My landlubber friend Lisa from Tennessee came to visit over the summer and we decided to take a Chicks Only vacation day on the California Riviera, aka my neighborhood. I wanted to do something that cannot happen in Nashville so I decided to organize a day out on the ocean, hoping to see blue whales that migrate here in summertime.
My friends at TMM recommended Captain Dave Anderson’s Dolphin and Whale Safari in Dana Point for whale and dolphin watching trips. They take out fairly small groups on a catamaran that allows you to lay down flat on the netting to see dolphins up close if you are willing to get your belly wet. Lisa and I headed out on a Wednesday. I had booked the tickets over the phone and we had to be there by 9AM to not miss the boat. We lucked out! The sky was blue, the sun was shining, a slight ocean breeze cooled us off and the ocean was glassed out. We spotted a large group of young people in camper t-shirts. And yes, they were going on the same trip. I have to admit, the kids made the trip extra fun! Shortly past 9 everybody was aboard and we sailed off. The kids were so excited that it was contagious! We encountered the first group of dolphins, rather rare Risso dolphins. They are fairly shy and don’t come close to the boat. It was still beautiful to watch them catch breakfast in the water. Dolphin Safari’s catamaran is equipped with a hydrophone system that is hooked up to loudspeakers and our captain turned up the volume. It was amazing to hear the dolphins’ vocalizations as we watched them in the ocean! As we kept cruising for the elusive blue whales we encountered several very large schools of common dolphins. Hundreds of these very playful dolphins were swimming along with our boat. The kids in the netting were over the moon with their experience! We saw several dolphin females with new calfs, swimming side by side. We sailed for three hours but on that particular day, those darn blue whales did not show up for showtime. Lisa still said that she had a wonderful day on the ocean even without them. Well, tricky nature. A couple of weeks later my friends Kris and Betsy took their kids out on a Dolphin Safari and they spotted two blue whales just about 3 miles out of Dana Point Harbor.
Address: 24440 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point, CA 92629
Tel: 949-488-2828
www.dolphinsafari.com
And in case yo were wondering: no, we did not get freebies and Captain Dave does not know that I am writing this. But every guest gets Mrs. Anderson’s homebaked brownies at the end of the trip.
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