before New Years. Between that and seeing the Beaked Whales over the weekend, we are giddy for another amazing year of Marine Wildlife Encounters to come. Welcome aboard!
Sunday 1/9/22 Super rare sighting of what we believe were Cuvier's Beaked Whales! It was a pod of probably 6-8 animals.
Cuvier’s Beaked Whales are known to range in oceans around the world, but are rarely seen in action. They can generally only be studied when they wash up on beaches around the globe. Cuvier’s Beaked Whales are the record holders for deepest dives to feast on fish and squid. Sometimes they are under water for up to 2 hours! What a treat to see a pod of rare Cuvier’s Beaked Whales right here in Monterey Bay – We were about 10-16 miles offshore from Santa Cruz.
Photos: Sydney Minges
Cuvier's Beaked Whales
Beaked Whale swimming towards us
Five Beaked Whales
Chart showing comparitive depth of feeding dives
Two Beaked Whales
Wednesday 1/5/22
We found an amazing group of 8+ Gray Whales that loved showing us their beautiful flukes! We also came across a little school of 4 baby Mola-Molas.
Friday 1/7/22
We found a group of 4 Gray Whales, then 2 more Grays a little further offshore, diving near the weather buoy over the Monterey Canyon. Harbor Seals and California Sea Lions. Nice ocean conditions.
Saturday 1/8/22
Gray Whales, Pacific White-Sided Dolphins. Good long looks on clear waters today!
ALL PHOTOS: Sydney Minges
Double Fluke up, Gray Whales 1-5-2022
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Gray Whales 1-5-2022
Four Gray Whales 1-5-2022
Two Gray Whales 1-5-2022 Sidney Minges
Gray Whale 1-5-2022
Gray Whale Blowhole
Baby Mola Mola
Sunday 1/2/22
Whales! 5 Gray Whales, 3 Humpbacks.
Bottlenose Dolphins at the harbor mouth, Otters, Birds.
PHOTOS: Sydney Minges
Bottlenose Dolphins
Gray Whale
Gray Whale, Diving
Gray Whales
Humpback Whale, January 2, 2022
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Humpback Whale, January 2, 2022
Southern Sea Otter
California Sea Lions
Brown Pelican
Saturday 1/1/22
Happy New Year! We saw five Gray Whales today, Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, Pelicans!
PHOTOS: Sydney Minges
Gray Whale, New Years Day 2022
Gray Whale Spout
Harbor Seal
California Sea Lions
Brown Pelicans - Lunchtime!
Two Gray Whales
Gray Whale Fluke
Thursday 12/30/21 Today we had two Humpbacks, four Gray Whales and at least a 100 Pacific Whited-Sided Dolphins (playing with the Grays). Stellar Sea Lion on the mile buoy.
Wednesday 12/29/21 Several Humpback Whales, Albatross, Otters, Sea Lions, Clever Gulls, Rainbows!
Tuesday 12/28/21 On our morning trip we got good looks at three Humpback Whales—mama/calf and an adult male. Plus, Otters and Sea Lions.
All Photos: Sydney Minges
Mama and Calf Humpback Whales
Clever seagull found an "island" palette to take a break.
Humpback Whale
Gray Whale
Stellar Sea Lion
Pacific White-Sided Dolphin
Tuesday 12/28/21
SPERM WHALE sighting today! This was a first for all the crew and guests; still on cloud 9 from such an amazing experience. We got to witness this large sperm whale (most likely a male) surface two different times during our trip. This was so incredibly lucky since these animals can be under for over an hour and move great distances between surfacing.
All PHOTOS: Sydney Minges
(The last reported sperm whale in Monterey Bay was in 2016)
https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/sperm-whale
Friday Dec 17th Wow! Still Humpbacks in Monterey Bay in December – They love it here!
Saturday Dec 18th Breaching Whales! 7 humpbacks today! FLYING WHALES TODAY! “Little Dipper’s Mom” and her new calf decided to breach right as we were about to head back to the harbor; epic end to our trip! We had 7 Humpbacks total today along with sea lions and an otter!
Sunday December 19th Good looks at three humpback whales, sea lions, otters, and a black footed albatross.
PHOTO: Sydney Minges 12-18-2021 Monterey Bay
Saturday, December 11, 2021
We are still finding so many Humpbacks in the Bay! Yesterday we had synchronized double fluke ups, breaching/tail throwing, and spent some time with mama whale “Direwolf” and her calf.
Photos: Sydney Minges on board Velocity with Santa Cruz Whale Watching
TAIL THROW
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BROWN PELICAN
Friday, December 10, 2021
Started and ended the trip with playful Bottlenose Dolphins right outside the harbor. Then we were able to find over 8 Humpbacks including two mom/calf pairs that we know (“Direwolf” and her calf; Aurora and her calf “Fluke Skywalker”). We also had huge rafts of California Sea Lions with the whales and dolphins; and a Southern Sea Otter.
Photos: Sydney Minges on board Velocity
"Direwolf" and her calf
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"Fluke Skywalker"
Bottlenose Dolphin
Pelicans and Seagulls Feast
Saturday, Dec 4th, 10+ Active Bottlenose Dolphins right outside the harbor, then three Humpbacks only 2 miles from the harbor! They were calf "Fluke Skywalker,” her mom "Aurora" and a third adult that was most likely a male escort. The three whales were chin slapping/lifting, pec slapping and we even had one of the adults breach for us! We ended the trip with a raft of Southern Sea Otters off Capitola!
Sunday, Dec 5th, Three Humpback Whales, Bottlenose Dolphins, Sea Lions and Otters.
PHOTOS: SYDNEY MINGES
Humpback Spouts
"Fluke Skywalker"
Humpback Whale rolling
Bottlenose Dolphins
Common Murres
Harbor Seal
Our friend "Rastrillos"
Pacific Sea Nettle
Sunday 11/14/21 5 whales and one breacher! Gorgeous day; we got great looks at seals, birds and the Monterey Bay coastline.
(photos: Sydney Minges)
Brown Pelicans
Northern Fulmar
Harbor Seals
Unique Humpback Whale Tail
Diving Down
Saturday 11/13/21 Had to travel a ways offshore today, but rewarded with an active humpback whale. Enjoyed lovely weather!
Humpback whale
Southern Sea Otter
Common Murre
Humpback whale individuals have distinctive markings, like fingerprints, on their flukes. We participate with the Happy Whale Project to compare fluke-markings, identify and name these amazing whales and follow their journeys along the Pacific Coast and around the world! https://happywhale.com/home
"Train Wreck" (photo: Sydney Minges)
Humpback whale fluke/Happy Whale ID CRC-16359 (photo: Sydney Minges)
Amazing whale watching trips this weekend!
Sunday 10/31
Humpback Whale mom and calf, Southern Sea Otters, Brown Pelicans, California Sea Lions
Saturday 10/30
We found a huge pod of Risso's Dolphins with a few Pacific White-Sided Dolphins mixed in, and then came across 6-7 Humpbacks!
Friday 10/29
Humpback Whales lunge feeding and roll feeding near Moss Landing. Harbor Porpoises, California Sea Lions, Southern Sea Otters.
Triple lunge feed
Double lunge feed
Single lunge feed
Humpback rolling
California Sea Lions
All Photos: Sydney Minges, Oct 23, 2021 on board Velocity with Santa Cruz Whale Watching
A little bit of rain overnight gave way to sunny skies and another fun day on Monterey Bay. Pelicans, Cormorants, Humpback Whales, California Sea Lions, Otters!
Another lovely day out whale watching on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17th, with humpback whales, sea lions, and more - you have to join us!
Humpback whales, a single and a pair, were active and came close to the boat while they chased down a bait ball. We had an amazing interaction with Risso’s Dolphins who were unusually friendly – the water was so clear and we could see them effervescing and changing formations beneath the surface!
6 Humpback Whales today, including calf "Google" and her mom "Starlight." We also saw large rafts of California Sea Lions and a Sunfish!
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Humpback Fluke
Humpback Calf Tail
3 Humpback Whales
2 Humpback Whales Roll Feeding
Humpback Pectoral Fin
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Humpback Whale
Humpback Calf
Brown Pelican
California Sea Lions
Monday 9/20/21 Harbor Porpoise! We also had a goofy lunge-feeding juvenile by the beach. Great day for birds - Pelicans and Cormorants.
Sunday 9/19/21 Gorgeous day out on Monterey Bay! Humpback whales continue to delight us with diving and feeding offshore. We saw same mother/calf pairs and several synchronized dives.
Saturday 9/18/21 Sunny skies and many active humpback whales!
Friday 9/17/21 We had good looks at multiple humpback whales, sea lions, otters & gulls.
PHOTOS: Syndey Minges
Whale Tail
Gull and otter buddies
Synchronized Dive - Mother Humpback and Calf
Cormorants
ELEGANT TERN
End of Summer Wildlife Watch
Monday 9/13/21 We had a wonderful Whale Watching trip on Monday. The Humpbacks were showing off their fun surface behaviors: calf tail throw, calf peck wave and mama and calf rolling! We also saw Sea Lions flying and went by Shark Park and saw a great white shark lurking below the surface.
Sunday 9/12/21 on our Whale Watching Trip we saw lovely Humpback Whales. Below are great pictures of the tail before a dive, blowhole & a spout. Later, on our Shark Trip (last one of the season) we had a great Bottle Nose Dolphin show! A mother and calf were showing off at the surface of the water.
Saturday, 9/11/21 We had about 8 Humpback Whales total, including a mom/calf pair and an adult that did about 25 tail-slaps for us. We also encountered Risso's Dolphins and California Sea Lions!
Friday 9/10/21 Humpback whales, sea lions, pelicans, and sharks.
PHOTOS: Sydney Minges
Whale tail before a dive into Monterey Bay 9/12
Blowhole 9/12
Spout - Thar She Blows! 9/12
Great White Shark 9/13
Tuesday, September 7. We enjoyed spending time with groups of humpback whales, but today the real stars were the dolphins! Big lively pods of Risso’s and Pacific White sided dolphins!
Monday, September 6
Humpback whales and 2 sharks!
Sunday, September 5
Great feeding action, with many whales and rafts of sea lions!
Saturday, September 4
More Humpback whales, youngsters and some with more experience. Check out the markings on the back of each fluke – as individual as fingerprints.
Friday, September 3
Humpback whales, you guys! We saw a beautiful mom and calf pair (the calf was much lighter in color than most calves we see), as well as a few singles, and a fun feeding group of adults at the end! We also saw an utterly adorable raft of Southern Sea Otters at the beginning of the trip.
The Shark Watching Season has been a good one out at "Shark Park" along the Monterey Bay. At times, we've had some cloudy days and red tides that could affect our chances to see these amazing wild creatures, but for the most part it was a fantastic summer for the juvenile great white sharks. Our final Shark Encounter for the season is scheduled for Sunday, September 12th. Get your tickets online or call our Santa Cruz ticket office. Welcome aboard!
Thanks to reporter Joe Rosato, Jr from NBC Bay Area for visiting and joining our tour out of Santa Cruz, and helping to educate the public about the great white sharks in our area, and all the wonders of Monterey Bay!
GALLERY:
2021 Sharks Spotted Near Seacliff State Beach, Aptos, CA with Santa Cruz Whale Watching
MAY, 2021
JUNE 2021
JULY 2021 (Photo Eric Mailander)
AUGUST 2021 (this guy was tagged- photo Syndey Minges)
SEPTEMBER 2021
Tuesday 8/31 Another nice day out today on Monterey Bay! We saw Humpbacks and two Orcas today! Plus, Otters, California sea lions, a Stellar sea lion and mola-mola. A couple whale breaches and some surface feeding.
Monday 8/30 We had some very friendly Humpbacks today!
Sunday 8/29 This Humpback calf surprised us by breaching 5 ft off the front of the boat. About 10 guests got soaked by the splash!
Saturday 8/28 Humpback whales feeding with a raft of sea lions, bottlenose dolphins, jellyfish, birds mola-mola.
Friday 8/27 Humpbacks, Humpbacks and more Humpbacks! We went from a mom/calf pair, to a large single, to a feeding group with 6-7 whales and hundreds of California Sea Lions!
Friday, August 20, 2021: This was a mom and calf pair; mom comes up first and then as you scroll through the sequence you can see the calf come up as well trying to imitate her! The first photo is the Northern Anchovies boiling at the surface before mom launches through them! It was super awesome!
PHOTOS: Sydney Minges 8/20/21
Friday 8/20/21 We had a great day! 5 Humpbacks, including two mom and calf pairs!
Brown Pelican
Moon Jelly (clear jelly)
Pacific Sea Nettle (orange, long jelly)
California Sea Lions
5 Humpback Whales
- breaching
-rolling
-fluking
humpback whale breach august 20 2021 santa cruz california -photo sydney minges
brown pelican, monterey bay
pacific sea nettle, santa cruz, california
moon jelly, monterey bay
After a long summer with wonderful whale sightings, we finally got our Blue Whales! Wow.
Wednesday Aug 18, Blue whales, humpbacks, black-footed albatross and California sea lions.
Monday Aug 16, Blue whales today! About six. We even saw 2 flukes!
Sunday August 15, we had two juvenile humpbacks and a great white shark.
Aug 14 Saturday, we saw humpback whales frolicking with sea lions. Sea otters with pups. And a couple of sharks!
Friday, August 13, On the Shark Tour we saw two great whites. Whale Watching, we got humpback whales and cute otter moms with their pups (little fluff balls laying on mom).
BLUE WHALE fluke AUG 15, 2021 Monterey Bay - photo: Sydney Minges
BLUE WHALE AUG 15, 2021 Monterey Bay - photo: Sydney Minges
Sea lions synchronized swimming! - photo: Sydney Minges
Otter mom with pup - photo: Sydney Minges
https://bridgesandballoons.com/fun-things-to-do-in-santa-cruz-california/
Friday 8/13/21
More wonderful looks at about 8 humpback whales feeding offshore with rafts of sea lions.
Thursday 8/12/21
Five humpback whales, four sharks!
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Santa Cruz Whale Watching Trips continue year-round. Join us for outdoor family adventure! For more things to do on your visit to Santa Cruz, see our friends Bridges and Balloons for a list of activities for all ages and interests: 28 MOST FUN Things to Do in Santa Cruz, California (bridgesandballoons.com)
8/10/21 Gorgeous weather!
Whale Watch: We had 9 Humpbacks, most of them being cow/calf pairs, and lots of California Sea Lions and Jellies! We got to see some lunge-feeding and tail-throwing!
Shark Tour: We saw one awesome Great White Shark; it was about 8 ft and had a tag on its dorsal fin. We also saw a very playful pod of 5 Bottlenose Dolphins!
8/8/21 Whales are active and we got a few breaches today!
8/7/21 we had a great day on the water! 15+ humpback whales, including a feeding frenzy with 8 humpbacks at once, 100s of California Sea Lions and 1000s of Northern Anchovies being gulped down!
7/29/21 We had a pretty good day! 8 whales (4 different pairs), a friendly calf, and a different breachy calf -- This guy breached like 20 times!!!
7/28/21 Good whales lately! There are blue whales in the bay but we haven’t seen them…yet. But lots of humpback cow calves! And surface activity!
7/27/21 More great looks at humpback whales, mola mola, sea lions offshore.
7/26/21 Humpback whales, including a big lunge-feeding friendly male, splashing and tail throwing close to boat. We’ve been seeing a lot of Mama/calf pairs as well.
7/6/21 Another amazing trip! Whales, Mola Molas. Another leatherback turtle, Risso’s dolphins, sea otters! We spent a while with close up views of a great white shark, and also saw bottlenose dolphins on the way back from “Shark Park.”
7/5/21 We’ve been seeing pairs of humpback whales on the north side of the Monterey Bay Canyon, lunge feeding all weekend. Today we had an awesome trip humpback whales, Risso’s dolphins, a mola-mola (sunfish), and a LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE!
7/4/21 Great looks at humpback whales – lunge feeding!
Photos by Naturalist Sydney Minges, with Santa Cruz Whale Watching on Velocity: July 5, 2021
HUMPBACK WHALE BREACH
LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE
MOLA-MOLA (Sunfish)
Happy Summer!
We've been seeing humpback whales on all of our Montery Bay Whale Watching trips this week, along with Risso's Dolphins, otters, and juvenile great white sharks!
Sunday 6/20: Humpbacks at Soquel canyon, 6-7 whales. Active mom and calf, mom lunge feeding, calf tail slapping and breaching. Risso's dolphins just outside mile buoy. And otters! Sharks on shark trip--2 really close-up.
Happy Father's Day and Summer Solstice.
Saturday 6/19
3 good whales, one quickie pec slaps and lunge feeding and great Risso's dolphins at the end small pod super close-up.
Friday 6/11: Two whales either side Soquel lots of Risso's dolphins and a mola mola.
GREAT WHITE SHARK ENCOUNTERS:
6/20/21 Sharks, and one came and swam alongside really close to the boat!
6/6/21 Sunday we saw 2 sharks!
6/5/21 Saturday we saw 3-5 sharks.
6/4/21 Awesome Great White Shark Encounter Trip today! We saw at least 6 sharks. Some were pretty close to the boat. A couple 12-13 footers!
*****
Thank you, Whale Watchers! As we re-open to full capacity on our touring vessels, we'd like to thank everyone for continuing to respect reasonable social distance and wearing face masks when requested. As of 6/15/21, face masks are not required for those who have been vaccinated against Covid-19. Welcome aboard!
Photo: Megan Petersen, June 20, 2021 with Santa Cruz Whale Watching
Photo: Teresa Kossayian, May 29, 2021 with Santa Cruz Whale Watching
Photo: Lisa-Marie Pohl, 5/14/21 with Santa Cruz Whale Watching
5/22 Saturday: We saw 3 humpback whales, Risso’s dolphins.
5/23 Sunday: Humpback whale and baby, lots of humpback whales throughout Monterey Bay now!
Tuesday 5/18: Lots of humpback whales including lunge feeding just offshore from the Santa Cruz Harbor!
Sunday 5/16: 30+ Humpbacks and 3 breaches on today’s whale watching trip.
Saturday 5/15: We spotted about 15 humpback whales today, in various locations around Monterey Bay.
Friday 5/14: Two Friendly humpback whales, close to Santa Cruz.
Wednesday 5/12: Humpback whales and killer whales! (Orca)
Humpback whale visits with Santa Cruz Whale Watching May 14, 2021. PHOTO: Lisa-Marie Pohl, contributed.
photo: great white shark, whale watching with stagnaro charters - seacliff state park, california. megan peterson
Out on the Bay Friday 3/12/21:
We counted 7 gray whales in all. Northbound gray whales diving for food as they cross Monterey Bay, and along the Santa Cruz coastline. We spent time with a group of 4 gray whales for quite a while, then spotted 3 more whales on the way back to the Santa Cruz Harbor.
For the next month or so, winter gray whales continue their annual migration through Monterey Bay and north to Alaska. We'll continue to see gray whales including mother and calf pairs until May. There have been a few new reports of humpback whales returning to Monterey Bay for their spring-summer-fall feeding season. Whale watching is a wonderful fresh air activity--There is something to see year-round!
Our friend Eric Mailander captures wonderful wildlife moments in Monterey Bay! Thanks!
3/8/21 Nice conditions this weekend. We have a stream of Northbound gray whales coming through Monterey Bay this month. Saturday, we spotted 6 individuals and spent time with a pair of gray whales travelling along the shoreline between West Cliff Drive Lighthouse and Mitchell’s Cove.
Sunday, we followed two more gray whales as they traversed the Bay. Good looks at otters and California sea lions.
Gray whale spy hop, archive photo: JAMES MAUGHN
3/3/21 Gray Whales! We saw a pod of Northbound gray whales on Sunday. Lovely weather! 4 whales. Lots of cute otters at Pleasure Point.
** Spring Break Whale Watching **
New trips added March 29 - April 9. Welcome aboard to see gray whales, dolphins, otters, sea lions and harbor seals, maybe orca? Book online today! Join us for a lovely day on Monterey Bay.
Gray whale breach - Santa Cruz - Monterey Bay (archive)
Monday, January 18, 2021
Oh man we just had the most epic day!!
We have pacific white sided dolphins racing us at 12 knots right now!
So, we got out to the “gray whale highway”, saw scattered spouts...
Ended up with a very affection pair of grays. They stopped and snuggled with each other for at least 30 minutes. Risso’s dolphins swam up and were interacting... dolphins seem to encourage social bonding and even mating amongst gray whales.
Then the white sided dolphins popped up and mixed in with the Risso’s and started surfing all over the whales!
Last two days about 10 whales within sight around Monterey Bay
Saturday – 2 gray whales, Stellar sea lion (the big guy!)
Sunday – 6 + gray whales, sea otters in the kelp beds and for the birders, black footed albatross.
Happy New Year!
Santa Cruz Whale Watching was graced by 2 BLUE WHALES on January 1st, plus friendly Risso's dolphins.
New Year’s Eve, we saw a pair of gray whales, Risso's dolphins and Pacific white-sided dolphins. 2021 is starting off well!
12/30/20 On Saturday we say two gray whales, Risso’s dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins.
12/27/20 Sunday, lots of humpback whales! Good looks at 6-10 whales active in Monterey Bay. Plus, Pacific white-sided dolphins bow-riding alongside the boat.
Thank you to all who helped us navigate 2020 - We look forward to having you all on board for 2021!
12/30/20 We saw 2 gray whales, Risso’s dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins.
Happy New Year!
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12/27/20 Sunday
Lots of Humpback whales! We had good looks at 6-10 whales active in Monterey Bay.
Pacific white-sided dolphins bow-riding alongside the boat.
Gray whales are here! We've spotted our first gray whales for the winter season over the past weekend.
*ARCHIVE PHOTO* Velocity is our 60' Whale Watching vessel
--- Covid-19 Update ---
We continue our commitment to safe operations on board our boats. We are abiding by Santa Cruz County and California State Health Department Regulations for outdoor activities.
* Passenger loads are drastically reduced on our boats so you'll have plenty of room to spread out along 60 feet of rail!
* Face masks are required for all passengers and crew.
* Boats are equipped with hand sanitizer and running water in the restroom.
* Canned beverages and wrapped snacks are available, or BYO picnic lunch (no outside alcohol).
* We are following all health protocols to keep you healthy while you enjoy the fresh air and amazing wildlife on Monterey Bay.
Sincerely,
Staff and Crew – Stagnaro Charters & Santa Cruz Whale Watching
December 26, 2020
Today we found 2 humpback whales and our first GRAY WHALE sighting for the 2021 season!
(Archive photo - Gray whale in Monterey Bay by Michael Nelson)
Twice every year over 20,000 Gray Whales pass through our waters off of Santa Cruz. The first time occurs from December through mid February when they are migrating south from the cold arctic waters of the Bering Sea to their winter calving grounds off of the Baja Peninsula. Then north again to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea of Alaska. Northbound whales are usually off of Santa Cruz from mid February through April. This 10,000+ mile roundtrip is one of the longest migrations of any animal known. Peak viewing for southbound whales is usually in mid January. Peak northbound migration is around mid March. The Gray Whale can reach 45′ long. Females are usually larger than males. During their migration they are constantly traveling at 2-4 miles per hour. This can make for ideal viewing. Gray Whales will sound (dive) for 2-5 minutes, sometimes longer. Their northern migration tends to be more social and leisurely. At times they can be spotted mating, breaching and “spyhopping”.
Whale Watching trips are running all holiday week, including New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
We continue to offer safe and healthy tours with small groups on board our boats and following all masking and cleaning protocols and enforcing social distance. A great outdoor activity for your family.
Monday, December 21, 2020
Over the weekend whale watching trips spent some time with humpback whales in Monterey Bay. There are a handful of late-season humpbacks in the Bay this December. Friday, we spotted four whales and spent time viewing two whales over the north edge of the Monterey Canyon. Mild weather made for nice days out all weekend. Also spotted sea lions, harbor porpoises, harbor seals and otters. Birds of the season: common murres, northern fulmars, rhinoceros auklets. Clear skies and fun groups of whale watchers. We’ll be on the lookout for migrating gray whales in the coming weeks – Welcome aboard!
Sunday, December 6, 2020
Great looks at 3 humpback whales with a few breaches.
Also, bottlenose dolphins and California sea otters. Really nice weather!
11/28/20 Good trip, 3 different spots with humpback whales, 4 whales total, scattered Risso’s dolphins, and a couple of cute sea otters.
11/27/20 Friendly Humpbacks visited with us at the boat!
11/26/20 Humpbacks are still here! Scattered around the canyon. We saw a couple whales lunge feeding and some good drive-bys. Risso’s dolphins have been seen all week in Monterey Bay.
Photo Karen Ewart
COVID-19 SAFETY MEASURES
CDC Recommended Cleaning Procedures
Social Distance Markings/Signage
Social Distancing Guidelines Enforced
Health Related Staff Training
Masks Required-Guest
Masks Required-Staff
11/14/20 Good whales today! A little further south, but 6+ animals including a cow and calf. One breach. Several tail-throws.
11/11/20 We saw about 8 humpback whales today. Conditions were nice and calm on Monterey Bay.
Staycation? Whale Watching trips run DAILY over the Thanksgiving holiday week.
December trips are now available to book online. We'll start seeing migrating gray whales soon!
Thank You to everyone who joined us for Whale Watching and Shark Tours this summer and fall. We appreciate your business and compliance with Covid-19 Health and Safety Regulations. Your continued patronage means so much to us.
The season’s not over! Whale Watching tours run year-round and can be the perfect activity for locals ready to get some fresh air, school groups, visiting family or work colleagues looking to spend some time together outside the office.
Whale Watching trips on Monterey Bay run DAILY over the Thanksgiving holiday week.
December trips are available - we'll start seeing migrating gray whales soon!
We continue our commitment to safe operations on board our boats. We are abiding by Santa Cruz County and California State Health Department Regulations for outdoor activities.
* Passenger loads are drastically reduced on our boats so you'll have plenty of room to spread out along 60 feet of rail!
* Face masks are required for all passengers and crew.
* Boats are equipped with hand sanitizer and running water in the restroom.
* Canned beverages and wrapped snacks are available, or BYO picnic lunch (no outside alcohol).
* We are following all health protocols to keep you healthy while you enjoy the fresh air and amazing wildlife on Monterey Bay.
Sincerely,
Staff and Crew – Stagnaro Charters & Santa Cruz Whale Watching
11/1/20 Nice group of humpback whales about 5-6 miles offshore from Santa Cruz. Great looks at lunge feeding and other surface behaviors. There is a “local” juvenile humpback that has been seen for several days nearshore, off Capitola.
Wed. 10/28/20 Great ocean conditions and beautiful blue skies this week! Santa Cruz Whale Watching went out today and saw a few Humpbacks very close to the Santa Cruz harbor! Then we went out further and saw Risso's Dolphins & Mola Mola.
More noteworthy sightings from Wednesday's Whale Watch: we saw baby Mola Mola (sunfish), in groups of about five frolicking and splashing! Two of the humpbacks were juvenile, one hanging out near the swim buoy, the other further out. Santa Cruz Whale Watching also saw about 50 Risso's dolphins. At one point a baby Risso's jumped! There was also a larger humpback whale that was joined by the Risso's dolphins and some sea lions looking for food. On the way back to the harbor the juvenile humpback seemed to move over to Seabright Beach. A wonderful day full of many of Monterey Bays treasures.
Tuesday 10/27/20 Humpback whales are spouting, just outside the Santa Cruz harbor.
Photo: Risso's Dolphins
This larger variety of Dolphin can usually be easily identified by their large dorsal fin and blunt shaped head. These deep divers feed mostly on squid.
Sunday 10/25/20
We had gorgeous calm seas on Sunday, with looks at many juvenile humpback whales - including a breach!
Thursday/Friday/Saturday October 22-24
Nice weather and lots of humpbacks around Soquel hole last few days. Quite a few youngsters that are a bit erratic in their behaviors. We got to see some lunge feeding, breaching, and close up visits by the whales. Short viewing sessions but many individual whales, and not too far offshore!
We saw a shark fin Thursday but there was algae in the water so sharks were not really visible otherwise.
There’s a mom and pup otter near harbor mouth.
Cute harbor seals bouncing around along the boat docks.
PHOTO: Matthew Cole Scott
10/18/20 Fog has started to return, but we found four humpback whales lunge feeding – beautiful.
10/17/20 Total of about 15 humpback whales around the Monterey Bay. We saw lunge feeding and a breach! Several large mola-mola (sunfish) and the Fata Morgana optical illusion caused by bright light along the coastline.
10/16/20 about 20 Humpbacks + huge mola molas (sunfish).
10/12/20 Humpback whales.
10/11/20 Humpback whales! Sharks.
10/10/20 Lots of humpback whales, and then Risso’s dolphins, including “Casper” the albino dolphin!
9/26/20 Saturday Humpback whales and 5 sharks,
9/27/20 Sunday, we got good looks at more humpback whale action, and Sharks in the afternoon.
Photo: Michael Nelson - Fata Morgana
Lunge feeding humpback whale, Monterey Bay in October (archive photo by TANIS GOMEZ)
Monday 9/21 whale watching, we had a 9-foot Mako Shark today! It swam alongside the boat, finning the whole time. Plus, we found 4 Humpback whales near the Soquel Canyon a few miles off Santa Cruz. A group of 3 whales cruised along with the boat, while a 4th whale looked for food on his own.
Sunday 9/20 – 2 friendly humpback whales! We were able to observe them for quite a while.
Saturday 9/19 whale watching – Humpback whales and 2 Fin whales!
Friday 9/18 whale watching - Great looks at 6 Humpback whales, Bottlenose dolphins and Risso’s dolphins. 2 Sharks.
Saturday 9/12
Whale Watching: Despite foggy conditions, whales were found along the northern edge of the Monterey submarine canyon. We were able to follow 3-4 humpbacks for at least an hour, and we were even treated to a couple of breaches by one whale!
Shark Trip: The fog persisted into the afternoon shark trip, but we were able to spot one shark pretty clearly, with its dorsal fin and tail out of the water!
Sunday 9/13
Whale Watching: We got a break in the air quality, and started the day with good visibility and a glassy calm ocean. We traveled East to the northern edge of the canyon, by way of some other areas that were teaming with bird life. A huge group of sea lions, at least 300, began to gather. Soon after that, 4 humpback whales surfaced right in the middle. 3 other humpbacks joined the group, as we watched for about an hour. The whales surfaced close to the boat, spy hopped, pec slapped, and seemed to be socializing in between feeding dives.
Shark Trip: Water temperatures remain warm in shark territory. We spotted 3 different sharks yesterday, with one swimming slowly next to the boat for several minutes.
Bottlenose dolphins have been active at the Santa Cruz Harbor entrance all weekend!
Archive photo: SHANNON JOHNSON
9/7/20 Monday, Whale Watching: We found lots of humpback whales, one of them with a nice splashy breach!
Shark Tour: 3 great white sharks
9/6/20 Sunday, Whale Watching: 5 humpback whales feeding with 200+ sea lions, about 4-5 miles offshore.
Shark Tour: 3 sharks today!
9/5/20 Saturday, Humpback whales in various small groups scattered on north side of Monterey Bay. 6 whales today. Sporadic lunge feeding and breaching!
For the weekend August 21-23 
Despite smoky conditions, we were able to find humpback whales scattered around the canyon, and into the flats near Watsonville. One whale in particular has been seen regularly, and has been quite easy to follow! It spends long periods at the surface, with occasional lunge feeding. Other whales have joined in, off and on, including a juvenile that demonstrated multiple tail throws on Saturday. Mola molas, Harbor porpoise, and California sea lions have been quite abundant in the bay, adding to the diversity in sightings.
The shark park finally got a break from the east wind on Sunday afternoon. At least 9 different sharks were seen, almost all finning.
Wednesday 8/12 Amazing Day! We had a pod of four orcas about a mile from the Santa Cruz Harbor today. Later we saw a solo male orca going to join the larger pod. They seemed to be traveling north. These animals are always an awesome sight!
Saturday 8/15 Humpback whales every day, have been gathering in groups near the Soquel Canyon, north end of Monterey Bay. We saw shark at the Cement Ship. Nice days to get offshore for a cool breeze!
Sunday 8/16 We had more good looks at humpback whales, including lively surface behavior from a young whale.
Monday 8/17 We met a small, very friendly humpback whale today who swam close up to the boat a few times, and showed us some tail throws.
ORCAS Spotted last Wednesday Aug 13. Photo: Megan Petersen
8/3/20 Humpback whales and sharks
7/31/20 More humpback whales today, feeding offshore about 7-8 miles, and a lovely afternoon for the Shark Tour. We got good looks at this beautiful shark, and then 10+ bottlenose dolphins.
7/30/20 Thursday Santa Cruz Whale Watching was greeted by a friendly & curious Humpback calf. It swam right under the boat. The youngster was also showing off its tricks: multiple breaches, tail lobs and pec slaps. We also saw a huge Mola Mola (aka sunfish) right next to the boat.
7/27/20 Humpback whales, Risso’s dolphins. We had a lot of fun with one super-active young whale, breaches and tail slaps and tail lobs!
7/26/20 Whale Watching at its best today with a huge feeding frenzy! There were 10-12 humpback whales with sea lions, about 7-8 miles offshore from Santa Cruz. Lots of Risso’s dolphins in small groups, but closer to shore. We continue to spot young sharks along the coastline in the afternoons.
PHOTO: (c)DEANA GLENZ 7/30/20
#sharkpark #seacliff #sharks #dolphins #monterey #santacruz
Thursday 7/23/20 We were excited to see "Casper" the Albino Risso's Dolphin today!
He was among a couple different groups of Risso's Dolphins we saw today. Santa Cruz Whale Watching also saw a few scattered pairs of Humpback Whales.
Friday 7/24/20 Good number of humpbacks today! A couple breaches + 4 Sharks
Saturday 7/25/20 Humpback whales Risso’s dolphins continue to give us a good show out on Monterey Bay!
CASPER - ALBINO RISSO DOLPHIN - Photos, Jason Truesdale 7/23/20
Saturday 7/18/20 Awesome nature day!
Whale Watching
Two friendly humpbacks,
Risso's Dolphins frolicking
Sea lions.
Shark Encounter
Six great white sharks, great looks at one long drive-by from a 12-footer with a tag.
On the way back we had bow riding bottle nose dolphins.
Thursday 7/16/20 Calm, beautiful waters today for the whale watching trip!
Two humpback whales
Pod of about 30 Risso's Dolphins
Mola Mola (sunfish)
Sea otters
Sea lions
Leave your weekday troubles behind with a scenic day trip from San Francisco to Santa Cruz! We're just 90 minutes south of San Francisco! Welcome to whale watching on the beautiful Monterey Bay!
July 14, 2020: Welcome back to our Sightings Reports Page! We've had some really great whale watching and shark encounter tours since re-opening in June. Because of Covid-19 Public Health orders, we are running trips with fewer passengers, resulting a a luxury cruise experience for our valued guests. We're happy to have you on board and thankful for everyone going along with wearing a face-mask and maintaining social distance from each other. Here is a sampling of recently spotted Monterey Bay wildlife:
We've had a few windy days over the week, but today the fog came in to settle the wind. After a little while out, the skies cleared and
we found 10 humpback whales and 3 blue whales!
July 12 Shark Trip saw some big (11-13 feet long) white sharks near the Cement Ship at Seacliff Beach.
July 6 in the evening we saw humpback whales breach and feeding not too far off shore from the Harbor and Seabright Beach.
July 5-6 whale watching and shark encounter tours:
Humpback whales lunge feeding in 30 feet of water near Seacliff Beach/ Cement Ship.
We saw about 6 sharks enjoying some afternoon sunshine, including one13-foot great white shark!
June 26 Great local whales again today. No sharks on WW, but yes sharks on shark watch!!
June 24 Lunge feeding Humpbacks today! What a sight. These large animals coming up from below with their mouths wide open to collect as much food as possible and filter out the water. Amazing! We also saw 3-4 great white sharks. Waters were calm!
June 22 We had 200+ Rissos dolphins and Pacific white side dolphins playing around the boat today. Topped the trip off with two humpback whales.
Risso's Dolphins, June 2020, photo: Brian Phan
We look forward to having you on board to enjoy the Beautiful Monterey Bay!
Happy Leap-Day! We've had a mixed bag on our whale watching outings recently.
Saturday 2/29/20
Humpback whale activity just a quarter-mile off the Santa Cruz Wharf!
Wednesday 2/26/20
Warm conditions on the water! We saw several gray whales in the distance, but spent most time with two friendly humpback whales who were repeatedly showing their tails! A 3rd humpback whale was spotted near Santa Cruz.
Saturday 2/22/20
5 Killer Whales – out near the Soquel Canyon.
Friday 2/21/20
4-6 Gray whales travelling together, and one Humpback whale.
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Saturday – Monday, February 15-16-17
All weekend we spotted a steady stream of gray whales – both southbound and northbound on their annual migration between the cold arctic waters of the Bering Sea and their winter calving grounds off of the Baja Peninsula.
Friday, we had killer whales, and Sunday and Monday, humpback whales! Plus, sea lions and otters.
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Out on Monterey Bay we found a pod of 4+ Gray Whales! The group stayed at the surface for several minutes for good looks, Possibly about 8 whales altogether. Also, a small pod of Pacific White Sided Dolphins. Nice day out on the Bay!
Sunday 1/19/20
The Whale Watching trip on Legacy had a humpback whale. Velocity ended up going out to the gray whale highway, and though it was cold, there were some really pretty gray whales.
Monday 1/20/20
Velocity traveled west for beautiful daylight on Monterey Bay. Smooth ocean conditions, and we saw 4 humpback whales and 8-10 gray whales on migration south.
PHOTO CREDIT: Matthias Stiller, Gray whales, Monterey Bay February (archive)
PHOTO COPYRIGHT Lisa-Marie Pohl, December 2019
January 2020
Young humpback whales are scattered in small groups throughout Monterey Bay. Fun times to see these juvenile humpbacks display behaviors at the surface: diving and fluke displays, head slaps, surface feeding, breaching!
Most of the adult humpbacks have begun their migration south, but there is a growing number of juvenile humpbacks that appear to be wintering here! Today we observed at least 5 humpbacks, scattered throughout the Monterey Bay, most of them not full size, but actively feeding. We were lucky to see several surface lunges today. Still waiting for the first gray whale sightings! But the humpbacks keep stealing the show.
On Sunday we got to watch 3-4 juvenile humpback whales, lots of activity. Plus, the sea lions, otters in the kelp, and a little bit of surfing as we motor in to the Santa Cruz Harbor. Still keeping an eye out for our Winter gray whales to come through the Monterey Bay. Great wildlife viewing to start the New Year!
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Photo: Rob Karlovich/ humpback whale breach, with Santa Cruz Whale Watching, Monterey Bay, California (archive)
12/23/19
Good looks at a medium-size humpback whale, very close to Santa Cruz, but the main event was definitely the 6 playful killer whales, 3 of whom swam under the boat today!
12/20/19
7 humpback whales, surface behavior, a breach and head slaps.
11/9/19 Great November whales!! We have had a variety of surface behaviors ranging from lunge feeding to breaching! Weather is chilly, but there is so much bait in close to shore. Lots of bird life too!
11/11/19 Veterans Day we found 20+ Humpback Whales, tail slapping, awesome lunge feeding! And... a very special sighting of a LEATHERBACK TURTLE!
Leatherback Turtle sighted on November 11, 2019 near Soquel Canyon, Monterey Bay. Photo contributed by Molly Randolph
November Saturday 11/1/19 Great whales! This week we’ve had about 10 humpback whales around Soquel Canyon offshore near Santa Cruz. Saturday, 11/2, we had whales close to the boat. By far, the best part was a group of three whales – a competitive group – chasing each other around in pre-breeding fashion, a mating-related routine. Sunday, we had great looks at whales near Aptos/ Seacliff Beach. Join us on board Velocity this weekend!
October whales, dolphins, and the sharks are still here, for now!
MONDAY 10/28 – Beautiful Day! We found the sweet spot, with 10 humpback whales offshore from Santa Cruz, over the Soquel Canyon, Monterey Bay. Surrounded by California sea lions, otters, and sea nettles.
SUNDAY 10/27 – We counted 8 humpback whales, active, feeding near to Santa Cruz.
SATURDAY 10/26 – Humpback whales in small groups, scattered around north Monterey Bay, plus 7 great white sharks!
Photo: TONI COUCH
Here is a selection of marine wildlife we've encountered over the past few weeks. Join us on Monterey Bay to see for yourself!
10/1/19 Bottlenose dolphins and lunge feeding humpback whales
9/29/19 Good humpbacks out today on Monterey Bay! At least one breaching.
9/27/19 Several humpback whales spread out on northern side of the canyon. Lots of feeding activity, including sporadic lunge feeding. Harbor porpoise and sea lions. Bird Report: Buller’s shearwaters, Sabine’s gulls, black-footed albatross, osprey, rhinoceros auklets, sooty shearwater, pink-footed shearwater
9/23/19 Foggy whales at the Soquel Hole, feeding alongside California Sea Lions.
9/22/19 Humpback whales and sharks
9/20/19 Humpback whales, sharks, mola mola
photo Matthew Cole Scott, October whale watching (archive)
photo: Anna from the Flower Shack, juvenile great white shark, Aptos, CA. September, 2019
photo: Micheal Nelson, Sooty Shearwater, Monterey Bay (archive/September 2018)
8/29/19 The ocean was absolutely flat, beautiful clear blue water. We went back out to yesterday’s spot and saw 2 blue whales. With the sun out, you could see the bright blue of their bodies, just below the ocean surface. Really clear looks and 3 enormous Mola molas (sunfish), as well as their prey: bright orange sea nettle jellies. But the highlight of the day was a visit from 6 transient killer whales. They were spotted just a short distance from the blue whales, and ended up socializing right next to the boat. We watched their playful and relaxed behavior for almost half an hour.
8/28/19 BLUE WHALES!
8/27/19 Humpback whales, Risso’s dolphins, and great white sharks.
8/26/19 Jackpot today! We’re just a little below Davenport, near a 5000-foot drop in the canyon, with calm water. There are at least half a dozen humpback whales feeding at the surface, surrounded by birds: Sooty Shearwater Pink-footed Shearwater Rhinoceros Auklet Black-footed Albatross Sabine’s Gull
Plus, Dolphins! About 50 Pacific white-sided dolphins following the boat, flipping in the air, and about 8 Northern Right Whale Dolphins.
All this week the variety of thriving marine wildlife in Monterey Bay is on full display! We've had beautiful days on the water Santa Cruz to Moss Landing and up the coast to the Davenport "Slow Coast." Join us year-round on exploring the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Breaching, feeding humpback whales are active along the Santa Cruz shoreline this week!
**Tuesday: Humpbacks breaching in 40 feet of water, feeding and frolicking up and down Santa Cruz West Cliff Drive.
** Wednesday: Humpback whales in front of the Santa Cruz Harbor, plus 7 sharks down the coast.
** Thursday: Humpback whales 300 yards out from the Harbor jetty, plus today we counted 20 gorgeous sharks, all “finning” at the surface, at Seacliff Beach. One great white shark was ~14 feet long!
August 20 off West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz (Megan Petersen)
August 20 at Mitchell's Cove, Santa Cruz (Megan Petersen)
photo: John Warren
“The juvenile great whites typically reside in the balmy waters of southern California, near the US-Mexico border. But the fish have increasingly wandered north in the past few years, leading to frequent sightings in the Monterey Bay since 2014.” Check out this GAURDIAN UK article about the white sharks staying near Santa Cruz!
On the Shark Encounter Sunday, we saw 4 to 6 sharks. Got great looks even in a bit of fog. And dolphins!
Friday, 2 great whites were swimming near the boat, plus we saw dolphins and California sea otters along the way.
Great White Shark Encounter Trips run Friday and Sunday afternoons, launching out of the Santa Cruz Harbor. Call for tickets 831-427-0230 or online with santacruzwhalewatching.com Pricing: Adults $39, Children $29, Infants free ~ 2-hour trips.
Photo: Shannon Johnson
July 23, 2019: All trips over the weekend we saw humpback whales feeding, tail slapping, breaching. More and more whales being seen each day near Santa Cruz, and further out in Monterey Bay! Steady looks at humpback whales, sharks, and otters on every trip! Lovely jellies and mola-mola, too.
Thurs, 7/18/19 Santa Cruz Whale Watching had some hot whale action today: 5-6 humpback whales lunge feeding very actively, along with about 100-200 sea lions. Come out and see what Monterey Bay has to offer!
7/17/19 On Wednesday Santa Cruz Whale Watching saw humpback whales, about 10 Risso's dolphin and 3 great white sharks. We also saw mola mola, sea otters, a harbor seal pup, sea nettles, and Caspian terns for the birders out there.
Photo: Michele Lachaise: HUMPABCK WHALE MONTEREY BAY JULY 2019 
Gorgeous overhead view of Velocity with a juvenile great white shark, Manresa, CA July 2019
PHOTO: SEAN VAN SOMMERAN, used with permission.
7/14/19 Humpback whales, mola-mola, lots of jellies around the Santa Cruz side of Monterey Bay.
7/13/19 Humpback whales and sharks today! Whales are scattered from Soquel Canyon to the beach. So many mola- And got to see that 12-foot shark today, near Seacliff Beach.
7/11/19 Great White sharks spotted during the whale watching trip today. We saw only 2 whales, but they were very engaging: lunging up at the surface, and a “drive by” with a whale on either side of our boat. 3 sharks, including a big guy—12 foot – that we’ve been spotting regularly.
Photo Cindy Johnson 2019-06-20
Friday 7/5 & Saturday 7/6 This week we’ve been enjoying a group of humpback whales who are feeding and frolicking in the Santa Cruz side of Monterey Bay. We have a mama “Jazz” and calf, “Lumpy” along with 4-6 other whales, in about 30 feet of water near Seascape Beach. Lunge feeding, breaching, great views. Also, nice looks at the afternoon white sharks, sunning at the Cement Ship.
Thurs 7/4 INDEPENDENCE DAY! Three active Humpback Whales right out front from the Santa Cruz Harbor, plus 10++ great white sharks.
6/3/19 Harbor Porpoises just outside the Santa Cruz Harbor, California Sea Lions and super-sized Stellar Sea Lions. A bit further out we found a happy Humpback Whale doing breaches! There was also a mama and calf Humpback Whale. Great White Sharks, and some Bottlenose Dolphins rounded out the adventure. It was a great day out on Monterey Bay!
6/1/19 Humpback Whales and White Sharks
5/31/19 6 Humpback Whales
Monday, May 27, 2019 Memorial Day we got to see Humpback Whales and Risso’s Dolphin, Otters, Sea Lions.
5/6/19 We watched 5 humpback whales feeding close to Santa Cruz, just a bit offshore - among huge raft of California sea lions. Plus "Cappy" the local graywhale, and otters.
5/5/19 Orcas and humpback whales! Sunday Whale Watching trip we had ORCA in Monterey Bay, and great looks at humpback whales. Join us this week! Trips depart from Santa Cruz Harbor, Weds at 10:30am and Fri at 12. 831-427-0230
5/4/19 Huge feeding frenzy today! Lots of Humpbacks lunging and feeding, tail throws, tail slaps, breaches, Pacific white sided dolphins, northern right whale dolphins, California sea lions, sooty shearwaters, pink footed shearwaters, long tailed jaeger, black footed albatross, and beautiful weather!
4/24/19 Great day out! We started out with a pod of Orca near Wilder Ranch! The Orca were playing but then started traveling. Then we ventured out and saw a Humpback spouting and diving. We headed towards Capitola and found "Cappy" the Gray Whale and he even showed us his tail! Finally, we headed towards the Cement Ship and saw a Great White Shark. The Shark came close to the boat and gave us some good looks!
Great White Shark, Seacliff State Beach, Aptos, CA 4/24/2019 Photo: Sherry Casacky
Monday, 4/22: Whale Watching
~10 humpbacks feeding! Over canyon, plus Risso's dolphins, all manner of birds and otters. Nice easy day!
Foggy but no wind.
Sunday, 4/21 Whale Watching
Gray whales.
Humpback whales and Spring birds! Monterey Bay is filled with Springtime wildlife.
4/15/19 Monday, Humpback whales feeding actively over the canyon! Risso’s and pacific white sided dolphins
BIRDS in Monterey Bay:
Redneck phalarope
Red phalarope
Common murre
Rhinoceros auklet
Black footed albatross
Sooty shearwater
Pink footed shearwater
Flesh footed shearwater
Surf scoter
Bonapartes gull
Western gull
4/14/19 Sunday, Humpback whales are active out by the Soquel Canyon, and a big white shark.
4/13/19 Saturday, about 10 humpback whales near the Soquel Canyon!
4/12/19 Friday whale watching – Gray whale mama and calf, up near Natural Bridges State Park, hiding within the kelp, we had great looks and a lovely cruise along the coast.
L-Pod of the Southern Resident Killer Whales that are seen in spring summer and fall up north. (Thanks, Don Baccus!)
Photos: Joseph Stagnaro 3-31-19
#Monterey #springbreak #SantaCruz photo Jon Miller 
WEEKEND REPORT ~ March 25, 2019
March 3, 2019: We had gray whales galore on Sunday! Gray whale north-bounders are in full swing!
March 1, 2019: Gray whales, lots of gray whales, northbound, traveling in pods of 4-10 animals, plus humpback whales in Monterey Bay
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Twice every year over 20,000 Gray Whales pass through our waters off of Santa Cruz. The first time occurs from December through mid February when they are migrating south from the cold arctic waters of the Bering Sea to their winter calving grounds off of the Baja Peninsula, then north again to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea of Alaska.
Northbound whales are usually off of Santa Cruz from mid February through April. This 10,000+ mile roundtrip is one of the longest migrations of any animal known. Peak viewing for southbound whales is usually in mid January-February.
Peak northbound migration is around mid March. The Gray Whale can reach 45′ long. Females are usually larger than males. During their migration they are constantly traveling at 2-4 miles per hour. This can make for ideal viewing. Gray Whales will sound (dive) for 2-5 minutes, sometimes longer. Their northern migration tends to be more social and leisurely. At times they can be spotted mating, breaching and “spyhopping”.
Gray Whale photos from our archives:
photo: MATTHIAS STILLER
photo: TEDDY DALIGGA
photo: MICHAEL NELSON
2/09/2019 SATURDAY we had a wonderful group of whale watchers onboard - a little rain but then the sun came out and we saw GRAY WHALES southbound on their Mexico migration!
Winter whale watching in Monterey Bay we see the California Gray Whale Migration. Gray whales travel across Monterey Bay during January-February on their way to Baja California – We’ll see them return over the course of the season, with northbound migration back to Alaska occurring through March and April. Risso’s dolphins are also active now in Monterey Bay, feeding on their favorite: Squid!
1/21/19 Early trip to beat the tides and wind, and we saw gray whales!
Winter southbound migration is underway; gray whales travel across Monterey Bay on their way to Baja California – We’ll see them return over the course of the season, with northbound migration occurring through March and April. Risso’s dolphins are also active now in Monterey Bay, feeding on their favorite: Squid!
Gray Whale spy hop. Monterey Bay, CA, March 2017. Photo James Maughn
Risso's Dolphins Monterey Bay. photo: Michael Nelson
Tufted Puffins are faily rare in Monterey Bay
PHOTO: Michael Nelson
PHOTO: James Maughn
Since Wednesday we've had mixed conditions out on Monterey Bay.
Thanksgiving morning, after the rain, we had a beautiful day on Monterey Bay.
We followed a couple of humpback whales, and were blessed by a lovely rainbow!
Nov 25 Sunday we had good looks at humpback whales, Risso’s dolphins, and a seasonal treat, Osprey !
Early reports of gray whales are coming in. The wintere gray whale migration is under way!
Enjoy this gorgeous video showing Monterey Bay humpback whales and raft of sea lions feeding in Monterey Bay, courtesy Aerial Video Services.
Nov. 18 Sunday Whale Watching: Two humpback whales close to tip of Soquel Hole, two more about 8 miles out, over the Soquel Canyon in Monterey Bay.
Risso’s and Pacific white-sided dolphins, plus ospreys, seals, sea lions, otters!
Nov. 17 Saturday Whale Watching: Group of 2-3 humpback whales scattered throughout Monterey Bay and near to Santa Cruz. We watched a small group of humpbacks for a while and had two breaches!
photo: Gwen Bernard
10/18/18 Blue whale spotted today!
10/19/18 No blues today but about 6 humpback whales lunge feeding with sea lions, close by Santa Cruz. Shark at the cement ship. Plus, otters, Buller’s shearwaters and black vented shearwaters.
10/20/18 Breaching whales today – Happy humpbacks, multiple lunge feeding, great looks at the baleen as they came up feeding out of the water!
10/21/18 Eight humpback whales offshore from Santa Cruz, active at the surface! Plus beautiful views of a great white shark near Aptos.
Gorgeous conditions!
Drone photos 10/20/18 near Rio Del Mar contributed by Eric Mailander - White sharks with Velocity
10/16/18:
Last weekend the water was calm and clear, and with plenty of wildlife viewing around the Monterey Bay. Saturday we had a super show of California sea lions offshore from Santa Cruz, feeding among 15-20 humpback whales. Sunday we found more humpbacks feeding, and went along to the Seacliff Beach area to see great white sharks. We got looks at a 9-foot great white shark! Monday a delightful group, again we counted 8 whales in the Santa Cruz area of Monterey Bay.
October whales and sea lions, Monterey Bay! photos: Jeff Rockwell (archive)
10/2/18 Today more great looks at humpback whales feeding and playing just a few miles out from the Santa Cruz harbor! We had a breacher - full body out of the water - what a sight!
9/30/18: Calm and crystal-clear waters on Saturday and Sunday enhanced viewing of the massive humpback whales. One of our naturalists said this: "We had a totally epic day today. Super friendly whales for about 20 minutes. Within reach of the boat. Clear water. You could see the whole whale! It was incredible!" Whales came up close to the boat showing many surface behaviors, spy-hopping and lolling about alongside the boat. Monterey Bay whales!
This behavior is what we call a "spy-hop" - a whale just hopping up to spy around above the water line.
9/28/18: We had fog on Friday, but still great looks at two different pairs of whales a few miles from Santa Cruz harbor. One younger whale breached a couple of times, and the two swam by very close to the boat a few times as well. Some classic Monterey Bay foggy conditions made it challenging to find them, but once we did, we got great looks on calm seas!
Photo: Michael Nelson
9/21/18 So many humpback whales are staying near the north end of Monterey Bay simply because they are feeding on huge schools of anchovies that meander throughout the Bay. Here is an amazing photo illustrating the large mount of anchovies near Santa Cruz, offshore from Aptos and the Cement Ship area at Seacliff State Beach. PHOTO CREDIT: Eric Mailander
PHOTO CREDIT: Eric Mailander
9/10/18: Yesterday was an all local wildlife special! We had lunge feeding humpbacks less than a mile from Santa Cruz to Aptos. One even breached! Many bird species, including aerial battles between parasitic jaegers and elegant turns. We saw California sea lions as well as southern sea otters. And! The sharks are still here. We had great looks at about 6 individual great white sharks. Over the weekend, we ventured further out into the bay, and viewed about a dozen humpback whales leading a feeding frenzy alongside sea lions and birds over the canyon. Several Mola molas were spotted along the way. Monterey whale watching at its best.
We were delighted to host crew from local news station KSBW on a recent whale watching trip!
** Join us for year-round whale watching on Monterey Bay! Santa Cruz Whale Watching by Stagnaro Charters **
Photos: SHANNON JOHNSON
Beautiful images of our Monterey Bay Great White Sharks, captured while whale watching on board Velocity, July of 2018
8/26/18 Humpback whales feeding over different spots near Santa Cruz and further out on Monterey Bay, sea lions, otters.
8/25/18 We spotted an orca! One single male known as “Richie” touring around Monterey Bay. Plus, a big group of lunge-feeding humpback whales, close to home, and a major breacher!
8/24/18 BLUE WHALES FEEDING – The blue whales have made a few appearances this summer. It is a special treat for everyone on board to see them!
August 21, 2018 The weather has been nice and calm. Humpback whales, harbor porpoise, sharks, otters, harbor seals, sea lions, sooty shearwaters, common murres, jellies, Mola molas on all our recent trips! Today - We had a breaching humpback whale!
8/14/18: BLUE WHALES!! We spotted 3 blue whales today! The blue whales were seen along with phalaropes (ocean shorebirds) indicating the blue whales are feeding in the Monterey Bay! We had good looks at the blues then on to view some great white sharks.
8/13/18: Whale Watching on Velocity, More local whales today near Soquel canyon! About 6 animals. Lunge feeding! 2 sharks, and otters (moms and pups). Sooty-shearwater and pink footed shearwater, Cassin’s auklet. Mola-mola, sea nettles, and sea lions!
And on-board Legacy, we saw mama/pup humpbacks swimming several miles off Santa Cruz, showing tail flukes and enjoying the day. Plus, harbor porpoises, California sea lions, lots of mola mola, stinging sea nettles, and good looks at our Monterey Bay sea otters.
Blue Whale in Monterey Bay, with Santa Cruz Whale Watching by Stagnaro Charters - photo from last year by Travis Norton.
Humpback whales this week - Photo M. Nelson 8/11/18
Photo M. Nelson 8/11/18 -- Sunfish "mola mola" Monterey Bay with Santa Cruz Whale Watching
Sharks at Seacliff Beach Photo M. Nelson 8/11/18 Monterey Bay with Santa Cruz Whale Watching
8/4/18 More humpback whales today – the most we’ve seen on a single trip so far this summer! We are seeing more and more animals in the Monterey Bay, arriving to feed on krill and other fish throughout the summer. The humpback whales are busy in various pods across Monterey Bay, feeding, tail and pec-slapping, breaching. Wonderful viewing and nice ocean conditions. We've been seeing many sunfish (mola-mola), some recent trips we've seen Risso's dolphins. On the afternoon tripswe head over to see the great white sharks over near Seacliff State Beach.
PHOTOS: Michael Nelson
Humpback whales and California Sea Lions feeding in Monterey Bay, August 2018
Humpback whale tail, "fluke" Monterey Bay
Juvenile Great White Sharks inhabit Monterey Bay range from 6-12 feet long and can be seen just at the surface when viewed from the boat.
Photo: Michael Nelson
Sunday, 7/8/18: On today's Whale Watching trip we spent time with 2 humpback whales who came very close to the boat a few times! Up close looks at great white sharks! Plus otters, and a harbor seal.
Sharks 7-7-18 Photo Michael Nelson
7/1/18 Breaching Humpback Whale Monterey Bay near Santa Cruz. Photo by Michael Nelson
FRIDAY, JULY 6, 2018
Beautiful warm day on Monterey Bay! We had a great day viewing wildlife! Humpback whales, a Steller sea lion, California sea lions, harbor porpoises, Risso’s dolphins, great white sharks and 2 blue sharks! Lots of sweet Monterey sea otters and lots of mola-mola.
All week we’ve had great trips with humpback whales breaching/leaping out of the water and showing lots of surface behavior near and far through Monterey Bay!
We’ve had more local whales this week, less than 4 miles away, at the northend of Monterey Bay. Huge schools of anchovies all over. Large gatherings of sooty shearwaters near shore. We have had some active humpbacks lately! Lunge feeding, breaching, and pec slapping!
Yesterday a cow calf pair spent time with us, and the calf was really feeling his or her oats! Multiple breaches!! The jellies and Mola molas are persisting. Several mama otters with pups have been spotted in the robust kelp canopy off the shores of Capitola.
And, last but not least, great white sharks!! We’ve spotted anywhere from 3-13 sharks, and some larger animals close to 10 feet in length!
A family of bottlenose dolphins has also been foraging for tail fish up and down the Santa Cruz coastline. So much variety! But the breaching whales really stole the show this weekend!
3 Photos: Richard Porzio (6/21/18)
Great White Shark at Seacliff Beach, Monterey Bay. Photo: Michael Nelson 6-23-18
Mon 6/4 and Tues 6/5: Humpback whales are feeding - today we had a breach! And wonderful close looks at the great white sharks near Aptos.
Sun 6/3: Lots of humpback whales! White sharks.
Sat 6/2: Great white sharks at the cement ship, bottlenose dolphins
Fri 6/1: Humpback whales, Risso’s dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, mola molas, plus Monterey Bay mascots the sea otters, harbor seals, and California sea lions.
Here is a link to some great photos of humpback whales, Risso dolphins and sea lions captured by David Folker on our June 1 Monterey Whale Watching trip (Google photos). Thank you, David!
Thurs 5/31: We had “Cappy” the gray whale! He’s still down near New Brighton. Cappy is a single gray whale who has been staying and playing in Monterey Bay whilemost gray whales have migrated north back to Alaska.
Photos, Michael Nelson: 
Monday, May 28, 2018 – Memorial Day – Humpback whales and Risso’s dolphins.
Sunday, May 27, 2018 – Blue whale! Risso’s dolphins and Pacific white sided dolphins, plus sunfish aka mola-mola.
Saturday, May 26, 2018 – Humpback whales, Risso’s dolphins, Pacific white sided dolphins
Thursday, May 24, 2018 – Calm waters, five humpback whales, lunge feeding together /tail throws /Breach!
Photos from Sunday, May 27 courtesy Michael Nelson
BLUE WHALE visits Montery Bay with Santa Cruz Whale Watching 05-27-2018
Sunfish, Monterey with Santa Cruz Whale Watching 5-27-2018
Tuesday, May 22, 2018 – We spent time with two pairs of mama & baby humpback whales today, along the Seacliff Beach area of Monterey Bay! The humpback whales were showing tail slaps and lunge feeding. Out among them were sea lions and birds feeding with the whales. We got a little splashed with windy conditions, with a fun group of passengers, overall a great day on Monterey Bay!
Velocity Stagnaro Charters, Santa Cruz, with humpback whale Monterey Bay. photo DJ Nordland
Friday, May 18, 2018 – Dolphin Day! All variety of Monterey Bay dolphins were on display today! We saw pods of Risso’s Dolphins, Pacific White-sided Dolphins and Northern Right Whale Dolphins. It's really delightful when ods of dolphins swim along side the boat, called bow riding.
Saturday, May 19. 2018 – Humpback whales are here! Monterey Bay is home to feeding humpback whales over the Spring and Summer months. The animals chase krill and schools of fish that thrive in the Monterey Submarine Canyon. We had good looks at an active humpback whale at the surface.
Sunday, May 20, 2018 – Sunday the water temperature dropped and ocean conditions worked against us, so not much in the way of whales and dolphins, but a wonderful treat for birders, as we saw a black-footed albatross, and the pelicans are here!
Photo: ALBATROSS JUNE 2015 © john c. bruckman - used with permission
May 13, 2018 Mother's Day we saw orca and a rare Fin whale!
May 12, 2018 Gray whales migrating northbound, windy conditions.
May 13, 2018 Mother's Day we saw orca and a rare Fin whale!
May 12, 2018 Gray whales migrating northbound, windy conditions.
May 7, 2018 EPIC TRIP! Straight to the orcas – more than we’ve seen before. Humpback whales in the mix, Saw a gray whale on the way back home, 2 sharks at Seacliff Beach, 2 bottlenose dolphins this side of Monterey Bay.
May 5, 2018 ORCAS! What a show predating orcas Monterey Bay. Unforgettable, beautiful humpback whales, gray whales, and sunfish/mol-mola
May 2, 2018 -- Otters, bottlenose dolphins with calf, killer whales/orca (3 pods of transients intermingling), 3 Fin whales (awesome looks at their white jaw), humpabck whales, sea lions, black-footed albatross and sooty shearwater. Wow!
Photos: Michael Nelson
Orcas 5/5
Humpback Whale 5/5
Gray Whale 5/5
Mola-Mola (sunfish) 5/5
JANUARY 1 & 2, 2018 Happy New Year! We’ve been thrilled to see both humpback whales and gray whales on Monterey Bay this week. Good visits with otter, sea lions and harbor seals, friendly dolphins and lots of jellies just under the surface.
January 7, 2018 Fabulous gray whales today! Now through April is our winter Gray Whale season. 20,000 California Gray Whales pass through our bay waters on their annual winter migration between Alaska and Baja California.
January 13, 2018 What?! Winter blues? We saw a blue whale in January on Monterey Bay! (photo Michael Nelson)
January 14, 2018, we found a pair of active humpback whales who showed lots of synchronized diving and fluking up and, just as we were about to head back, a big breach near the boat!
January 15, 2018 Monday whale watching we spent time with grays and humpback whales.
January 20, 2018 We saw gray whales and humpback whales--and birds! --on board Velocity.
January 21, 2018 Gray whales – breaching! Plus, our winter humpback whales.
February 2, 2018 – We found 4 humpback whales, 1 breached! It was a beautiful day out on the water, with the gorgeous and mysterious “Fata Morgana” aquatic mirage suggesting fairy castles along the cliffs of Monterey Bay! (photo: Michael Nelson)
February 4, 2018 SUPER BOWL ~ SUPER SIGHTING! Gray whales were out at Pleasure Point, Humpbacks near the Soquel Canyon at the north center of Monterey Bay, California sea lions at the mile buoy near Santa Cruz.
February 9, 2018 Humpback whales about 3 miles out from Santa Cruz. Gray whales & sea otters offshore near the Santa Cruz Harbor. Dolphins & sea lions at play near the beaches. a beautiful day for whale watching in Monterey Bay!
February 11, 2018, we spotted about 300 common dolphins! Plus, 1 gray whale and 3 humpback whales; one humpback came so close to the boat he got spout on the windows! Jellies, and a pair of romantic otters in the harbor. Happy Valentine’s Day!
February 17, 2018: Wow – one of our humpback whales is breaching again and again! Saw at least 20 humpback whales, surface behavior multiple breaching, great whale show! We started the trip today with gray whales on migration through Monterey Bay.
February 18, 2018 Lots of gray whales near Natural Bridges at the north end of Monterey Bay.
February 19, 2018 Awesome humpback whales near Wilder Ranch just north of Santa Cruz, lots of surface activity: surface lunge, tail slaps, tail throws. We had 2 gray whales breaching, and for the birders, northern fulmars joining the feed.
March, 2018: Throughout the monthof March we had a mixed bag of whales, dolphins and birds in Monterey Bay. On various days we saw humpback whales, gray whales, dolphins, albatross. Photos: Michael Nelson
March 31, 2018: Gray whales and black footed albatross! The gray whales were near West Cliff Drive hugging the Santa Cruz coastline as they head north to Alaska. The black footed albatross was flying near the Monterey Canyon center of Monterey Bay.
April 1, 2018: Happy Easter! Sunday, we saw gray whales again along West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz, gray whales breaching, and Steller sea lion lounging on the mile buoy.
Breaching gray whale April 1, 2018 - Joy on Monterey Bay! (photo: Michael Nelson)
April 3, 2018: Today on Monterey Bay: Gray whales, humpback whales, Pacific white sided dolphins, killer whales and albatross! The humpback whales did tail slaps and a breach!
April 5, 2018 – Gray whales, humpback whales, a glimpse of orcas in the distance.
April 8, 2018 – Lots of humpback whales, Santa Cruz side of Monterey Bay.
April 14, 2018 – Orca! (killer whales), plus, humpback whales, and albatross today.
Sunday, April 15: Pacific White sided dolphins, Northern right whale dolphins, Gray whales, Humpback whales, Black footed Albatross, Sooty shearwaters. Monterey Bay wildlife is vibrant and active!
April 21, 2018 – 12 orcas, 2 humpbacks. The humpback whales will make themselves scarce when the killer whales come around to hunt in Monterey Bay.
April 22, 2018 – Active humpback whales over the canyon! They are back to feeding over Monterey submarine canyon today.
April 23, 2018 – Right away we found a gray whale mother and calf just outside of the harbor; gray whales are on their northbound migration back to the Bering Sea in Alaska for the summer months. We then cruised down to the Monterey Bay Canyons mid-bay to spend time with humpback whales. They showed us tail throws, and a breach nearby to the boat!
Friday, April 27 – Humpback whales, Orca, and a rogue blue whale!
Sunday, April 29 – Fantastic humpback whales in action. Several whales head-slapping for some time. You never know what activities the wildlife will get up to in Monterey Bay.
ORCA VIDEO FROM 4/27 by Hannah Browne - Thanks, Hannah!
Join us for year-round whale watching and wildlife adventure on Monterey Bay! Great family fun. Welcome aboard!
12/26/17 Winter humpback whales, breaching in sight of the boat
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me one humpback breach! What an exciting moment from the Dec 26th whale watching trip. Thank you Priyeta Iyengar for the video!
12/15/17 We’ve been seeing small humpback whales near shore Santa Cruz, large humpback whales near the canyon center of Monterey Bay, otters, harbor seals, California sea lions and Steller sea lions.
Special sighting we saw what was most likely a very rare pod of “offshore” orcas, different from our usual transient population. They eat fish including salmon! – there were 30-40 of them far out in the Bay.
12/9/17 and 12/10/17: Humpback whales, Pacific white sided dolphins
12/6/17 Wednesday whale watching with super calm conditions! We saw a lot of humpback whales exhibiting surface behaviors, feeding, pec slapping, great show!
PHOTOS: Michael Nelson
Monterey Bay humpback whale
Pacific white sided dolphin
Sunday 12/3/17 We had quite a show this weekend out on Monterey Bay! On Sunday the humpback whales were active. We were shown many consecutive tail throws and tail slaps. And then some exciting breaches!
Saturday 12/2/17 We saw a total of about 8 humpback whales, including a breaching humpback whale in the distance. Two humpback whales surface lunged pretty close to the boat! We saw 25 Risso's dolphins swimming with the boat for about 20 minutes. Pretty much in the middle of Monterey Bay but we did see three more humpback whales on the way home about 2 miles out of Santa Cruz and we watched them chasing food for about 10 minutes.
Photos: Michael Nelson
Risso's Dolphins
Jellies, Monterey Bay, December 2017
breaching humpback whale
Humpback whales are active in Monterey Bay this winter! Photos: Michael Nelson
11/22/17 Happy Thanksgiving! It is certainly feasting time for whales in Monterey Bay! Today’s trip we continue to see blue whales, humpback whales and pacific white sided dolphins!
11/21/17 Today more humpbacks than we've ever seen in November, easily 5-6 blue whales—2 up close—and small pod of Risso’s dolphins. Plus, more humpback whales than we could count, doing tail slaps and pec slaps at the surface, and Risso's Dolphins.
Saturday 11/18/17 Whale Watching today 11/18/17 We're surrounded by whales and dolphins! The blue whales have moved north so we got great looks at blue whales, plus fin whales, plenty of humpback whales and Pacific white sided dolphins. Northern fulmars, too Northern fulmars, too
Sunday 11/12/17 – Great trip! We had amazing calm weather out on Monterey Bay. Beautiful humpback whales cruising alongside the boat, a small pod of deep diving Risso’s dolphins, and a surprise appearance by a small pod of orcas: the same group we’ve been seeing over the last several weeks. But that’s not all! Bottlenose dolphins outside the harbor and even a sea otter in the harbor channel! That’s it for mammals, but we also saw an osprey, northern fulmars, and a kingfisher (for the birders!)
Photo: Mary Dixon (archive)
Sunday 11/5/17 – Humpbacks today, and Killer Whales!
Saturday 11/4/17 – Fun day out with good looks at humpback whales.
Friday 11/3/17 – We ventured out on a cloudy day --- had some clearing while out on the bay and got to see humpback whales near to the boat! There was even a mother and calf! We got to see the whales tail slap and pec slap, even a breach while they were feeding on schools of fish close to the boat.
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Looking for more activities in Santa Cruz? Check Mimi's recommendations here "How to spend winter in Santa Cruz."
Tuesday 10/31/17 Consistent humpbacks from the canyon all the way to the northern shores of the Monterey Bay. We've been observing lots of lunge feeding, sometimes very close to the boat! Anchovies flying! We saw many seals and sea lions, and for the birders, parasitic jaegers!
Monday 10/30/17 We saw humpback whales doing many behaviors; lunge feeding, tail slapping and breaching in Monterey Bay!
Sunday 10/29/17 - Humpback Whales again feeding and breaching!
Killer Whales can be seen at any time but are unpredictable. They are however most common during April, May, and June as they predate on northbound migrating Gray Whales, usually mother and newborn calves. Killer Whales are found worldwide. Most Killer Whales seen in Monterey Bay are the “Transient” type somewhat nomadic, feeding on marine mammals. “Resident” Killer Whales feed on salmon and rarely occur here. Resident Killer Whales are indigenous to Alaska and British Columbia.
Last week -- October 16 -- we had an amazing time viewing Orca in Monterey Bay -- please enjoy these great photos shared with us by passenger Gwen Bernard. Thanks!
Saturday 10/28/17 -- Santa Cruz Whale Watching is still sighting Humpback Whales every trip! They seem to love the rich and abundant food sources in Monterey Bay. Last week we were entertained by a dozen or more Humpbacks lunge feeding, side lunge feeding and even a couple breaches! Many sea lions and murres(sea birds) were enjoying the feast as well! Photos: thanks to Kristy Reynolds
Friday, October 20, 2017 – Out on the Monterey Bay today we found ourselves in the middle of a feeding frenzy! Humpback whales surrounding the boat as we watched them dive and fluke up and spray right next to us. Amazing!
Monday October 16, 2017 – More orcas – great looks near to the boat! Plus humpback whales feeding in the bay.
Sunday, October 15, 2017 – Sunday we saw orcas on the hunt! Plus many humpback whales over the canyon.
Friday, October 13, 2017 – Great humpback whale sightings today! Surface behaviors included pec slaps and tail throws! Risso’s dolphins.
We are asked all the time, "When is the best time for whale watcing in Monterey Bay?" It's exlained very well in this TripSavvy article by Betsy Malloy . She writes:
Best Time for Whale Watching in Monterey Bay
To make the Monterey and Santa Cruz area even more appealing, the whale-watching season is the longest in the state of California, lasting more or less all year. No matter when you go, you're likely to see one or more whale species, which may be migrating through the area or feeding in the bay.
Humpback whales and blue whales can be found year-round in the Monterey Bay. It's not unusual to see a rare fin or minke whale there, too. Once in a while, even rarer beaked whales and sperm whales also show up.
National Geographic-worthy moments happen when migrating gray whales pass through the Monterey Bay from mid-December to April. As the gray whales cross the underwater canyon, killer whales (orcas) wait for them - and attack, most often in April and May.
Tuesday, October 10, 2017: Lots of humpback whales easy to find near Soquel Canyon a few miles south of Santa Cruz on Monterey Bay. Humpback whales lunge feeding surrounded by California sea lions. We got some nice up-close looks at passing whales. Also plenty of jellies, visible in large swarms that make the clear jade colored waters cloud up in spots. Nice fall conditions on Monterey Bay!
Photo: Gwen Bernard
Wednesday September 26 – Friday September 29: All week we've seen lots of humpbacks associating with large groups of sea lions! Today we also saw a big ocean sunfish, and for the birders: pink footed shearwaters, and a Buller's shearwater.
Humpback whales, CA sea lions enjoy Monterey Bay, Sept 2017, Photo: John Warren
CA sea lions feeding with the whales, Monterey Bay, September 2017, Photo John Warren
Mon 9/25/17: Gorgeous ocean conditions, many humpback whales and lots of Risso’s dolphins!
Sun 9/24/17: Fabulous blue whale sightings today, out to the west. Crystal blue water and roughly 6 animals. Plus a couple humpbacks!
Sat 9/23/17: Orcas today and humpback whales.
Wed 9/20/17: Pod of 8 or so Orcas chasing sea lions with endless humpbacks orbiting about. Dolphins, too.
9/12/17 We spent time with 10 humpback whales today out on Monterey Bay! What a great show – tail slapping, lunge feeding, fluking up. Beautiful day in Santa Cruz!
Photo: Michael Nelson
Sunday, September 3, 2017: Over 20 humpback whales over the Monterey Canyon today!
Saturday, September 2, 2017: Awesome blue whales today!! About 10 blues were spotted out over the canyon feeding on krill. Two huge ones surfaced right next to the boat. We think they were over 90 ft long. Amazing. Warmer water brought in some long and short beaked common dolphins! Our first sighting of these dolphins in Monterey Bay all summer. They were accompanied by a few pacific white sided dolphins as well.
Thank you to passenger Jerry for sharing this gorgeous video by Archer Koch - the birds-eye view of humpback whales near Aptos!
Thursday, August 31, 2017: ~20 whales feeding over deep water today! 2 whales decided to jump out of the water in tandem, chin slapping side by side multiple times! Lots of harbor porpoise too! Santa Cruz side of Monterey Bay
Wednesday, August 30, 2017: Still lots of good whales down along Aptos -- Lunge feeding close to boat. Calm seas and sunny skies all over Monterey Bay!
Saturday, August 28, 2017: Wonderful looks at humpback whales – also it’s the time of year we see rafts of sea lions among the feeding whales.
August 20, 2017
This week we've had endangered leatherback turtles spotted in Monterey Bay. We're always delighted to see these amazing animals!
On our recent whale watching trips out of Santa Cruz, we've spent time with blue whales, humpabck whales, jellies and Risso's Dolphins.
Photos: Michael Nelson
Blue Whale in Monterey Bay, August 2017
Jellyfish in Monterey Bay, August 2017
Risso's Dolphin in Monterey Bay, August 2017
AUGUST 18, 2017: More blue whales today! If the weather holds, we've got a big group out to the west right now. And still lots of affectionate humpbacks from shore to canyon!
AUGUST 17, 2017 TODAY ON VELOCITY Humpback whales, Risso's dolphins, Pacific white sided dolphins and so many BLUE WHALES! Also many schools of cute baby mola-molas.
AUGUST 14, 2017:
It's been a local whale fest all week. Most of our sightings have been starting less than one quarter mile from the Santa Cruz Harbor! We have been watching humpback whales actively feeding near the surface along the Santa Cruz county coastline. We've observed almost every behavior, from the usual surfacing to lunge feeding (right next to the boat today!), chin slapping, pec slapping, lots of tail throws, and even some friendly whales that were holding their tails up only a few feet from the boat!!
All close encounters have been of the whale's own volition. We have been approaching with caution, as always, and it just happens that sometimes these whales get curious about the boats. We are always very respectful and attentive to their behavior, in order to avoid causing stress to the animals.
Otters, seals, and sea lions were also spotted, along with common murres, pigeon guillemots, Brandt's cormorants, brown pelicans, elegant and Caspian terns.
7-30-17 Wow! One of the most amazing trips this season! BLUE WHALES, HUMPBACK WHALES, FIN WHALES, DALL’S PORPOISE, ALBATROSS, SUNFISH! Monerey Bay whale watching is alive this summer.
We encountered a super friendly humpback whale that lolled and rolled around near the boat and even swam under the boat. She showed pec fins, tail, and rolled about for almost an hour!
In addition, we saw 10-15 Blue whales, 4-5 Fin whales, 5-6 Dall’s Porpoises (they are fast!!), Albatross and Sunfish (mola-mola).
Squid, krill and giant schools of small fish are bringing a multitude of wildlife to the Monterey Bay. Beautiful nature!
Albatross photo: (C)John Bruckman
7/30/17: We’ve had continuous sightings of humpback whales near to Santa Cruz by the Soquel Canyon. Groups of 3-6 whales at a time will be feeding and display surface behavior such as lunge feeding, breaching and fin/pec slaps. Many come close to the boat!
Yesterday we spent time with about 10 whales that were casually feeding in the Monterey Bay, among a huge raft of California sea lions. Other highlights were big Mola Mola (sunfish) and an albatross! Risso’s dolphins have been seen regularly dining on squid in the Bay. Of course we are also cruising by to look at white sharks near the Cement Ship at Seacliff Beach.
Today 7/30 the early whale watching trip spent time with several BLUE WHALES– the largest animal on Earth
Photos: Sean Kelly
Monday, July 10, 2017
We counted 12 humpback whales lunge feeding offshore near Seacliff State Beach
10 or more white sharks at the Cement Ship, Seacliff State Beach
Risso’s dolphins 1-2 miles offshore – Another nice day out on Monterey Bay!
Sunday, July 9, 2017
Another great day on the water! We saw many humpback whales, a baby humpback whale and great white sharks!
Photos: Micahel Nelson
Sunday 7/2/17
This trip we had virtually no wind, and went searching out to the west. Our efforts were rewarding!! Large pods of humpbacks were foraging over deep water. We even encountered a small group of blue whales! And our local sea otters were waiting in the channel to welcome us home.
Friday 6/30/17
We don't have far to go these days to find amazing Monterey Bay wildlife. Lunge feeding humpback whales, Risso’s dolphins, Sharks, all just a few miles from Santa Cruz Harbor!
Here is a wonderful series of a humpback whale breach (photos: Amanda Kreft)
6/24/17 Saturday – Blue whale, active humpback whale, pec slapping, tail throws.
6/23/17 Friday – More humpback whales and a couple of great white sharks, also lots of baby sunfish and jellies!
6/22/17 Thursday – 8 humpback whales, Risso’s dolphins, great white shark
6/20/17: Active humpback whales today! Surface behaviors included head slaps, tail throws and pec slaps -- a Sanctuary boogie wonderland!
We also saw great white sharks, harbor seals, sea otters, sea lions and a fur seal.
6/19/17: Eight Humpback whales and great white sharks.
6/18/17: Blue whale, Humpbacks, Risso’s dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins, mola-mola, otters, and a rare bird sighting: a tufted puffin!
6/12/17: Three humpback whales, bottlenose dolphins, windy.
Photos: Michael Nelson
Thursday, June 8, 2017 – Lunge feeding blue right off our bow less than 100 yards! It was a smaller one, maybe 60 ft. Super cool. Plus our summer humpback whales and pod of white sided dolphins!
Wednesday, June 7, 2017 – Humpbacks, Blues, & Sharks
Sunday, June 4, 2017 – We found humpback whales feeding out near the Soquel Canyon, bottlenose dolphins near the Cement Ship, lots of otters in the kelp, and so many white sharks of New Brighton Beach, we lost count!
Saturday, June 3, 2017 – Humpback whales are feeding in the Bay! Last trip we also saw Risso’s Dolphins 8 great white sharks, up to 12 feet long!
Saturday, May 27, 2017 – We’ve been seeing lots of little pods of humpbacks concentrating around the canyon. They have been feeding on a mix of krill and baitfish. We had some really close looks at beautiful humpbacks spouting and fluking up! Sharks are still around too!
Tuesday, May 23, 2017 – We found a Blue Whale in Monterey Bay! Plus, 15 humpback whales, some near to the boat, all just at the entrance above Monterey Canyon. Then we found a Great White Shark along the coast.
Sunday, May 21, 2017 – So many humpback whales near Moss Landing, and 8 Great White Sharks!
Saturday, May 20, 2017 – Humpback whales, Risso’s dolphins, Sharks
Friday, May 19, 2017 – On Friday we had lunge feeding humpback whales right next to the boat!
Wednesday, May 18, 2017 – It’s been a little windy this week but we’re finding humpback whales, super active! Breaching, tail slaps. Today we saw humpback whales and a special treat: A rare sighting of the leatherback turtle.
(Archive photo: John Warren)
Wednesday, May 10: Today on board Velocity we found 8 humpback whales out near the Soquel Canyon on the Santa Cruz side of Monterey Bay. One breach! Tail slaps! And dolphins bow riding as we headed back in to port. Nice day out!
Photo: Michael Nelson
Friday, May 5, 2017: Even in the windy conditions, we found lots of anchovies and a pod of at least eight humpback whales following the bait.
Video: Megan Petersen, on board Velocity/Santa Cruz Whale Watching
Wednesday 5/3/17: We found 12-15 orca today on Monterey Bay, 2 different groups! 2 breaches, 2 spy hops, multiple “drive-bys’ near to the boat, and some came right up to and swam under the boat. The killer whales are feeding on sea lions out in the Bay.
Monday 5/1/17: More orca action! We counted at least 10 orca interacting (harassing?) with the humpback whales off the coast of Santa Cruz today. The humpback whales exhibited tail slaps and vocalizations!
A glimpse of the Orcas in Monterey Bay, as seen from the Captain's Deck, Velocity, with Santa Cruz Whale Watching Tours. Video: Gabe Torres
From April through May we expect to see gray whales migrating northbound back to feeding grounds in the Bering Sea of Alaska, and the arrival of humpback whales into the Monterey Bay for their summer-fall feeding season. This is a great time of year to look for orca hunting activity in our area, too! Here is an update on what we have been seeing lately on our whale watching tours with Santa Cruz Whale Watching.
4/30/17 Amazing day with friendly humpback whale that visited the boat for about an hour! A great day with humpback whales in Monterey Bay!
Velocity, April 30 with our friendly whale, Photo: Lisa Ann Crivello (Thank you!)
4/29/17 We saw Orcas again today in Monterey Bay! There were about 20-30, but we focused on a group of 8-10 nearer to the boat. The orcas were porpoising and frolicking, putting on a great show! One calf even came up close to the boat and rolled over to show us his belly. Adorable!
4/23/17 – Sunday we had breaching humpback whales, despite windy conditions. Luckily guests were able to warm up with hot cocoa from the galley snack bar.
Here's some gorgeous video of gray whales migrating through Monterey Bay on their way north back to Alaska. Video by Daniel Hernandez
4/22/17 – More killer whales! We counted 20 Orca and 3 humpback whales. The orcas are hunting in big numbers; we witnessed an encounter between 3 humpback whales and a pod of killer whales.
4/21/17 – Orcas today! We got fantastic looks at 20-25 killer whales, whizzing by pretty close to the boat! We were able to observe them for over an hour! And we saw 2 humpback whales.
Orca, also known as Killer Whales can be seen at any time of year in Monterey Bay, but they are unpredictable. They are most common during April, May, and June as they predate on northbound migrating Gray Whales, usually mother and newborn calves.
4/17/17 – Rain or Shine! Today we found 10 humpback whales feeding on big schools of anchovies about 3-4 miles out from Santa Cruz! Then we followed a pod of 6 bottlenose dolphins near Santa Cruz.
Springtime in Monterey Bay is one of the best times to see multiple whale species, as gray whales migrate north back to Alaska and the early arrival humpback whales are coming into Monterey Bay to feed over the summer months.
Saturday 4/15/17 Northbound gray whale out in front of the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor, two humpback whales over the Soquel Canyon. Otters, too!
Friday 4/14/17: Two grays today right out front of the Santa Cruz Harbor–Mother & calf!
Tuesday 4/11/17: Six humpback whales – Great close up looks – then Risso's dolphins, all on the Santa Cruz side of Monterey Bay. Gorgeous conditions today!
4/10/17: We started the trip with a pair of northbound gray whales. Then, headed out for the canyon, we encountered a single lunge feeling humpback. And then, a bit further over the canyon, we had a pair of two huge and very friendly humpback whales that circled the boat several times, approaching the boat so close we could see the barnacles on their snouts! There was even a sea otter waiting for us in the harbor upon our return. Not to mention gorgeous weather and calm seas!
Visit our friends at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History just a few blocks from the Harbor, across from Seabright Beach. They have a wonderful exhibit of Scientific Illustration on view until June.
Aldo's serves great breakfast and seafood lunch, easy al fresco dining on the waterfront! Aldos Santa Cruz Harbor
Sunday 3/26/17: Humpback whale mama and calf! These two lolled around near to the boat, the baby fluked up for looks at its tail. Mama stayed close by. At one point the whales swam under the Velocity, popping up on the starboard side! We also cruised down to Seacliff beach for an array of harbor seals and otters.
Saturday 3/25/17 Two whale species today: We had a breaching gray whale and a tail throwing humpback!
Next trips are Wednesday and Friday, then daily starting April 1st
Gray Whales on the move - Look for the whale tail at :24!
Join us whale watching in the Monterey Bay today at 11:00 AM!
Today we had a breaching gray whale and a tail throwing humpback!
The gray whale sightings this season have been plentiful all up and down the Pacific Coast and inside Monterey Bay.
On our most recent trip we encountered 3 frisky gray whales along the bow, in 100 feet of water right outside the Santa Cruz Harbor near Twin Lakes Beach! Later we found 9 gray whales about 4 miles off shore. Great looks and great energy from a thriving gray whale population this year! April – May we expect to see gray whales migrating northbound back to feeding grounds in the Bering Sea of Alaska.
Spring is here bringing a lively mix of sunny days, cleansing rain, and a wonderful variety of marine wildlife to see with Santa Cruz Whale Watching! Several species of whales & dolphins, sea birds, otters and sea lions mix it up, to delight all visitors to Monterey Bay.
Sunday 3/19/17 — We had two breaching humpback whales out on Monterey Bay! We saw a pod of 12 Risso’s dolphins, and got great looks at harbor porpoises, harbor seals and California sea otters in the kelp beds near Santa Cruz.
Saturday 3/18/17 – Springtime proves to be a great time of year to see multiple whale species out on Monterey Bay! We found four humpback whales and 10 gray whales. Gray whales will continue to travel northbound along the Santa Cruz coastline throughout April and May.
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Photo: Michael Nelson | Monterey Bay, March 19, 2017
This entry was posted on March 21, 2017 by jennyo.
Wednesday 3/15/17 We followed 3 different gray whales swimming close into shore from Santa Cruz. Good looks at whale tails. A beautiful day on flat calm seas!
Join us this weekend! Saturday 3/18 and Sunday 3/19 whale watching trips depart at 11am.
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
This entry was posted on March 17, 2017 by jennyo.
The gray whales led the way on Sunday! We kept our whale watching tour along the coastline, following several sets of gray whales swimming northbound through Monterey Bay. There were plenty of gray whales just 1-2 miles offshore from Santa Cruz — wonderful to see whale spouts over here, there, everywhere! We followed several small groups of whales up the coast towards Davenport; a few groups of two, then a trio of gray whales who were the most active, showing tail flukes (diving), a spyhop, and other active surface behaviors.
On the way in we got good looks at otters in the kelp beds. It was a beautiful day on Monterey Bay!
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Spring Break Whale Watching Trips run daily April 1-16!
This entry was posted in on March 14, 2017 by jennyo
Over the last week we have had some delightful whale watching trips! Last Sunday we found lots of gray whales over the outer Monterey Bay, and got great looks at a huge pod of dolphins that swam and played alongside the boat!
On Tuesday we hosted a group of high school students who brought us great luck – spotting humpback whales near Santa Cruz, and gray whales further out towards Monterey.
Saturday whale watching another lovely day – between storms we’ve had some beautiful conditions! Guests spotted several humpback whales, and one breached out of the water! We noted that the 2 gray whales we saw on this trip seemed to be heading south! Most likely these animals will be late for the breeding season in Mexico. Usually at this time of year in Monterey we are starting to see gray whales migrating northbound, returning to Alaska for the summer.
It’s also exciting to see migratory ocean birds visiting Monterey Bay – This trip a keen-eyed passenger spotted a Tufted Puffin!
Tufted Puffin, Monterey Bay, March 4 2017 | Notice the red feet and the large plumes on the head. Photo: James Maughn
Saturday 3/11 at 10:00 AM and Sunday 3/12 at 11:00 AM.
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Spring Break Whale Watching Trips run daily April 1-16!
This entry was posted on March 11, 2017 by jennyo.
Sunday, February 12, 2017: Today we were able to catch up with 2 adult southbound gray whales, that allowed us to watch them surface and dive many times, treating the crowd to close looks and several tail flukes! Along the way we spotted Risso’s dolphins, numerous sea otters and sea lions, and a variety of seabirds in winter plumage! As we were nearing the harbor, we spotted a third gray whale, on its way north. A beautiful, crystal clear day to view some of California’s unique marine wildlife!
Thank you to everyone who visited our booth at the Migration Festival this weekend, and a special thanks to Natural Bridges State Park for hosting. We look forward to having you out on a whale watching trip!
Pelican, Santa Cruz, CA | photo courtesy Luv Kothari
This entry was posted on February 13, 2017 by jennyo.
Come visit us at the Migration Festival at Natural Bridges State Park and enter to win a Free Whale Watching Trip!
*Saturday, February 11 from 11 AM to 4 PM
*End of West Cliff Dr. at Swanton Blvd., Santa Cruz, California 95060
Come to Natural Bridges State Beach for a full day of activities that celebrate the migration of whales, butterflies, birds and the many creatures that travel. The park will host migratory animal talks, active kids’ games, crafts, skits, live music by the nature-loving 5M’s Band, educational booths and displays, along with the now-famous free habitat-cake served at the end of the event. You can purchase a picnic at the park or bring your own. Event is free; vehicle day-use fee is $10. For more information, please call (831) 423-4609 or email [email protected].
This entry was posted on January 29, 2017 by jennyo
Monday 1/16/17 Mom and baby day! We spotted a sea otter mama and pup on the way out, and a gray whale mom and calf on the way home! In between we were treated to wintering humpbacks showing their tail flukes while diving on bait over the Monterey Bay Canyon. We counted 6-8 humpbacks, one breacher!
Photos: Michael Nelson
Sunday 1/15/17 Lots of humpback whales in the bay! We had a humpback whale breaching, and saw more gray whales crossing the outer Monterey Bay. Seabirds: common murres
Saturday 1/14/17 We had 4 gray whales heading south and several humpback whales – one humpback whale did a tail throw for us! | The weather is beautiful out there. (Video below: Michael Nelson)
Winter Wildlife Viewing at its Finest! Join us year round with Santa Cruz Whale Watching Trips on the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
This entry was posted on January 17, 2017 by jennyo.
January 2, 2017 – Happy New Year! We've continued to see our winter humpback whales over the past weeks! Gray whales are starting to pass through the area. Plus today, a pod of Northern Right Whale Dolphins.
This entry was posted on January 2, 2017 by jennyo.
January 2, 2017 – Happy New Year! We've continued to see our winter humpback whales over the past weeks! Gray whales are starting to pass through the area. Plus today, a pod of Northern Right Whale Dolphins.
This entry was posted on January 2, 2017 by jennyo
Wednesday, 12/21/16: A beautiful winter day on the Monterey Bay! We had multiple pairs of humpbacks, one of which came in for a close inspection of the boat! We were also treated to a large group of pacific white sided dolphins, bow riding and frolicking in the waves. On the way home we encountered some of our earlier humpbacks feeding near the surface. Birders enjoyed looks at a black footed albatross, many species of shearwater, and northern fulmars.
Pacific White-sided Dolphins. Monterey Bay, Dec. 21, 2016. Photo: Michael Nelson
Albatross, Monterey Bay, CA Dec 21, 2016 | Photo: Michael Nelson
This entry was posted on December 22, 2016 by jennyo.
3 killer whales (Orca) out by the Soquel Canyon and 2 humpbacks in the Pajaro Canyon.
Photo: Michael Nelson
This entry was posted on December 19, 2016 by jennyo.
Saturday 12/3/16 We had some great looks at a large group of lunge feeding humpback whales on Saturday. The whales were dining midday out at Pajaro Canyon, alongside hundreds of California sea lions. These are late season whales in Monterey Bay. We are soon expecting to see gray whales on their annual migration between Alaska and Baja California.
Join us on board Velocity or Legacy for an unforgettable adventure on the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary – one of the top wildlife viewing locations in the world!
Santa Cruz Whale Watching trips run every weekend, and DAILY starting December 20 through January 1.
2 Photos by: Michael Nelson
This entry was posted on December 6, 2016 by jennyo.
We loved having so many family groups out on the boat this week. Each day of Thanksgiving week we got some great views of 10-20 humpback whales that are active in Monterey Bay right now. These humpback whales are feeding and showing surface behaviors such as tail slaps and breaching above the water. We’re getting to see big pods of common dolphins, otters in the kelp beds, and California sea lions. Our cover photo is from passenger Matija Vižin, taken on Tuesday 11/22 when we saw 10 humpback whales – one full breach! – Good looks, lots of flukes.
We’ve had a certain population of humpbacks staying around over winter for the last several years. As long as they are able to eat they will stay in the area instead of participating in migration to Central America.
We’ll soon be keeping an eye out for gray whales migrating south towards their winter mating/calving waters in Baja, Mexico. Over 20,000 gray whales pass through Monterey Bay every year!
Santa Cruz Whale Watching Trips run every weekend in December, and DAILY from December 23 – New Year’s Day. Join us for adventure on the Bay!
Tickets are $48.95 for adults and $34.95 for kids age 4-13.
Reservations recommended!
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
This entry was posted on November 27, 2016 by jennyo.
Over the last week up to 6 humpback whales have been seen spouting and feeding near Santa Cruz and the north part of Monterey Bay. Long beak common dolphins and Risso's dolphins are also active in the Bay right now.
Happy Thanksgiving! Here's the whale watching schedule this week:
Tuesday 11/22 at 11am
Wednesday 11/23 at 11am
Thursday 11/24 at 10am
Friday 11/25 at 12pm
Saturday 11/26 – two trips! – 8:30am and 12:30pm
Sunday 11/27 at 12pm
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
This entry was posted on November 21, 2016 by jennyo.
Saturday, one lunge feeding humpback right in front of harbor, then 200 common dolphins by the Pajaro Canyon, as well as one breaching and pectoral fin slapping humpback, plus a few other scattered humpbacks.
Good looks at a group of lunge feeding humpbacks near Pajaro.
Here's some recent video from our friend Michael Nelson ~ A glimpse of a feeding frenzy with humpback whales and California sea lions, October 2016.
Check out these fun traveler tips for an easygoing visit to Santa Cruz – This article highlights some of our favorite beaches and places to eat and drink, just a bit off the beaten path. Enjoy! Click here to read about Santa Cruz travel tips.
Our whale watching schedule for November and December is now up on our website. Book your family outing now! Call 831-427-0230 or click the “Book Now” button at santacruzwhalewatching.com. Welcome aboard!
This entry was posted on November 14, 2016 by jennyo
Five humpbacks, one minke whale, and 200 to 300 common dolphins west of the Soquel Canyon.
Friday, 11/4/16 ~ Whale Watching on ‘Legacy’
Group of four humpbacks over the Soquel Canyon. Pair of humpbacks one of which did a couple of tail throws, and a few scattered whales throughout the Monterey Bay. A couple of large packs of sea lions swimming with the whales.
We also continue to see a few whales near West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz.
This entry was posted on November 5, 2016 by jennyo
10/28 - 11/2
Lunge feeding humpback whales on last Friday and Saturday trips! We also saw dolphins and rafts of sea lions in the feeding grounds of pristine Monterey Bay.
Today 11/2 we are spotting whale spouts from shore, near Seabright and West Cliff Beaches.
Lunge feeding humpback whales 10-28-16. photo: Megan Petersen
This entry was posted on November 2, 2016 by jennyo.
Sunday 10/23: Again we found Humpback Whales near Santa Cruz, feeding along with rafts of California Sea Lions. (Photos courtesy Michael B Nelson)
Saturday, 10/22: Humpback whales close to Santa Cruz!
Friday 10/21: Whales up the coast a bit, near Davenport!
Thursday, 10/20: We spent time with 3 lunging humpback whales outside Wilder Ranch, then a cruise back down to Aptos to find a white shark near the Cement Ship, Seacliff State Beach.
MONTEREY BAY – For the first time in five years, a sperm whale has been sighted in the Monterey Bay.
Photo: Michael Nelson
California Sea Lion, Photo: Michael Nelson
This entry was posted on October 25, 2016 by jennyo.
Tuesday 10/18/16: Our trip today on Legacy, we found 10 humpback whales and 100 Pacific white sided dolphins!
This entry was posted on October 18, 2016 by jennyo
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Tuesday, Sept. 27 – Mama and baby humpback playing with us today! Calf was breaching and pec slapping. Humpback whales are scattered, feeding throughout the Bay.
Monday, Sept. 26– We found whales! 7-8 humpback whales and ~100 sea lions center of Monterey Bay.
This entry was posted on September 30, 2016 by jennyo.
Sunday 9/25 on Velocity– 12 Humpback Whales, 500 Common Dolphin, 100 Pacific White-sided Dolphin
Saturday 9/24 on Legacy– We found 6 Humpback Whales, lunge feeding, plus 12 Risso’s Dolphins
This entry was posted on September 26, 2016 by jennyo
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Friday 9/23/16: Today we found 2 Orcas! Nice looks at “Fat Fin” and a buddy out in the Bay. Also humpback whales, and a pod of common dolphins on the way back in.
Wednesday9/21/16 – Windy out there, but we found whales – a humpback whale breached for us! And plenty of dolphins and otters along the way.
This entry was posted on September 23, 2016 by jennyo
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Tuesday 9/20/16: Late season humpback whales are feeding around the Monterey Bay Canyon. Today we found 10 humpbacks feeding all together – we were near enough for some close “drive-bys,” and energetic surface behaviors! Plenty of spouts, pec slaps, great looks at flukes as the whales dove down below the water.
Two species of dolphin joined in the feeding – Pacific white-sided dolphins and short-beaked common dolphins, along with a big pack of California sea lions. Birds, too! We saw a black-footed albatross, and many shearwater spp.
This entry was posted on September 21, 2016 by jenny
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Friday 9/16 Today’s trip started with bow-riding bottlenose dolphins right outside the harbor, including a new-born dolphin and mom! 6 humpbacks out over the canyon on the north side, fluking up – some close drive bys for good looks at the whales.
Wednesday 9/14 Humpback whales feedings, plus 500 Risso’s Dolphins, jumping and breaching!
Monday 9/12 Humpback whales breaching, rail-slapping and pec slapping behaviors; nice close-up looks!
This entry was posted on September 16, 2016 by jennyo
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Saturday, September 10:
There are several groups of humpback whales feeding just offshore from the Santa Cruz Harbor, but the highlight today were orcas! The orca put on a good show for our morning whale watching trip.
Humpback whales are still here in Monterey Bay feeding closer to shore, as well as over the canyon. Conditions are lending themselves for surface feeding! We’ve seen a good amount of lunge feeding from some pretty big whales. They’re at their heaviest for the season. Dolphin sightings have included Risso’s and Long-beaked Common dolphins, as well as several harbor porpoise. There are still jellies around, and we’ve seen a few mola molas too.
9/7 Wednesday – Humpbacks lunge feeding – nice close looks. To start the trip we were joined by a large pod of Risso’s Dolphins alongside theboat
9/5 Monday – Labor Day – 10 humpback whales lunge feeding, and Orcas!
9/4 Sun – Orcas swimming, bow riding under the boat!
**National Geographic Humpback Whale Gallery**
This week, many populations of humpback whale have been removed from the endangered species list, which is wonderful news! Our Monterey “Pacific Coast” population remains threatened, however. Enjoy this wonderful photo gallery of our beloved humpback whale!
If these images are not enough, check out the gorgeous photography show at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, located just a few blocks from the Harbor!
California: At the Water's Edge | Nature and underwater photography exhibit runs until Nov. 13 at Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, 1305 E. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz or call (831) 420-6115
This entry was posted on September 10, 2016 by jennyo.
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Here is some great video of lunge feeding. The bright pink baleen can be seen as the whale reaches the surface.
Monday, August 29We started the trip accompanied by a pod of 100 common dolphins, bow riding and traveling along with us through Monterey Bay! Later we found about 10 humpback whales and one blue whale. Today they were diving deep for food! But we got to see flukes and close looks while they were at the surface.
Saturday & Sunday August 27/28 The last two days we've had awesome looks at blue whales! Blue whales are in Monterey Bay is large numbers this season, and they are friendly! They'll swim close to the boat for great looks, and some have been seen lunge feeding!
Also we've had very active humpback whales – lunge feeding and showing wonderful surface behaviors. Today one humpback whale was doing a circus routine: a triple tail slap, 3 head throws, and then 3 breaches which it repeated and repeated. Amazing!
We also had Risso's dolphins further out in the bay.
This entry was posted on August 30, 2016 by jennyo.
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Thursday: Oh, Wow! ~ 15 Blue whales and twice as many humpback whales all around us now! “I think every blue whale in the greater Monterey Bay Area is here right now!”
Wednesday: 5 Blue whales! Many humpback whales ~ awesome day!
Saturday/Sunday Both days we spent some lovely time with a mother humpback and her 20 ft calf, tandem diving near Pajaro.
Humpback whale breach! photo: Amanda Kreft
Friday: 7 Fin whales, Dahl's porpoises Breaching humpback whale close to Santa Cruz!
Fin Whale, August 5, 2016. Monterey Bay, CA Photo: Michael Nelson
This entry was posted on August 11, 2016 by jenny
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Blue whale photo: Travis Norton
Tuesday, August 2:
This entry was posted on August 3, 2016 by jennyo
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Wednesday, July 27: 1 Fin whale, and a very friendly humpback whales swam alongside the boat for a while
Tuesday, July 26: 3 charming blue whales, 1 friendly Fin whale, 4 humpback whales one of which did a lot of tail slapping behavior
Whale Surface Behaviors (Image Copyright Rainforest Publications)
Saturday, July 23:
BlueWhale-5 Buss Marple 7-23-16
Friday, July 22:
White shark 7-22-16 Michael Nelson
Thursday, July 21:
On Velocity:
Wednesday, July 20:
Sunday, July 17:
Friday, July 15:
Wednesday, July 13:
Friday, July 8:
This entry was posted on July 28, 2016 by jennyo.
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Sunday, July 17, 2016: 60 humpback whales and 5 blue whales out at Soquel Canyon, breaching, tail slaps, throws, every type of surface behavior!
Saturday, July 16: Beautiful whale watching day! At one point we could count 20 humpback whales feeding around our boat, Legacy, and 2 blue whales.
This entry was posted on July 18, 2016 by jennyo
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Friday, July 8 Sightings: 1 ORCA, 2 WHITE SHARKS, 5 HUMPBACK WHALES, 200 COMMON DOLPHINS!
This entry was posted on July 9, 2016 by jennyo
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Sunday 7/3 — 6 humpback whales at Soquel — a single whale we call “Barney” and friend lunge feeding off Aptos — White shark at cement ship.
Saturday 7/2 — 4 humpback whales — dolphins!
Friday 7/1 — Humpback whales feeding near Soquel
Thursday 6/30 — Sharks and Orcas
This entry was posted on July 4, 2016 by jennyo
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Tues 6/21 30 Risso's dolphins, 100 common dolphins, 2 lunge-feeding humpback whales — Just 3 miles out!
6/16-20 FIN WHALES! + humpback whales, sharks at the cement ship
Wed 6/15 Two humpback whales, tail throws (windy!)
Mon 6/13 The blue whales are back in the Santa Cruz side of the bay only 5 miles out from Natural Bridges
Blue Whale
Sun 6/12 – 10 blue whales and this lovely Night Heron
Night Heron at the Santa Cruz Harbor
This entry was posted on June 22, 2016 by jennyo
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Wednesday June 8 – Today we came across a frisky humpback who put on a show: breaching, chin slaps, tail slaps and feeding for over an hour. A great day on Monterey Bay! #WorldOceansDay
Monday, June 6 – Amazing encounters with orca and humpback whales! We came across 8 playful and friendly orcas who came right up to the boat. It seemed the older animals were training infant orcas to leap and lunge. The humpbacks were sleepy but showed some tail slapping/ curled fluke slapping, too.
This entry was posted on June 8, 2016 by jenny
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June 6, 2016 Sightings Report for the weekend
Monday: 8 playful friendly Orcas today, out in the fog, plus 6 sleepy Humpback Whales.
Sunday: 10 Orcas — 6 of them swam under the boat! Plus a huge pod of Common Dolphins
Saturday: Humpback whales – lunge feeding
Friday: Humpback whales – breaching!
All our activity this weekend has been on Santa Cruz side of the bay near the Soquel Hole.
ORCA 6-5-16, photo: Jenn Yuhas
This entry was posted on June 6, 2016 by jennyo
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June 1, 2016 Yesterday Fin Whales 2 by 2 cruised by the boat! That’s a rare sighting this close in. We've seen countless feeding blue whales and endless flirty humpbacks all week; We've been watching the blues just 3-4 miles out from Santa Cruz!
Fin Whales 2 by 2 just a few miles out from Santa Cruz – photo Jenn Yuhas
We've noticed an unusual blue whale surface behavior: a sort of "charge" where they gain speed and blast across the water's surface. Join us this weekend to see the amazing wildlife of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary!
This entry was posted on June 1, 2016 by jennyo
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May 30, 2016: We continue to delight seeing BLUE WHALES in great numbers for several weeks now. Today we counted about 20 blue whales, diving/feeding. Also several humpback whales, breaches, plus sea lions, sun-fish, jellies.
This entry was posted on May 30, 2016 by jennyo
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We've had amazing BLUE WHALES in big numbers on all trips this week!
Wednesday, May 25 — Surrounded by BLUE WHALE spouts today- showing flukes today near Santa Cruz! Also, humpback whales in the bay! A few were tail-throwing and pec-slapping at the surface.
Sunday, May 22 –Many blue whales again. Wonderful sightings – they are quite actively diving to feed in the deep waters, giving as great flukes. Humpback whales also active in the bay.
Saturday, May 21 — 15 Blue Whales!! Diving; great looks at flukes. Plus otters, sea lions, migrating birds and dolphins!
Blue whale tail Monterey Bay, with Santa Cruz Whale Watching, Photo: Michael Nelson
Earlier in May we had a week with large groups of active Orcas, hunting in Monterey Bay. It is amazing to see these fantastic "killer whales" out in nature.
Monterey Bay Orcas Photo: Michael Nelson
Monterey Bay Orcas Photo: Michael Nelson
Humpback whale pectoral fin
This entry was posted on May 26, 2016 by jennyo.
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Sunday, May 1 Four humpback whales feeding on krill, lots of surface behavior, good looks at the whales! One gray whale.
Sat, April 30 This morning we got lucky with humpback whales near shore, just a few miles off of Santa Cruz, plus and mama & baby gray whales!
Over the last four weeks we've seen orca on 4-5 different occasions and blue whale three times! Also sharks, otters, sea lions, birds and all the natural beauty of Monterey Bay.
Here's a great article about our transient killer whales, their behavior and hunting patterns here in the bay: Gary Griggs, Our Ocean Backyard: Killers in Monterey Bay
Wild Orca, Monterey Bay – April 13, 2016. Photo: Michael Nelson
This entry was posted on May 2, 2016 by jennyo.
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4/27/16 sightings today — Humpback whales, a great look at a BLUE WHALE, and 200 common dolphins – the blue whale and dolphins were just 3 miles out from Santa Cruz!
Sunday 4/24 Humpback whales feeding on krill near the Soquel Canyon, and a pod of Risso’s Dolphins, plus otters!
Risso’s Dolphins Monterey Bay 4-23-16 M. Nelson
Saturday 4/23 we had a friendly juvenile humpback whale investigate the boat, out near the Monterey Canyon, and spotted several other humpbacks in the area. Then we swung up the coast by the cement ship in hopes of seeing some sharks. Indeed, we spotted a great white shark scavenging a small gray whale carcass in shallow water off the beach. It was amazing to watch.
This entry was posted on April 27, 2016 by jennyo.
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Wednesday Sightings: Today we spotted a large echelon of 7 gray whales along the Santa Cruz coastline; we were able to follow along their path up towards Long Marine Lab. There were at least 2 calves in the group, who were unusually curious, popping their heads above water. Neat interactions! Then we found a few groups of humpback whales near Santa Cruz — Beautiful calm day on the bay!
This entry was posted in Recent SIghtings on April 20, 2016 by jennyo
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4/17/16: Sunday Sightings: 20 humpback whales spread out, feeding throughout the Bay, some fun surface behaviors including tail and pec slaps. On the way back in we were joined by a large pod of common dolphins, swimming along side the boat and riding surf!
Common Dolphins, Monterey Bay, with Santa Cruz Whale Watching, April 17, 2016. photo” M. Nelson
4/16/16 Saturday Sightings: 6 humpback whales and one mighty blue whale!!
4/14/16 Thursday we were visited by a trio of humpback whales; they gave us super close-up looks, feeding on krill, and pec/tail-slapping. We saw a few albatross and lots of California sea otters in the kelp.
Humpback "tail slap" Monterey Bay, with Santa Cruz Whale Watching, April 17, 2016. photo: M. Nelson
Over the last few weeks, we've had several days with amazing views of Orca in the wild. Here is some fantastic video from our April 3rd trip. ORCA VIDEO by Franzi Samanek
This entry was posted on April 20, 2016 by jennyo.
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Thursday, April 14, 2016; Today we were visited by a trio of humpback whales, they gave us super close-up looks, feeding on krill. One was a tail-slapper, so we could observe good surface behavior. We saw a few albatross, and lots of otters in the kelp.
Wednesday, April 13, Wow! Orcas! We got to watch 6 killer whales/ orca as they cruised around through Monterey Bay. We had a similar orca sighting on April 3, spotting 4-6 orca that day. We also saw about 10 humpback whales.
Orca in Monterey Bay, April 13, 2016, with Santa Cruz Whale Watching (photo M. Nelson)
Orca in Monterey Bay, April 13, 2016, with Santa Cruz Whale Watching (photo M. Nelson)
Monday, April 11, we found humpback whales sprinkled across the bay, getting some good looks up close. The adventure ended with a humpback tail slapper, who did a big barrel roll with pec fin flourish!
"Pec slap" Humpback whale, Monterey Bay, April 11, 2016. photo Michael Nelson
Santa Cruz Whale Watching, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, April 2016
Santa Cruz Whale Watching, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, April 2016
This entry was posted on April 14, 2016 by jennyo.
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Archive photo, gray whale, Monterey Bay (Teddy Daligga)
Sightings report Tues 4/5: Four gray whales – good looks and a breach! common dolphins bow-riding and cute otters.
This entry was posted on April 5, 2016 by jennyo.
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April 5, 2016 | Presenting.... "Legacy!"
Legacy, new addition to Stagnaro Charter fleet out of Santa Cruz, CA
Stagnaro Charter Boats/ Santa Cruz Whale Watching is pleased to introduce a new addition to our fleet, joining Velocity at Dock F this season.
Our new boat Legacy is a 56' fiberglass Westport yacht, featuring a spacious deck and deluxe interiors plus comfortable galley, snack bar/beer/wine and restroom amenities. Legacy can accommodate up to 46 passengers for whale watching or scenic tour excursions.
With this gorgeous new addition to our fleet, we are excited to offer more opportunities for our neighbors and visitors alike to go whale watching, or for a relaxing cruise on Monterey Bay.
Captain Kenney Stagnaro and one of our favorite naturalists, Jennifer Yuhas, admiring the new boat!
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Saturday, April 2: Today the fog burned off early and we set off on board Velocity to see what wildlife we could find in Monterey Bay!
We saw:
ALBATROSS JUNE 2015 © john c. bruckman
This entry was posted on April 2, 2016 by jennyo
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The Santa Cruz Harbor is open and whale watching trips are running daily for Spring Break!
Thursday 3/31— We saw a BLUE WHALE! Plus a gray whale close drive by – a couple of folks got "spouted" on!
Tuesday 3/29—2 humpback whales, spotted just about a mile out from Santa Cruz. One was playing in the kelp and came up out of the water with a comical seaweed wig! We also saw a gray whale, and 200 common dolphins, bow riding and doing flips
Sunday 3/27— 4 gray whales, common dolphins, otters
Saturday 3/26— 2 humpbacks, 4 gray whales, 40-50 common dolphins
Blue Whale, Monterey Bay, June 2012. Photo: Gene Manako
Blue Whale, Monterey Bay, June 2012. Photo: Gene Manako
This entry was posted on March 31, 2016 by jennyo
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Spring is here and so are humpback whale arriving for their feeding season in Monterey Bay. Gray whales continue their northbound migration through our local waters, and dolphin & otter babies are learning to keep up with their folks. Here is what we've seen lately in Monterey Bay.
Humpback fluke 3/23/16 Monterey Bay, March 2016
Wednesday 3/23/16 we saw Gray Whales, Humpback Whales, Dolphins (mamas and babies) and our favorite California Sea Otters!
Gray whale, Spring migration, Monterey Bay, 3/23/16. photo Michael Nelson
3/20/16 For Sunday's trip, the best report came from one of our passengers, who wrote, "We had clear skies, a smooth trip, and good sightings. There was a small group of about 20 common dolphins porpoising. We then saw a yearling humpback surfacing then diving to feed near the canyon. Later, we came upon another young humpback."
Saturday 3/19 we saw 500 common dolphins, 3 humpback whales — close drive-bys, lots of flukes, plus otters!
And on Thursday 3/18 we saw otters, lots of dolphins and 6 humpback whales out in Monterey Bay. One of the whales was lunge feeding. Lovely!
Common Dolphins, Monterey Bay, March 2016
Monterey Bay, 3/23/16 photo Michael Nelson
This entry was posted on March 24, 2016 by jennyo
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Monday 2/29/16 We saw 2 gray whales, 1 humpback whale, 20-40 common dolphins; a beautiful day!
Santa Cruz Whale Watching offers Whale Watching on Monterey Bay March, April, and year-round. Our tours (3.5-4 hours) are fully narrated by our captain along with an on-board naturalist. Marine wildlife can be observed in Monterey Bay year-round. In late winter/spring we see the northbound migration of gray whales, traveling from Baja to Alaska, which often includes sightings of mothers with newborn calves. It is also possible to see humpback whales arriving for their summer feeding season in Monterey Bay.
This entry was posted on March 1, 2016 by jennyo
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Sunday 2/21/16 Whale Watching on board Velocity, Monterey Bay:
his entry was posted on February 25, 2016 by jennyo
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1/18/16 There are lots of gray whales migrating southbound along the Monterey Bay shoreline. Over the last week, large pods of dolphins and Orcas (killer whales) were also spotted in the bay. This is a good time for to see ocean birds, too, such as albatross, shearwaters, cormorants, brandts, loons and more!
Winter until the spring is Gray Whale season in Monterey Bay. The chance of sighting California Gray Whales cross Monterey Bay during this period is around 90% as they migrate from cold arctic waters to the warm Baja Peninsula.
20,000 California gray whales make their annual migration from Alaska to Baja California each winter
Gray Whale, Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz. Photo: Teddy Daligga. January 15, 2012 (Stagnaro archive)
his entry was posted on January 19, 2016 by jennyo
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Great trips over the Thanksgiving Weekend
Saturday 11/28 We found a trio of humpback whales as they fed offshore near Moss Landing. We had nice close up looks at tails and blow holes. One curious calf passed very close to the boat! Everyone got a great look at his entire "little" – 20 foot long – body.
Friday 11/27 Lots of lunge feeding activity off of Wilder Ranch, a few miles offshore. Spotted ~ 7 humpback whales, plus a few hundred common dolphins doing their usual leaping and bow riding! The dolphins were also fairly close to the Santa Cruz shore. We saw sea lions, sea otters and some of the humpback whales swam nearby to the boat.
11-28-15 Humpback whales lunge feeding, Monterey Bay. Photo Karen Ewart
Watch Video: What a wonderful whale watching moment from August 2015. Rick Wood, Thanks for posting the video and for your Yelp review! Humpback breaches close to Santa Cruz Whale Watching tour boat.
Common Dolphins can be observed in very large groups and are generally found in warmer waters. They are found worldwide.
The Short-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is a species of Common Dolphin. It has a larger range than the Long-beaked Common Dolphin (D. capensis), occurring throughout warm-temperate and tropical oceans, with the possible exception of the Indian Ocean. There are more Short-beaked Common Dolphins than any other dolphin species in the warm-temperate portions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The color pattern on the body is unusual. The back is dark and the belly is white, while on each side is an hourglass pattern colored light grey, yellow or gold in front and dirty grey in back.
Monterey whale watching is full of amazing delights! No two trips are the same. Whale watching on Monterey Bay trips depart out of the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor every weekend, year round. Winter whale watching we have some humpbacks might remain in the bay over winter. We are soon looking to see gray whales on migration from Alaska to Baja California.
This entry was posted on November 30, 2015 by jennyo.
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In the spirit of the #OptOutside campaign to get out in Nature instead of shopping, we invite you to join us whale watching on Friday, Nov 27. Forget the mall; enjoy the beautiful Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary!
Tuesday 11/24 Today another good show – We saw humpback whales and dolphins both – Singing in the rain!
November 20-22: On all recent trips we've had scattered humpback whales not too far out of Santa Cruz. Whales are feeding and showing off a few good breaches, pec slapping. On Friday a nursery pod of common dolphins, bow riding, breaching, chirping. Sea otters lounging in the kelp.
Orca Video Goes Viral!
We got picked up on TV’s Right This Minute! Crew member Damian Alcarez' video is certainly compelling. Wild free killer whales healthy living in Monterey Bay.
This entry was posted on November 24, 2015 by jennyo
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Last trip was Saturday, Nov 14 – Another great outing on Monterey Bay, and we didn’t have to travel far for wildlife action. We saw 8 humpback whales within 3 miles of Santa Cruz, feeding, and tail throwing. Then we saw 300 common dolphins out near the Soquel Canyon, bow riding and jumping. Great trip!
Feeding Humpbacks, with Santa Cruz Whale Watching. Photo: Nancy Costa
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Friday, Nov 20 at 11:00 AM
Saturday, Nov 21 at 12:00 PM
Sunday Nov 22 at 12:00 PM
Next Week Holiday Schedule: Tues 11/24 at 10:00 AM, Wed 11/25 at 11:00 AM, Thanksgiving Day 11/26 at 9:30 AM and Friday 11/27 at 12:00 PM
Velocity, Star of Stagnaro Charter Boats on Monterey Bay
This entry was posted on November 18, 2015 by jennyo.
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Here it is! We had an amazing interaction with orcas on Thursday, 11/12/15. An adult along with a juvenile orca, or killer whale, came right up the the whale watching boat Velocity to give us a little spray. Crew member Damian’s footage captures it all!
Video no longer available.
Orca, or Killer Whales, can be seen at any time but are unpredictable. They are however most common during April, May, and June as they predate on northbound migrating Gray Whales, usually mother and newborn calves. Killer Whales are found worldwide. Most Orca seen in Monterey Bay are the “Transient” type somewhat nomadic, feeding on marine mammals.
This entry was posted on November 18, 2015 by jenny
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Thursday, Nov 12 — Today was the ultimate whale watching adventure on Monterey Bay, with humpback whales, dolphins, and orcas! We enjoyed crisp, clear conditions, sunny skies, and…
10 Humpback Whales — A few miles outside the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor we found a pod of feeding humpback whales, including one surface lunge.
100s of Dolphins — We went a little further, and found a pod of 400-500 common dolphins. The dolphins were frolicking, breaching, and chirping to each other.
Killer Whales/Orcas — Even further out we found a pod of at least 8 orcas, which had recently made a kill, and were teasing two very distressed humpbacks while doing tail slaps and drive-bys of the boat. Some passengers got misted by orca breath!
Common Dolphins Photo: Michael Nelson
Amazing Monterey whale watching! Whale watching Monterey trips depart out of Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor at the north tip of Monterey Bay. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is vibrant with healthy wildlife: humpback whales, orca killer whales, dolphins, sea lions, birds, jellies, otters and the beautiful view of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
This entry was posted on November 14, 2015 by jennyo.
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11/11 Wednesday: 10 humpback whales today, some friendly whales approached nearby the boat for great looks. The whales were a bit closer in to Santa Cruz, about 5 miles offshore. During the later part of the trip we found 3-4 humpbacks lunge feeding near Santa Cruz. Also saw about 100 common dolphins – many young ones tagging along with mama dolphins!
Humpbacks still here! Lots of great whale watching in Monterey Bay!
This entry was posted on November 11, 2015 by jennyo.
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Sunday 11/8/15: 8 humpback whales, including one frisky breacher! 1000 common dolphins!
Saturday 11/7/15: Orcas! Surface feeding humpback whales, 100s of dolphins near the boat. Monterey Bay amazing wildlife rain and shine.
This entry was posted on November 9, 2015 by jennyo.
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10-29-15: Thursday – We spotted nine humpback whales feeding in Monterey Bay offshore from the Pajaro River mouth, showing tail throw surface behaviors. Monterey whale sightings included a mother humpback whale and her calf. Heading home we found a pair of bottlenose dolphins near Pleasure Point, we got a good look at them frolicking in Monterey Bay!
Humpback whale mid-tail throw, Monterey Bay with Santa Cruz Whale Watching
This entry was posted on October 30, 2015 by jennyo.
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10-27-15: Tuesday – Today we found quite a few humpback whales, with several “drive-bys” close to the boat for amazing looks.
10-24-15: Saturday we saw a FIN WHALE, 100s of common dolphins, many humpback whales in middle of Monterey Bay.
10-23-15: Friday we had a special treat – came across 4 ORCAS! We were able to watch them for about 10-15 minutes. Plus 10 humpback whales – even a few breaches!
Breaching whale, Monterey Bay. Photo: Gabe Torres
Orca, Monterey Bay 10-23-15 Photo: Michael Nelson
10-21-15: Wednesday’s whale watching trip we had 100’s of common dolphins, plus a friendly curious humpback whale that spent a long time near to the boat for wonderful wildlife viewing. Humpbacks were spotted near Santa Cruz, too – offshore from 26th Ave and another whale about a mile offshore from Lighthouse Point.
This entry was posted on October 27, 2015 by jennyo.
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Wednesday 9/30/15 Great trip! About 10-20 humpback whales on our Monterey whale watching trip…Big open lunge feeding near the boat.
Humpback whales lunge feeding, Monterey Bay, September 30, 2015 with Santa Cruz Whale Watching. Photo Credit: Michael Nelson
Friday 10/2/15 Many whales! We had some close "horizontal" lunge feeding about 20 yards from the boat, the humpback whale showed its pectoral fin then lunged sideways in a way we were able to see its eye! Later we had about 20 whales surface lunge feeding at the same time, and numerous common dolphins.
How many whales can you count? Photo Michael Nelson
Saturday 10/3/15 More fabulous views of humpback whales in Monterey Bay! Close breaches! Close-by pec slaps and tail slaps.
This entry was posted on October 4, 2015 by jennyo.
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What an amazing month for whale watching in Monterey Bay! Plenty of humpback whales, common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and a special day with Orcas! Plus a pair-trio of humpbacks took up residence very near shore in Santa Cruz, feeding on schools of anchovies near West Cliff Drive for over a week. Here are some highlights from September.
9-25-15: Yesterday whale watching we saw humpbacks everywhere we looked! At least 30 whales!
9-21-15: Bottlenose Dolphins in the harbor. Hundreds of Common Dolphins, bow riding, riding the wake. Many groups of multiple Humpbacks feeding, feeding, feeding. Partial lunge feed. WOW!
Santa Cruz Whale Watching 9-21-15 M.Reynolds
9-16-15: One of September's most memorable trips! We had a group of 7 orca near the boat! Epic show today! 7 orcas by the boat; orcas were picking on a humpback whale and on a shark, and we got to see an orca breach! Countless lunge feeding humpback whales. Common dolphins and sunfish, too!
Wild and free Orca! 9-16-15, Monterey Bay. Photo Nico Ientile
The whales at West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz were amazing while Whale Watching in Monterey Bay with Stagnaro Charters
VIDEO by RitaZeroThis entry was posted on September 26, 2015 by jennyo.
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It’s been an active week on Monterey Bay with large groups of humpback whales lunge feeding on schools of anchovies, along with common dolphins, sea lions, birds, and a special encounter with orca! Here’s a recap of this week’s sightings with Santa Cruz Whale Watching tours.
Groups of 8-10 humpback whales lunge feeding repeatedly for over 2 hours! We had a pod of common dolphins mixed in with the whales. The dolphins were swimming with the boat alongside sea lions, and many feeding birds. One of the humpback whales was rolling around in the bait ball, showing off belly and ventral pleats—creases that run vertically down the underside of a whale’s jaw all the way to its stomach. When feeding, the ventral pleats expand like an accordion to accommodate a huge amount of food-rich water.
We found a group of 3-4 humpback whales that were particularly friendly among more whales spread out across the bay. These animals were “lazy” feeding at the surface – one would just poke his snout out with a mouthful of anchovies, then slowing descend back down… We had more common dolphins that stayed with the boat all day! As we were starting to head back to Santa Cruz Harbor, we were intercepted by a single humpback whale doing tail throws and then several minutes of tail slaps!
Oh boy! On Friday there were more humpbacks sighted, “lazy” feeding on the abundant anchovies as before, but today’s whale watchers had a special treat with a group of four Orcas! There were two males accompanying a mother/calf pair. The orcas even spent a few minutes near to the boat, swimming under the boat in clear conditions – you could see them under the water! One passenger reported feeling the spray from their blowhole!
Orca Monterey Bay 8-28-15 | Photo: Michael Nelson
Orca photos courtesy Michael B. Nelson
Don’t Miss the new PBS special “BIG BLUE LIVE” airing Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday on your local PBS station. It’s all about the amazing wildlife and ecosystems of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary that we get to enjoy every day! Tune in then come out with us on our beautiful boat Velocity!
Humpback whale visits passengers on board Velocity, with Santa Cruz Whale Watching
This entry was posted on August 30, 2015 by jennyo
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Monterey Bay Whales have been seen from shore near Santa Cruz since the first week of August. Humpback whales and small groups of dolphins have been spotted out in front of Seabright Beach and also along West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz. A couple of dolphins even got to frolicking inside the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor for a few days!
The real action is out on the Monterey Bay! Join us on board Velocity for a whale watching trip — week days and weekends out of the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor. BUY TICKETS
Here's an update of what we've been seeing this week out in the Monterey Bay.
Over last weekend, Aug 8-9 we saw numerous humpback whales feeding over the canyons nearby Moss Landing – 8 animals surfacing, one calf! And a few pec slaps. Also Friday, 150 or so common dolphins were swimming with the boat, playing alongside the boat, breaching and bow riding.
Dolphins Monterey Bay Santa Cruz Whale Watching 8-7-15 Megan Peterson
Monday and Tuesday, August 10-11 we had large groups of humpback whales feeding over the Monterey Canyon. Instead of krill this day they were chasing huge schools of anchovies, right under boat (the water very clear! – We could see them swimming several feet down!) The whales displayed lots of great fluke ups, one energetic breach on Tuesday, many tail throws, some tail slaps. We saw many common dolphins both days. The dolphins were breaching high out of the water and bow riding. Seabirds including a jaeger and albatross. We also saw the same little humpback calf swimming around; yesterday he followed us and swam under boat!
August 12 – Wednesday we had calm waters, got to see 20+ humpback whales feeding with sea lions…and hundreds of common dolphins.
And today, Friday 8/14 we saw whales! Lots of humpback whales feeding over Monterey Canyon… However the wind came up pretty fast & furious and we had to move out of the area.
Thriving sea life abounds in Monterey Bay!
This entry was posted on August 14, 2015 by jennyo.
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We've found some very entertaining humpback whales over Monterey Canyon this week on Velocity whale watching trips:
Mola Mola, or sunfish spotted from Sea Stag Six on Sunday, July 19. Photo: Megan Peterson
Thursday 7/16: We found 10-12 humpback whales about 8 miles out; it was a long drive out there, but our first glimpse was a double breach! Throughout Most were diving for food, giving us some lovely looks at tail flukes, near and far. Also "logging," which is a whale just relaxing at the water's surface. And some splashy tail throws! We also saw Dall's porpoises – they are so fast! Otters loose from the kelp, sea lions frolicking way out over the Monterey canyon. More humpback whales appeared near to Santa Cruz on our way back to port. Jellyfish dotted the water as the sun was breaking through the morning fog. Great trip!
Tuesday 7/14: We found three humpbacks, lots of flukes! We counted 12 bottlenose dolphins near the Cement Ship at Seacliff State Beach, cruising along with boat. We saw eight Great white sharks, two of which were alongside the boat for several minutes!
Video Great White Sharks with Santa Cruz Whale Watching 7-14-15 M.Peterson
Saturday 7/11: We saw four Humpback whales –one got kind of friendly, approaching the boat for some up-close looks. The highlight of the day was seeing a blue whale! We also got to watch two dozen Pacific white side dolphins out in the Monterey Bay.
Blue Whale, Monterey Bay, June 2012. Photo:GManako
This entry was posted on July 24, 2015 by jennyo.
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July 7, 2015: Tuesday we had another neat encounter with 20 Risso's dolphins. The dolphins were in echelon swimming formation- which is all in a row ahead of the boat. We also had fun alongside 6 pacific white sided dolphins bow-riding with the Velocity. In the middle of the bay, near Monterey Canyon we found several humpback whales feeding, some surfacing close to the boat. And one of our favorite pelagic birds: 2 black-footed albatross!
Risso’s Dolphins near Santa Cruz CA. Photo: Michael Nelson
July 6, 2015: On Monday we barely made it out of the harbor before spotting a pair of whales breaching repeatedly, maybe a mile or 2 off shore. As we got closer, we discovered that this was a mom and calf frolicking in the sunshine! They displayed pectoral fin slaps, tail throws, tail slaps, chin slaps, and some breaches as well! Later, a third whale joined the party. On the way home, we spotted a few otters wrapped up in the kelp, aerating their fur with their paws. Great day!
Otters in the Kelp near Santa Cruz, CA Photo: Jim Goff
July 5, 2015: Balmy conditions, good visibility through to the sea floor near Santa Cruz. Just east of the Soquel Canyon we found a pod of 12 Risso's dolphins; we could see them under the water, down about 20 feet. Risso's are not usually very playful but this day they were leaping or "porpoising," spy-hopping and acting quite animated for us to see.
We did not have to travel much farther for some beautiful views of humpback whales. We started to see several small groups of 2-3 animals about the middle of Soquel Canyon hear Santa Cruz. We saw breaching, pec slaps, fin slaps, and a few whales swam up to and around the boat. Later we saw a half-dozen harbor porpoises and a raft of about 20 otters in the kelp near Santa Cruz. To top it off there were harbor seals on the docks, soaking up the sun in the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor.
Albatross, Monterey Bay, CA. Photo © john c. bruckman
On our weekend trips we've been visiting South Santa Cruz County near Seacliff State Beach to catch glimpses of the juvenile great white sharks that are spending some time in the area.
Great white sharks visit Santa Cruz County on the Monterey Bay, June/July 2015. Photos: Azure Cohen
We're also very pleased to report that our local heroes – the Whale Entanglement Team (or WET) successfully freed a humpback whale caught up in fishing line this week. Go Team!
This entry was posted on July 8, 2015 by jennyo.
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Catching up on recent sightings from this week: MONDAY 6/29: 8 humpback whales, with several close drive-bys, flukes. 15 Risso’s Dolphin, close good looks with mother/calf pairs. TUESDAY 6/30: 2 humpbacks, tail throws, peck slapping, and 4 white sharks–one was 10 feet long, right under the boat for two minutes. Wednesday – Friday we checked out more sharks near Santa Cruz, and we continue to see humpback whales feeding and showing beautiful surface behaviors! We had a particularly friendly animal at the bow of the boat on Thursday, what a majestic sight! Join us this summer!
July 3 morning trip Humpback Whales | Photo: Michal Nelson
Morning Trip July 3, 2015. photo Michael Nelson
Humpback Fluke, June 27, 2015 with Santa Cruz Whale Watching | Photo: Jim Goff
Otters in the Monterey Bay kelp beds. Photo: Jim Goff
Whale spout, June 27, 2015. Photo: Jim Goff
Shark Week in Santa Cruz! Photo: Azure Cohen
This entry was posted on July 3, 2015 by jennyo.
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Yesterday we saw 5 humpback whales feeding out near Moss Landing, plus a big Male Orca, we got to watch him for about an hour! We also got a glimpse of Leatherback sea turtles and and there were Great White Sharks spotted near Seacliff Beach near Aptos. Today 2 particularly lively humpback whales breaching and tail slapping, showing all how to enjoy Monterey Bay!
This entry was posted in Recent SIghtings and tagged humpback whales, whale watching monterey on June 26, 2015 by jennyo.
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June 24, 2015: Happy Summer! This weekend marked the official start of summer and our humpback whale feeding season here in Monterey Bay! Father's Day Sunday we had an awesome whale watching trip: We saw 25 humpback whales throughout the trip. The animals were swimming together in groups of 8 or so, doing close drive-bys. And we had a pair of full-grown whales breaching in tandem right near the boat, out in the center of Monterey Bay.
June Humpbacks. Photo: G. Manako
Monday and Tuesday both were successful sightings of about 10 humpback whales out near Moss Landing, and 2 more near shore off of Capitola. A few curious whales swam near the boat allowing our passengers to enjoy great detailed looks. On Tuesday also saw the mighty Mola Mola (or sunfish) which looked to be at least 1000 pounds!
For more recent sightings updates and photos visit our Facebook Page for more photos and regular notice of upcoming trips.
This entry was posted on June 24, 2015 by jennyo.
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What a treat to spend World Ocean Day seeing humpback whales in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary! Sunny skies and calm ocean conditions added to the beauty of it all. We saw multiple humpback whales doing all types of surface behavior!
Humpback whales – tail slaps – Monterey Bay, CA with Santa Cruz Whale Watching (Azure Cohen)
This entry was posted on June 8, 2015 by jennyo.
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Sunday, June 1, 2015: The absolute highlight of the weekend was Orca! Sunday we got really lucky and saw Orca! They were a frisky bunch, showing off incredible breaching, tail throwing, and close drive-bys for over an hour! We also witnessed sea lion kill. In total we saw 6 killer whales: 1 male, 3 females, 2 calves all out above Soquel Canyon about 5 miles off shore from Santa Cruz.
5-31-15 Orca photos: Azure Cohen
Tuesday, June 2, 2015: We found a pair of humpback whales that were quite the crowd pleasers! Multiple breaches, tail lobs, tail throws, pec slaps! Meanwhile a pod of common dolphins crossed paths with us and swam with the boat, bow riding and shooting straight up out of the water! Last but not least, a solo humpback whale right off Rio Del Mar was feeding in the shallows, and demonstrated surface lunge feeding. Great day for humpbacks!
This entry was posted on June 3, 2015 by jennyo.
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MEMORIAL DAY! Monday, May 25, 2015: Today we saw 25 plus humpback whales out on Monterey Bay. There were many close “drive-bys” and close-up pec slapping behaviors, and a couple of tail throws! What a splash! We saw whales all along the way to the middle of Monterey Bay; several small groups of feeding humpback whales coming and going. We had good weather this trip!
This entry was posted on May 25, 2015 by jennyo.
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Saturday, May 16, 2105: We counted 12 humpback whales out in the center of Monterey Bay. Four very friendly humpback whales stayed with the boat for a half-hour! These friendly whales were spy-hopping, pec-slapping, breaching and spinning near the boat, and looking up "people watching." Everyone got sprayed by their spout!
photo: Michael Nelson
Sunday, May 17, 2015: There were 15 humpback whales on Sunday, and what a show! We got to see all types of whale surface behavior on display, including tandem breaches! Tandem tail lobbing! One whale approached the boat to look up at the people, another friendly encounter.
Join us this week and Memorial Day Weekend! Three-four hour tour departs from the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor at the north end of Monterey Bay.
Photo: Michael Nelson
This entry was posted on May 18, 2015 by jennyo.
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Yes we have been seeing whales, whale, whales!
Last Wed 5/6 we saw 2 pairs of mother & calf gray whales. We also saw many sea lions and a sea otter mom & baby.
Fri 5/8 we were on an inner bay cruise close to shore and saw a humpback whale,
Sat 5/9 we saw about 20 Orcas!!! They were coming up to the boat and passing underneath. They also were riding the wake and bow riding. There were also a few humpback trying to get in on the fun.
Sunday May 10th we saw Humpback just a few miles out. They did multiple breaches and behaviors.
Sea Lions on every trip and Sea birds, Albatross! We also have heard from many people seeing Gray Whales and Humpbacks from West Cliff & SeaCliff Beach/Cement Ship. Our next trips are Wed 5/13, Fri 5/15, Sat 5/16 & Sun 5/17.
This entry was posted on May 13, 2015 by jennyo.
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Sunday, April 19: We saw large groups of 6+ BLUE WHALES mixing and mingling with HUMPBACK whales. There is plenty of krill for the whales to eat out at the canyons!
Springtime in Monterey Bay also brings us humpback whales, orca, 5 species of dolphins, seals and sea lions, otters, plus countless migrating and pelagic birds. Our next trips are Friday 4/24 at 12:00 pm & Saturday 4/25 at 10:00 am. More trips available most weekends and selected weekdays.
Blue Whale, Monterey Bay, Photo: Gene Manako
The Blue Whale is the largest animal to ever inhabit the earth including the dinosaurs. In the early days blues reached 125' in length and 150 tons. Today they rarely exceed 90'. They are found in all oceans but are endangered, approximately 10,000 worldwide. Their distinctive high spout can reach over 25' and be spotted many miles away. Blue whales can usually be found in the bay in the spring and summer when they feed on krill (small shrimp like crustaceans).
Blue Whale, Monterey Bay, Photo: Gene Manako
This spring Santa Cruz Whale Watching trips have been amazing! In April alone we’ve seen countless dolphins (several species!), humpback whales, blue whales, gray whales and orca on the hunt. We offer a convenient departure point at the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor, our large & comfortable yacht powered by brand new eco-friendly engines, and our friendly and informative crew to make your Monterey Bay tour an unforgettable experience. Join us! BUY TICKETS
Velocity, Stagnaro Charter Boats on Monterey Bay
"The ocean comes alive when you get out onto the water," says Ken Stagnaro. Here's a great article that came out in the San Francisco Chronicle Sunday "Santa Cruz" special travel section.
And interesting, exciting news to share on Earth Day: Humpback whale on it’s way to being removed from the endangered species list!
Humpback whale, Monterey Bay, Photo: Albert Djikstra
This entry was posted on April 22, 2015 by jennyo.
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ORCAS Thursday 4/16 – It was nature in action as we witnessed a pack of four orca hunt and ultimately kill a seal for their food. We also saw three (!) blue whales, with huge blows and tail-slapping behaviors. See VIDEO on our Facebook page.
Orcas, Monterey Bay with Santa Cruz Whale Watching. March 2013. Photo: Carol Harmon
This entry was posted on April 17, 2015 by jennyo.
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Here are the latest sightings on Monterey Bay: On Tuesday April 14 we saw one dozen humpback whales! The whales gave us some good drive-bys for close looks at these amazing animals! Whales were spotted in the center of the Bay near Monterey Canyon, about 5 miles offshore from Santa Cruz. There were at least 200 sea lions and 200 short-beaked common dolphins near Capitola, about 6 miles out.
There are at least 5 species of dolphins and porpoises seen throughout the year in Monterey Bay. The short-beaked common dolphin is a species of Common Dolphin. The color pattern on the body is unusual. The back is dark and the belly is white, while on each side is an hourglass pattern colored light grey, yellow or gold in front and dirty grey in back.
We are also enjoying the seasonal appearance of the Velella, a relative of jellyfish. These bright blue, "sailed" creatures blow along the ocean surface and onto our local beaches.
Humpback whales are abundant this season in Monterey Bay! They are arriving early for their annual feeding season. Since April 1 we've also spotted blue whales, Orca, and gray whales completing their annual migration. Join us on a whale watching trip on board Velocity! Our whale watching trips depart out of Santa Cruz at the north end of Monterey Bay. BUY TICKETS
Common Short Beaked Dolphin, sea birds near Capitola on Monterey Bay, with Santa Cruz Whale Watching. Photo: Michael Nelson
This entry was posted on April 15, 2015 by jennyo.
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First Blue Whale of the Season
Sightings Report for Wednesday, April 8, 2015: One BLUE WHALE, 8 HUMPBACK WHALES – 2 of which showed us all their tricks – and 200+ COMMON DOLPHINS!
Next whale watching trips are Thursday 4/9 at 10:30 AM, Sunday, 4/12 at noon. Call (831) 427-0230
Now's your chance to see blue whales, humpback whales, gray whales, dolphins and possible orcas! All have been sighted in Monterey Bay this week.
Blue Whale, Monterey, June 2012. Photo: GManako
Blue Whale, Monterey, June 2012. Photo: GManako
This entry was posted on April 8, 2015 by jennyo.
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Monday, March 30, 2015: Wonderful sights of humpback whales in Monterey Bay! On today’s Monterey whale watching trip we saw eight humpback whales.Several whales were feeding and surfacing near the boat. At one point one animal showed us a spectacular tail throw! The humpback whales were spotted in Monterey Bay North near Santa Cruz. Then we had dolphins! A pod of about 200 common dolphins were swimming, leaping, and bow riding with the boat.
Gray whales will continue their migration through the Spring season, crossing Monterey Bay on their northbound trip back from Baja to Alaska feeding grounds.We'll be out looking to spot grays on whale watching trips all week. Whale Watching out of Santa Cruz Harbor run daily through Friday, April 3 – Get your tickets now: BUY TICKETS.
Our 60-foot eco-powered touring boat, Velocity, accommodates up to 65 passengers comfortably. Our galley snack bar serves grilled burgers, snacks, coffee and cold drinks. See the Monterey Bay on Velocity!
PHoto: DJ Nordland | Velocity – Stagnaro Charter Boats
This entry was posted on March 31, 2015 by jennyo.
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Saturday, March 21, 2015: Breaching humpback whales! We saw a total of 8 humpbacks across Monterey Bay and near Santa Cruz, plus a small group of common dolphins.
Sunday, March 22, 2015: Counted 12 humpback whales doing every kind of behavior, and 200 common dolphins out in Monterey Bay.
Monday, March 23, 2015: Five gray whales feeding – a rare sight! The gray whales took a migration break to feed in about 35 feet of water just off Santa Cruz, on the north side of Monterey Bay. Also had some close “drive-bys” from the gray whales today. We saw 200 common dolphins – the dolphins were breaching and bow-riding and having a great time!
3-20-15 Humpback whale breach sequence, Monterey Bay with Santa Cruz Whale Watching. Photo Courtesy: Geoff & Tommy Mitchell
Gray Whale northbound migration in full swing now through April, early May! Read 5 Fun Facts about Gray Whales.
Join us for year-round marine wildlife adventure! Next Monterey whale watching trips are Wednesday and Friday this week, and daily whale watching next week for Spring Break starting March 28- April 3.
Commitment to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Our main tour boat Velocity is now powered by brand new engines that meet the latest EPA standards in clean burning, fuel saving marine motors. These engines are quiet, no gassy smell, and fast!
See the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary with Santa Cruz Whale Watching!
This entry was posted on March 23, 2015 by jennyo.
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Tuesday, March 17: For St Patrick's Day we had really exciting showings from five gray whales migrating across Monterey Bay. We were able to observe a group of three gray whales for 45 minutes up the coast. The whales were exhibiting lots of behaviors we don’t always get to see from grays: chin slapping, spy-hops, a great show from gray whales. Then we saw two more gray whales breaching out of the water about 3 miles off the Santa Cruz coastline. We also had a super fun pod of long beaked common dolphins riding alongside the boat!
Long beaked common dolphins. Monterey Bay, with Santa Cruz Whale Watching. Photo: Michael Nelson
Twice every year over 20,000 gray whales pass through Monterey Bay waters off of Santa Cruz. The first time occurs from December through mid February when they are migrating south from the cold arctic waters of the Bering Sea to their winter calving grounds off of the Baja Peninsula. Then north again to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea of Alaska. Northbound whales are usually traveling across Monterey Bay from mid February through April.
This 10,000+ mile round-trip is one of the longest migrations of any animal known. Peak northbound migration is around mid March. The gray whale can reach 45' long. Females are usually larger than males. During their migration they are constantly traveling at 2-4 miles per hour. This can make for ideal viewing. Gray whales will sound (dive) for 2-5 minutes, sometimes longer. Their northern migration tends to be more social and leisurely. At times they can be spotted mating, breaching and "spy-hopping".
Join us for year-round marine wildlife adventure! Next whale watching trips are Friday, March 20 at 11:00 AM, Saturday, March 21 at 12:00 PM and Sunday the 22nd at 10:00 AM. Spring Break Trips on offer, too! Whale watching trips run Monday, Wednesday and Friday next week.
See the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary with Santa Cruz Whale Watching!
Our main tour boat Velocity is now powered by brand new engines that meet the latest EPA standards in clean burning, fuel saving marine motors. These engines are quiet, no gassy smell, and fast!
This entry was posted on March 18, 2015 by jennyo.
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Friday, March 13: Breaching humpback whales! Friday we saw ten humpback whales displaying epic surface behaviors – breaching, tail throwing, and pec-slapping right next to the boat. The action took place near Soquel Canyon on the Santa Cruz side of Monterey Bay. Pleasant ocean conditions!
Photo: Michael Nelson
Saturday, March 14: Whale watchers amazed by 45 minutes of breaches from a single humpback whale, followed by a pair of humpbacks feeding and diving. We also saw a pair of gray whales apparently mating, and a single "wheelie-popping" gray whale also breached!
Typical whale surface behaviors.
Posted March 15, 2015 by jennyo.
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Friday, March 6— We saw at least 8 humpback whales and 100 common dolphins.
Common Dolphins, Monterey Bay, March 2015. Photo: Michael Nelson
Saturday, March 7 — Great looks near and far of 8-10 humpback whales and amazing surface behavior: breaching, tail flips, pec-slapping! Plus 20-30 common dolphins bow riding alongside the boat.
Whale Watching Monterey 3/7/15. Photo: Michel Nelson
Sunday, March 8 — Group of 5-8 humpback whales were feeding and surfacing very close to the boat! We stayed and watched the action for over an hour.
Wednesday, March 11— A little rain won’t stop us! The sun came out as we ventured out onto flat calm seas. Passengers were treated to more surface feeding and activity near the boat by 4-5 humpback whales. Great looks at 2 gray whales on northbound migration. Check out some video from March 11 on our Facebook page.
Our main tour boat Velocity is now powered by brand new engines that meet the latest EPA standards in clean burning, fuel saving marine motors. These engines are quiet, have no gassy smell, and fast!
Velocity, Star of Stagnaro Charter Boats/ Santa Cruz Whale Watching, Monterey Bay.
This entry was posted on March 11, 2015 by jennyo.
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Saturday and Sunday we had 10-15 humpback whales each day, most whales are in the north bay on the Santa Cruz side of Monterey Bay. On Sunday, March 1, we had lunge feeding humpback whales at the surface, and witnessed several breaches in the distance. We saw 500-1000 common dolphins on both trips out this weekend! Today reports from the harbor that humpback whales can be seen breaching and lunge feeding on anchovies just a few miles offshore. Tickets available for whale watching trips this weekend:
Double rainbow at the harbor on Saturday! photo: Michael Nelson
Humpback whale, Monterey Bay on Saturday 2/28/15 photo: Michael Nelson
Common Dolphins, Monterey Bay, 2/28/15 photo: Michael Nelson
Common Dolphin, Monterey Bay, March 1, 2015. photo: Michael Nelson
Dolphins and Birds! photo: Michael Nelson
This entry was posted on March 4, 2015 by jennyo.
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Tuesday Whale Watching Trip on Monterey Bay: Yesterday 2/24 we were thrilled to see a humpback whale breach, a huge pod of common dolphins, sea lions, birds galore, and otters!
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
This entry was posted on February 25, 2015 by jennyo.
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Photo Credit: Jenn Byrd
Friday, February 20: We saw 8 humpback whales, a few came close to the boat! and 1000 common dolphins, bow riding alongside Velocity.
Saturday, February 21: More humpback whales and a few gray whales passing through. We caught sight of about 100 common dolphins out in the Monterey Bay on Saturday.
Sunday, February 22: Sunday whale watching trip – We saw 6-7 humpback whales together with gray whales! The grays and humpbacks were traveling and feeding together, following giant bait balls of anchovies. Joining in the active feeding were sea lions, pelicans, cormorants, gulls. It was quite a party about 6 miles out from Santa Cruz, just north of the Soquel Hole.
Our dolphin sightings were up again on Sunday; we saw at least 1000 common dolphin enjoying life in the Bay!
MAP: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)
This entry was posted on February 23, 2015 by jennyo.
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Sightings Report for February 18, 2015:
On Wednesday's whale watching trip we had a breacher! Several humpback whales who are "wintering" here in Monterey Bay showed us some amazing action, surface behaviors fairly near to the boat. We also saw gray whales.
This entry was posted on February 20, 2015 by jennyo.
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Whale and Dolphin Sightings Report
Friday 2/13: We saw 4 gray whales, 1000 common dolphins on our outer Monterey Bay Whale Watching trip. Also got great looks at sea lions and otters in the kelp.
Saturday and Sunday 2/14-15: More gray whales, 6-10 humpback whales, and hundreds of common dolphins!
Monday and Tuesday 2/16-17: Both days we saw 12-15 humpback whales. We watched surface feeding and diving/tail fluking. There were hundreds of common dolphins on Monday, though we saw only about 20 dolphins on our Tuesday outing.
Join us for year-round marine wildlife adventure! Next whale watching trips are Saturday, February 21st at 12:00 pm, and Sunday the 22nd at 11:00 am. See the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary with Santa Cruz Whale Watching!
Welcome back Velocity! Our main tour boat is now powered by new engines that meet the latest EPA standards in clean burning, fuel saving marine motors. Look for Velocity in Dock F at the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor.
This entry was posted on February 18, 2015 by jennyo.
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Sightings Report -Tuesday, February 10, 2015: a beautiful day on board Sea Stag Six for whale watching on Monterey Bay. We spent time watching a pair of humpback whales close to Santa Cruz, tail fluking and surface feeding, along with a pod of dolphin. The whales and dolphins were both feeding on small fish – we could see the feeder fish at the surface! Migrating gray whales could be seen from afar, passing through Monterey Bay.
Welcome back Velocity! Our main tour boat is now powered by new engines that meet the latest EPA standards in clean burning, fuel saving marine motors. Monterey whale watching trips resume Friday, February 13 and continue daily through President's Day. Get your tickets to see whales, dolphins, sea lions, otters, birds and more on the beautiful Monterey Bay. All trips leave out of the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor.
Photo: DJ Nordland | Velocity Stagnaro Charter Boats
This entry was posted on February 11, 2015 by jennyo.
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1/24/15 Great trip whale watching on our six-pack boat "Sea Stag Six" this weekend. With sunny winter conditions, it was fun day finding whales in Monterey Bay!
We saw 4 humpback whales and 6 gray whales, with lots of tail flukes from both, and a couple of close drive-bys from a humpback whale. We saw whales from just two miles out from the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor and out to the Monterey Canyon ten miles out!
For the next few weeks, our large public tour boat Velocity is in the shipyard undergoing a complete re-powering. She will soon be powered by engines that meet the latest EPA standards in clean burning, fuel saving marine motors.
We're taking reservations for whale watching on board Velocity February 13 and beyond.
This entry was posted on January 26, 2015 by jennyo.
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Gray whale season is in full swing on Monterey Bay! Each year more than 20,000 gray whales pass through Monterey Bay waters during their annual migration between Alaska and Baja, Mexico. Keep an eye out as gray whales can often be seen from shore! This winter we have a small population of humpback whales who are either staying late or arriving early. Dolphins, sea lions, otters and birds make whale watching an amazing wildlife tour.
Gray whale, Santa Cruz Whale Watching, Monterey Bay. Photo: Teddy Daligga
Notice: From January 5th thru February 5th our main vessel Velocity will be in the shipyard undergoing a complete re-powering. She will soon be powered by engines that meet the latest EPA standards in clean burning, fuel saving marine motors.
Meanwhile we will have our smaller 6-pack charter vessel Sea Stag Six available for whale watching trips in January. The Sea Stag offers small-group and private charters to see the gray whale migration. Our on-board naturalist and captain take you to the best wildlife viewing locations! SEA STAG TRIPS AND TICKETS
Tickets are available on Velocity for trips February 13th and beyond.
This entry was posted on January 19, 2015 by jennyo.
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January 1, 2015 New Year's Day. The wind is down and the sun is up, a great day for whale watching! Today we saw COMMON DOLPHINS, a GRAY WHALE MOTHER AND CALF, and TEN HUMPBACK WHALES, breaching and one that breached multiple times near the boat.
The highlight of this whale watching trip were the gray whales. Our naturalist Megan said that the baby gray whale was tiny, just a newborn! It’s unusual to see this early in the season, and what a sight for our crew and guests!
This entry was posted on January 2, 2015 by jennyo.
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Happy New Year! Even in late December the humpback whales are still populous in Monterey Bay. Whales are feeding on krill and anchovies out near Moss Landing and over the deep waters at the Monterey Canyon. We've been spotting multiple humpback whales each trip!
Migration: We are also now seeing gray whales heading south to their winter breeding & calving grounds in Baja California. Over 10,000 gray whales will pass through our waters this winter as they make the trek south to Baja then back north again in early spring.
Pacific Gray Whale Migration, Alaska to Baja California – Map
For now in Monterey Bay we continue to enjoy the antics of the lingering – and hungry – humpback whales.
Friday, December 26: We saw about 6 humpback whales and also several gray whales on their southbound migration between Alaska and Baja California.
Saturday, December 27: A terrific lunge feeding event in the middle of Monterey Bay. We counted about 30 humpback whales, with a fair amount of close "drive-bys" for amazing looks at the animals.
Tuesday, December 30: A windy day out there, but wonderful sights of the humpback whales lunge feeding. The animals were feeding particularly close by the boat, giving passengers the opportunity to see lunge feeding from the perfect angles, great views of the whale "tongue" and baleen filters.
Introducing our six passenger boat, Sea Stag Six, also available for private, smaller tours.
Happy New Year from all of us at Santa Cruz Whale Watching! We hope to see you soon on board Velocity, or the Sea Stag Six!
This entry was posted on December 31, 2014 by jennyo.
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Saturday, December 20, 2014: Whale Watching on Velocity we saw 15 humpback whales! The whales were breaching, pec slapping, tail throws… Amazing activity!
Sunday, December 21, 2014: We saw 6 humpback whales and around 200 common dolphins! Clear water allowed to see them under the boat as they rode alongside. Then at the end of the trip a small humpback breached by the boat countless times!
Common Dolphins bow riding alongside Velocity. Monterey Bay, CA Photo: Michael Nelson
Tuesday, December 23, 2014: A variety of species today! We saw 4 gray whales and 9 humpback whales. The sun was shining for us today on the 3rd day of winter!
Join us on the beautiful Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary – Fully narrated 3-4 hour whale watching trips depart out of the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor aboard our 60 foot passenger yacht "Velocity."
This entry was posted on December 24, 2014 by jennyo.
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Photo Credit: John Danforth
Join us on Monterey Bay! Whale Watching tours are scheduled for this weekend, Saturday December 20 and Sunday, December 21. Make it a Holiday Adventure with Santa Cruz Whale Watching! For information and reservations call (831) 427-0230
We are still seeing humpback whales in the Bay, and Gray whales are here! Gray whale southbound migration is happening now as whales swim southbound through Monterey Bay towards their winter breeding grounds near Baja California.
Happy Holidays will last all year with a Whale Watching Gift Certificate!
Available in any amount, good for trips throughout the year. Order by phone or visit our ticket office and gift shop at 1718 Brommer Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95062. Open 9am – 4pm daily. Call (831) 427-0230.
This entry was posted on December 19, 2014 by jennyo.
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Whale Watching December 7, 2014: Humpback whales all across the Monterey Bay! One frisky breacher, and over 300 common dolphins doing their usual tricks!
Join us! Holiday Whale Watching trips running weekends through December and New Year's week out of the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor. See humpback whales, gray whales, dolphins and more! FULL SCHEDULE
Great Holiday idea! GIFT CERTIFICATES available in any amount! Good for trips on board Velocity, recipients can use to go on a whale watching trip any time in the future (reservations required). To purchase you can call our shop/ticket office with your credit card # and we'll mail it to you or you can come by the shop in person.
*NEW* Office address: 1718 Brommer St, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Open 9am – 4pm, 7 days a week
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Sunday, November 23, 2014: We started out with some nice humpback whales closer to Santa Cruz, maybe 3 or so. Then we headed out into the Bay and found a pod of at least 600 common dolphins! They were talking and leaping and bow riding…It was awesome!! And THEN we got to watch 6 humpback whales lunging!
This entry was posted on November 26, 2014 by jennyo.
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Monterey Bay is alive with marine life−humpback whales, dolphins, sea lions, birds, even mola-mola! Each day is a little bit different, but always amazing and memorable. Soon we will start looking for gray whales migrating southward from Alaska to Baja California. For now we'll keep enjoying humpback whales, California sea lions, otters and gorgeous marine birds feeding in the Bay.
Saturday: We spotted 10 humpback whales lunge feeding in the Bay among rafts and rafts of California sea lions hoping to grab a few fish for lunch.
Santa Cruz Whale Watching, Monterey Bay, California | Photo: Michael Nelson
Sunday: We were delighted to see bottlenose dolphins frolicking in Santa Cruz before we ventured out into the foggy morning. We had to search but found several humpback whales with some
Monday: To start the trip we saw 500 common dolphins just outside the harbor! They swam alongside the boat and were just spectacular to see. We found 10 humpback whales scattered throughout the Bay. One of them breached pretty near to the boat! Also spotted – a big old mola-mola aka sunfish.
Tuesday: Lunge feeding humpback whales just 2-3 miles out from Santa Cruz. We found more whales further out, near the Soquel Hole about half-way between Santa Cruz and Moss Landing. We had great views of common surface behaviors, including head slap. Everyone enjoyed flat calm ocean conditions on Monterey Bay.
Santa Cruz Whale Watching, Monterey Bay, California | Photo: Michael Nelson
Gray whales will soon be coming through our waters on their annual migration from Alaska feeding grounds, to their mating and calving grounds off the coast of Baja California. Each year scientists along with dedicated enthusiast take a count of this once-endangered whale species. Gray whale spouts are easily visible from land as they try to stay along the coast line to avoid predators in the open waters. Counting efforts are underway at Big Sur. According to this article, the population of gray whales is rising:
"At their lowest back in the last century, there were probably around 3,000 to 5,000 gray whales. … But they've recovered and stabilized at around 20,000." – Dave Weller, NOAA
Here is a link to a comprehensive guide to whale watching with kids along the US west coast, from Washington to Southern California. Read about the many species of whales and dolphins living and thriving in the Pacific Ocean and National Sanctuaries along the Pacific coast.
This entry was posted on November 12, 2014 by jennyo.
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Friday, November 7, 2014: Whale watching today on sparkling autumn waters we had a great whale and dolphin show, beautiful ocean conditions!
Near Moss Landing, we watched 15 humpback whales lunge feeding all afternoon. Surface behaviors including a head slap, and breaching! We had about 5-6 minutes with friendly humpbacks swimming near to the boat. Another loner juvenile whale was spotted exploring near Pleasure Point.
We got some photos of "Shred" a humpback whale with distinctive injured tail, most likely bitten at by Orcas. We've been seeing this guy in the Monterey Bay over spring and summer.
"SHRED" the humpback whale | Monterey Bay, CA. Photo: Michael Nelson
On Wednesday's trip we had "ride-along" bottlenose dolphins right out of the harbor. A group of 6 dolphins rode the bow with us for about 20 minutes! We traveled out to Moss Landing to see 8-10 whales feeding, tail slaps, breaching. And we saw Risso's dolphins on the way back in towards Santa Cruz.
Lunge feeding “chomp” Photo: Michael Nelson
Whales very close to the boat! Photo: Michael Nelson
This entry was posted on November 7, 2014 by jennyo.
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Monday, November 3, 2014: On Saturday the much-needed rain cleared out so we headed out whale watching! We had lots of humpback whales close to home, only 5 miles out of Santa Cruz! We watched a group of 8 humpbacks surface feeding with a herd of about 200 California sea lions. The feeding pack came right by the boat several times. There were another 6-10 whales also in the area around us. Then we came upon a pod of over 300 common dolphins that swam along with the moving boat for about 20 minutes!
Sunday we had lots of whales that were more spread out through the Monterey Bay. But we saw multiple breaching and tail throwing and all kinds of spectacular surface behaviors this day.
A special treat – We saw a Steller Sea Lion on the mile buoy last week, these guys are massive!
Steller Sea Lion, Monterey Bay near Santa Cruz. Photo: Michael Nelson
The next Santa Cruz Whale Watching trip is scheduled for Wednesday, November 5 at 12:00 PM. Flat calm conditions are expected, with the humpback whales and dolphins still actively feeding and frolicking in the Monterey Bay! Our fully-narrated 3-4 hour whale watching trip leaves from The Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor. Trips do go rain or shine!
Look! We had an awesome visit from some friendly humpback whales on Friday, October 18!
Here are some neat aerial photos of humpback whales and sea lions near Moss Landing last week.
Orange County – Our neighbors down south have had some amazing and rare sightings over the last month – pilot whales and sperm whales spotted off of Dana Point! If you are down in the southland get out there! Try Captain Dave's Dolphin Safari or Dana Wharf Whale Watching.
Monterey Bay W.E.T. Rescue Crew, Thank you for your great work! Here's a big shout out to rescuers from the Whale Entanglement Team this week for helping out a juvenile humpback whale who got its tail caught up in buoy line. For more information on how you can support the Monterey Bay W.E.T. volunteer crew, visit the Monterey Bay Marine Life Studies Facebook page.
This entry was posted on November 3, 2014 by jennyo.
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Monday, October 6, 2014: Sunday we had a super warm day on the bay! Hundreds – rafts – of California sea lions were interacting together with humpback whales. We had nice close looks at 10-15 humpback whales near Moss Landing, with many more whales in sight farther out over the deepest parts of the Monterey Bay Canyon.
Today we had a great display of humpback whales surface lunge feeding, vertical lunges out at the Soquel Hole, near Santa Cruz. We saw about 7-8 humpback whales out near Soquel Hole, but one guy was exploring very close to Santa Cruz just a mile out from the Harbor. We also had a group of bottlenose dolphin riding along with us just outside the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor.
Next whale watching trips are this weekend – Friday through Monday. Plus,
BONUS: Fireworks Cruise! Saturday night, October 11, 7-10 PM for the Monte Foundation Benefit Fireworks Show over Capitola Village!
And, this coming Monday, October 13, is Columbus Day! Climb aboard “Velocity” to explore the Monterey Bay!
This entry was posted on October 6, 2014 by jennyo.
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Friday, October 3, 2014: We continue to see scattered humpback whales near shore at Santa Cruz, occasionally lunge feeding…More whales lunge feeding together out in the middle of the bay in groups of 6-10 humpback whales. We saw double-breaching whales Sunday and Monday, plus one pod of 6 dolphins swimming with 200 sea lions with really close drive-bys. October! Still excellent whale activity, and should stay sunny and warm through the weekend!
Posted on October 3, 2014 by jennyo
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Sunday, September 14, 2014: Yesterday our whale watching trip was another rewarding adventure! We had a great group of visitors from around the world to our next door neighbors, sharing the wonders of Monterey Bay marine life. Among the sights:
After the trip we received a note from one of our guests, Tina, who wrote:
"We were so lucky; we got to see so many whales, a slumber party of otters and some beautiful dolphins and sea lions. The highlight was obviously when one of the humpbacks decided to breach and I was so astounded, that I did not get it on film but I did get lots of pictures of gorgeous whale tails and of course the otters"
Well, Tina, we have that moment for you with this photo sent in by another passenger!
Humpback whale breach, Santa Cruz Whale Watching, Monterey Bay, CA. 9/14/14. Photo: Colin Wade
Humpback whale tail, Santa Cruz Whale Watching, Monterey Bay, CA. 9/14/14. Photo: Tina Hughes
Humpback whale tail, Santa Cruz Whale Watching, Monterey Bay, CA. 9/14/14. Photo: Tina Hughes
Humpback whale tail, Santa Cruz Whale Watching, Monterey Bay, CA. 9/14/14. Photo: Tina Hughes
Common Dolphins, Santa Cruz Whale Watching, Monterey Bay, CA. 9/14/14. Photo: Tina Hughes
Otter party! Santa Cruz Whale Watching, Monterey Bay, CA. 9/14/14. Photo: Tina Hughes
Posted on September 15, 2014 by jennyo
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Thursday, September 4, 2014: Today on Sea Stag Six we saw a pod of 5 orcas, including mama and calf practicing their spy hops together! For quite a while we were also able to observe a group of docile humpbacks surfacing amidst a raft of sea lions. But we have to admit the orcas kind of stole the show.
September 3 – 7: Great trips all week! We've been running busy whale watching trips on both our boats – Velocity and Sea Stag. Every time out we're seeing humpback whales this side of Monterey Bay near Santa Cruz. We watched a pair of humpbacks right off the Lighthouse/ Steamer Lane. Whales feeding on large schools of anchovies are being seen from the Harbor-mouth along West Cliff Drive all the way to Natural Bridges. As well as the near-shore sightings we see multiple animals offshore 4-6 miles out over the Soquel Hole and deep water canyons Santa Cruz side of Monterey Bay. Humpbacks near and far can be seen breaching, tail throwing, pec-slapping – We see about 25 whales each trip!
Common dolphins have been joining us, bow-riding with the boat out in deeper waters, and we've been seeing bottlenose dolphins right outside the Harbor, too!
Posted on September 8, 2014 by jennyo
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Wednesday, August 27, 2014: Lots of whale and dolphin action this week on the Santa Cruz side of the bay, about 5-6 miles out from the Santa Cruz Harbor, over the Soquel Canyon. Yesterday we had a lot of fun with about 600 common dolphins frolicking alongside the boat. These dolphins were bow-riding, spinning, breaching and darting under the boat. Clear calm waters let us see them in the water down 20 feet!
Common Dolphin zooming by. photo: Michael Nelson
August 23, 2014 Monterey Bay humpback whales. Photo: Michael Nelson
We also spotted 20 humpback whales, many doing close drive-bys near the boat – a few surface lunges near the boat, and many tail throws and breaching from distance.
All last weekend we've had active humpback whales, showing tail throws, pec slaps, breaching and close approaches, even under the boat! We count 15-20 whales on average each time we go out.
This entry was posted on August 27, 2014 by jennyo.
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photo by Richard Duck
This entry was posted on August 22, 2014 by jennyo.
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Over the last few days we have had full boats and eventful whale watching trips! It is great to have passengers visiting from Europe, Asia and South America on board alongside California natives seeing the beautiful Monterey Bay.
We've seen many humpback whales on each trip this week, exhibiting many surface behaviors! On some occasions whales have ventured close to the boat to pec-slap, tail-slap, and even breach near the boat. When a humpback swims nearby, we can smell the whale's breath – "Oooh! and ewww."
Read more about summer whales in the beautiful Monterey Bay: Santa Cruz Sentinel
Photo: Michael Nelson
Common Dolphin, Monterey Bay August 2014 | Photo: Michael Nelson
This entry was posted on August 15, 2014 by jennyo.
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
August 6, 2014: The last several trips have included many different awesome behaviors from multiple humpback whales, as dozens of animals continue summer feeding in Monterey Bay. In the last week we have seen breaching, tail throws, pectoral slapping and even surface lunge feeding from the animals. We have also had bow riding Dolphins and giant ocean sunfish (Mola Mola) come under the boat! Whale Watching from Santa Cruz in Monterey Bay is as good as it gets right now!
Humpback whales, Monterey Bay, CA July 2014 – Photo: Aaron Neff
Read on for highlights and photos from recent trips this amazing summer in Monterey Bay!
August 5, 2014: Whale watching out on the Sea Stag Six private charter, they saw a mother humpback and her calf breaching in unison, along with many more active whales and a mola mola!
Mola Mola (Sunfish), Monterey Bay, CA August, 2014 – Photo: Jolynne Jones
July 19, 2014: Friendly humpbacks circle the boat up close! They breached, pec slapped and threw their flukes countless times. We saw approximately 40 whales just 20 minutes out from Santa Cruz.
The ultimate selfie! | Thank you Adam Strauss
July 20, 2014: See for yourself! Thank you to Aaron Neff and Sean Kelley for sharing their awesome images of humpback whales, jellies, California sea lions and otters!
Humpback whales, Monterey Bay, CA | July 20, 2014 – Photo: Sean Kelley
California sea lion, Monterey Bay, CA | July 20, 2014 – Photo: Sean Kelley
Humpback whales, Monterey Bay, CA | July 20, 2014 – Photo: Sean Kelley
Beautiful Jelly, Monterey Bay, CA | July 20, 2014 – Photo: Sean Kelley
Sea Otters, Monterey Bay, CA | July 20, 2014 – Photo: Sean Kelley
July 22, 2014: Dozens of humpback whales, blows near and far in every direction! We passed several juvenile male humpbacks that were exploring up near Santa Cruz to get out to Monterey Canyon near Moss Landing to where we found numerous whales and activity: tail throws, breaching and surfacing – some near the boat! the whales were surrounded by rafts of 100s of sea lions. Along the way we discovered a pod of about 20 Dall's porpoises, very fast animals, very sleek and with black and white coloring similar to killer whales. The porpoises zoomed alongside and under the boat!
Santa Cruz Whale Watching trips depart out of the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor aboard Velocity or Sea Stag Six, offering fully narrated 3-4 hour tours of the amazing wildlife and vistas of our Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. See our complete schedule here: Book online now
This entry was posted on August 6, 2014 by jennyo.
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Update July 20: This morning reports coming in of lunge feeding humpbacks at Seacliff State Beach. Join us this afternoon – Trip added at 4:00 PM today!
July 17-19, 2014: Thursday and Friday we had incredible amounts of lunge feeding humpback whales in Monterey Bay! We began to spot whale spouts out at the mouth of the submarine canyon. We saw very dramatic lunge feeding, spy-hopping, tail throws and pec slaps! Many whale behaviors were on display, mixed in with the odd breach here and there.
Photo: Tanis Gomez | October, 2011 | Humpback whales feeding in Monterey Bay
Saturday there were more humpback whales over the canyon – over 20 whales were spotted! They were breaching high out of the water, One humpback whale "chin-slapped" for quite a while. A mother and calf did quite a few "drive-bys." They seem to be curious about the boat and all the interested passengers.
All three days “Wilbur'” our resident humpback whale welcomed us back to Santa Cruz a quarter-mile off the beach and gave us close-up looks all three days. Wilbur is a little guy who has been feeding off Santa Cruz for almost two months now.
More about this season whale watching in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary: Whale Show Returns to the Bay
This entry was posted on July 20, 2014 by jennyo.
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
Tuesday Blue whales in Monterey Bay! The Blue Whale is the largest animal to ever inhabit the earth including the dinosaurs. Their distinctive high spout can reach over 25' and be spotted many miles away. Blue whales can usually be found in the Monterey Bay in the summer when they feed on krill (small shrimp like crustaceans).
Tuesday, July 1, 2014: 3 BLUE WHALES! Yesterday whale watching we saw 3 blue whales out in Monterey Bay: a blue whale mother with her calf, which is fairly rare to see! …and one big blue whale.
Blue whale feeding in Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz Whale Watching. July 1, 2014 Photo: Michael Nelson
We saw 12 humpback whales in middle of Monterey Bay, plus sea lions and a sweet visit with sea otters at the kelp beds.
Monday, June 30, 2014: Three Humpback whales just one mile off of Santa Cruz; More out in the middle of the Bay! The whales were breaching, feeding, good action! Two big whale breaches from a whale on the way back in to Santa Cruz Harbor. Also saw Risso's dolphins.
About the trip: Whale Watching on Monterey Bay. This 3-4 hour Monterey whale watching trip focuses on the Humpback Whale. The local herd comes to Monterey Bay and the central coast for seasonal feeding. They feed on anchovies, sardines, and krill (shrimp like crustaceans). There is also an increased change of spotting Blue whales in Summer and Fall.
This entry was posted on July 2, 2014 by jennyo.
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Lots of humpbacks in middle of Monterey Bay! On the Tuesday whale watching trip we saw 25 whales with a couple of tail throws and close drive bys! Recent trips we have seen one whale in particular that's been feeding on anchovies in the north Bay waters, off our home harbor of Santa Cruz.
Join us whale watching on Monterey Bay! Our next outing is tomorrow, June 26, departing from the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor at 11:00 AM.
Humpback whale fluke and California Sea Lions feasting, Monterey Bay, November 2013. Photo: Jim Holtan
Lunge feeding humpback whales, May, 2014, Monterey Bay. (photo: Michael Nelson)
This entry was posted on June 25, 2014 by jennyo.
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Humpback whale "drive by" photo: Ken Stagnaro
Sunday, June 22, 2014: Today we enjoyed the sights of many humpback whales near Santa Cruz on Monterey Bay. One of the whales approached us and swam right underneath the boat!
Our next whale watching trip is Tuesday, June 24, departing at 11:00 AM. All trips depart out of the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor.
This entry was posted on June 23, 2014 by jennyo.
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Sunday, June 22, 2014: Whale watching on Monterey Bay – Friday and Saturday both whale watching trips saw about 15 humpback whales over the submarine canyon. Its feeding time in Monterey Bay!
Humpback whales come to feed in the waters off of Santa Cruz, Moss Landing and Monterey each year from spring through fall. Join us for amazing whale watching, also dolphins, blue whales, birds, and amazing marine life.
This entry was posted on June 22, 2014 by jennyo.
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Humpback whale breach, Monterey Bay whale watching; archive photo
Saturday, June 14, 2014: Today we got to see KILLER WHALES and nine humpback whales over the Monterey Canyon. And on our way home, close to Santa Cruz we came across three more humpbacks; one breached numerous times from a fair distance!
This entry was posted on June 14, 2014 by jennyo.
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Sunday March 23,2014: On Sunday Santa Cruz Whale Watching had a rare and very special trip on Monterey Bay! We followed a pair of Humpbacks and a Gray whale swimming together! Our Naturalist had never seen this behavior before. We saw a Humpback breaching! Another rare sight was a “Megapod” of a thousand plus Risso's dolphins. They were literally stretching out for over a mile! An awesome sight!
Monday March 24, 2014: We were only a 1/2 mile out of Santa Cruz when we spotted our first whale! It was a young gray. We then headed to outer Monterey Bay where we had another incredible encounter with two humpback whales. They got friendly with the boat, swimming right under us while adrift and looking up at the people. We also got to see several breaches and spectacular tail throws!! It was another special day on Monterey Bay!
On Friday March 21, 2014: we enjoyed 5 Gray Whales in Monterey Bay and dozens of Otters in Santa Cruz.
Saturday March 22, 2014: On Saturday we saw a couple of Humpback Whales and a Gray Whale. A wonderful 4 days of Whale Watching on Monterey Bay!!!
This entry was posted on March 25, 2014 by jennyo.
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We are still seeing a variety of whales on Monterey Bay as is fairly customary for this time of year. With some Humpback Whales starting to show up for summer feeding, there are still Gray whale mother/calf pairs heading past Santa Cruz on their way bay to Alaska for the summer. And if that's not enough there have been numerous sightings of Killer Whales (Orca) as well. They are known to predate on Gray whales during spring migration. There have even been Blue Whales spotted in the bay! It’s a good time to get out on the water!
This entry was posted on April 23, 2013 by admin.
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Gray's are still passing Santa Cruz on their winter migration with regularity. We have also have had several sightings of Killer Whales recently.
This entry was posted on January 18, 2013 by admin.
Book your trip today! Book online now or call (831) 427-0230
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For any Stagnaro Trip
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Gift certificate doesn't guarantee a spot on a specific trip. Reservations required
