First light found the Sea Bird northbound in the San Jos‚ Channel. As the sun peeked over the horizon, those of us on the bow looked east and were given the special gift of a green flash this morning. Soon the bow was filled with naturalists and guests all speculating as to the whereabouts of any and all marine mammals in the Gulf of California. The mood of the morning was one of patience.

Soon blows were spotted near the shore of Isla Santa Cruz. Our vessel could not approach very closely because of a long reef running a mile and a half off the southern tip of Isla San Diego. As the morning progressed, everyone on the Sea Bird watched patiently as we continued to see whales, but all at some distance from our ship. Whale watching conditions continued to be excellent, but our whale luck was always just out of reach. Then, as everyone relaxed and let go of expectations, a fin whale surfaced fifty feet off our starboard bow! There was an explosion of breath from this huge marine mammal and just as much excitement on the part of all of us on the bow. The whale continued to rise to the surface and breathe for three more breaths, giving an unbelievably close view of this magnificent leviathan.