Every week, Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching provides the Dana Point Times and San Clemente Times a report on the week’s whale and dolphin sightings from naturalist Laura Lopez, in addition to a weekly log.
Here is Lopez’s report for the past week:
Nona the Naturalist started the day with story time inside the belly of a whale teaching kids some fun facts about our cetaceans. I joined the Lecture Series with Pacific Marine Mammal Center’s Kirsten Donald on sea lion entanglement, rehabilitation and research and then went to the Ocean Institute where I did a presentation on the Gray Whales. Naturalist Ray Hoyt hosted the ACS booth just outside the Dana Wharf office.
Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching 
Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching 
Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching 
Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching 
Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching 
Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching 
Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching 
Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching 
Photo Courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching
On our last whale watch trip on the Dana Pride, we were following two juvenile southbound gray whales traveling faster than usual at about 6 mph. As they were passing close to the Dana Point Harbor jetty, there were two adult northbound gray whales heading right at us! These whales slowed their pace and turned inside us. They were both repeatedly fluking very high in front of the jetty, not moving far in any direction. I turned to a couple I know and said, “I want this whale to breach right here off the Dana Point Headlands.”
All of the sudden, one of these whales did three massive breaches one right after the other. They both then turned towards the Dana Pride and mugged our boat going across our bow, under and alongside our boat several times. We saw multiple spy hops, bubble blasts and rolling during this encounter. They approached a private boat and circled, spy hopped and pushed the boat in circles as if it were a toy!
These very curious whales certainly performed the Grand Finale for the last Festival of Whales trip and most certainly saved the best for last!
Here is the latest Whale Watching Log from Dana Wharf Whale Watching:
March 10 – Bottlenose Dolphin, Common Dolphin
March 9 – 11 Fin Whales, Common Dolphin
March 8 – 3 Fin Whales, 1 Minke Whale and Bottlenose Dolphin
March 7 – 8 Gray Whales, Bottlenose Dolphin
March 6 – 2 Gray Whales, Common Dolphin
March 5 – 13 Gray Whales, Bottlenose Dolphin, Common Dolphin
March 4 – 16 Gray Whales, Bottlenose Dolphin, Common Dolphin, 1 Mola Mola
March 3 – 5 Gray Whales, 1 Minke Whale, Bottlenose Dolphin, Common Dolphin
March 2 – 4 Gray Whales
March 1 – No Trips Due to Weather
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