Voyage to the Whales of Laguna San Ignacio
April 14 - 16, 2007 Days 7 - 9 of 9

We departed San Ignacio Lagoon early afternoon on the 14th with our sights set on Isla Cedros 180 miles to the north. After two great days at the lagoon it was hard to leave as the whales were very interested in our presence and we all had amazing encounters with these gentle giants.

The ride was a bit bumpy for the first 60 miles, but after a course change that took the swell from on our nose to a beam swell we were able to make good time and arrived at Cedros Islands Gran Canyon shortly after 7:00am.

We had a fantastic day at the island with an early hike and then lunch in the Gran Canyon, an 400 yard wide arroyo that originates toward the islands peaks and dumps into the Pacific. The botanist in all of us had a blast with succulents, numerous species of cacti, elephant trees and beautiful desert flowers all along the trail.

Our naturalist, John Kipping, is an open encyclopaedia of botanic knowledge as he obtained his masters in botany. Of the dozens of plants that we encountered, he knew every one of them in common and scientific name as well as historical background.

One of the coolest animals we encountered was a tiny yellow crab spider that makes it's home on one of the islands yellow flowering plants. I'd give you the name of the plant, but it has escaped my memory. As soon as I can obtain a good photo of said spider I will put it up on the web site.

After our hike we repositioned Horizon to the islands north end just off an elephant seal and sea lion colony. The gang had a blast snorkeling and scuba diving with the sea lions, and a small kelp forest just off our stern held an abundant supply of temperate California vertebrate and invertebrate species.

We also had bottlenose dolphin swimming about the boat and just outside of our anchorage a huge biomass of krill, mackerel and sardines frothed the water and provided the hundreds of congregated birds and endless supply of food.

After dinner we packed up and headed north with the small desert island, San Martin, squarely in our sights. The 140 mile trek should have taken only 14 hours, but due to a building sea state we were slowed significantly and did not make it to the island until dinner time instead of the scheduled 10am.

Nonetheless with the late arrival to the island we enjoyed a quiet dinner and trip wrap up slide slow presented by one of our onboard shutterbugs. Thanks Bruce, your shots are amazing and were enjoyed by all...especially the last shot...who was that ugly guy?

After a short stop in Ensenada to clear Mexican customs we are now enroute to San Diego and are looking forward to our next adventure on the Pacific!

Adios,

Captain Greg
 

April 11 & 12, 2007 Voyage to the Whales of Laguna San Ignacio
Days 4 & 5 of 9

We arrived at the mouth of San Ignacio lagoon bright and early and were disappointed by the conditions on the entrance bar. The south swell that had plagued us the previous day was present and totally accounted for in the sense that it was not going to allow us to cross the shallow entrance bar into the lagoon. So we were patient and waited, and waited, and for that matter waited all day for the conditions to improve.

Lucky for us there was plenty going on outside the lagoon. The weather was sunny and warm for most of the day and we viewed gray whales, the target specie, as they rolled in the surf and taunted us just out of reach inside the entrance bar. A small pod of pacific bottlenose dolphin put on a spectacular show mid morning by blasting out of the backs of the large waives that blocked our path into the lagoon. These large dark grey dolphin would quite often clear 15 feet before re-entering their water medium.

After a third and final attempt to enter the lagoon late in the afternoon I waived the white flag and conceded defeat. The wind was freshening and we needed to find cover so we motored 10 miles into the lee of Abreojos Point.

After spending a beautiful night there we awoke early to make our way back to the lagoon entrance. Upon arrival at 6:00am the first impression was that we were going to be able to make it safely across the entrance bar. But after further observation that assumption was proven to be wrong as the large southerly swell was still putting a hurting on the lagoon entrance. Time for plan B...

Plan B, what the heck is plan "B" again?

In a last ditch effort I contacted Eco Turismo Kuyima, our lagoon guides. The previous day they had sent out pangas twice in an attempt to make the passage out to our location in order to transport our guests into the lagoon. But both times had to abort as they concurred that the bar was unsafe to cross.

But this morning was different. I had noticed a marked improvement in the conditions, which was just enough to allow them to safely make the passage across the northern entrance bar.

We were able to get on the lagoon twice today and had a blast! The whales were a bit standoffish during the first trip in, but by early afternoon we were in whale soup and encountered two different cow/calf pairs that wanted to interact. Most of our guests, including yours truly, had the opportunity to pet, scratch and rub a whale! Yes, I said touch a whale! To touch a whale is truly magical, and to have a whale swim to you with interaction in mind is mind blowing...

As I write we are once again anchored in the lee of Punta Abreojos and will be making our way back lagoon side early in the morning. We'll have a morning of exploring a mangrove forest and a some more whale watching before heading north to Isla Cedros.

Adios,

Captain Greg

April 10, 2007 Voyage to the Whales of Laguna San Ignacio
Day 3 of 9, Islas San Benito

We had a great ride down the Baja coast last night as the swells on our stern pushed us along and rocked us to sleep.

Around 6am Islas San Benito popped up on the horizon and by 9:30 we were anchored up in the lee of the West San Benito and were shuttling our eager hikers to the island. John Kipping, our onboard naturalist, lead an easy hike to an elephant seal beach on the northwest side of the island.

Most of the adult elephant seals were gone, but the beach was fully inhabited by weeners, or this years young. Most were in full moult and had large patches of old fur falling off. Even though the pups were in a very healthy state they looked like a rag tag bunch that had just left a bar fight! Some great photos were taken today.

An osprey nest was also viewed with two chicks inhabiting its cozy confines. As many as 5 eggs are laid but it is rare that more than one chick survives the growth process as the first chick born is typically the dominant presence and receives the most food.

Cassin's auklets were seen in their burrows and at least one peregrine falcon was seen. Overall the birding was good as our amateur birders all came back a bit more bird savvy.

During lunch we mosied on over to East San Benito for a bit of snorkeling, scuba diving and kayaking. The water clarity was way off today as a wicked south swell had the bottom all stirred up, but snorkeling was a blast with the ever growing population of Guadalupe fur seals. If you like playing with California sea lions, then you'd really like fur seals as they make sea lions look boring.

We're now on our way to Laguna San Ignacio and should arrive at the entrance around 8am tomorrow morning. Our adventurers are all psyched up about meeting 40 foot whales eye to eye and I should have some great stories to share with you tomorrow evening!

Adios,

Captain Greg
 

April 9, 2007 Voyage to the Whales of Laguna San Ignacio
Day 2 of 9, Isla Todos Santos

We departed San Diego last night excited about our newest adventure itinerary. We plan on visiting 4 of Baja's coastal islands for wildlife viewing, hiking, kayaking, snorkeling and scuba diving along with a 3 day stay in Laguna San Ignacio with the "Friendly" gray whales!

After clearing Mexican customs in Ensenada we made a quick stop at Islas Todos Santos. Our naturalist, John Kipping, has a keen eye and as we cruised the shoreline pointed out numerous species of birds, plants and pinnepeds. The long lenses were out in force, and one had to be careful to avoid getting close to a long lens wielding individual as one quick turn could find you with Canon tattooed across your forehead!

Shortly after leaving the island a pod of Pacific white sided dolphin frolicked on our bow, enjoying the free ride of the pressure wave being pushed by Horizon. White sides are always fun as you never know when one is going to rocket out of the water like a Titan missile!

We are en-route to Islas San Benito and should arrive around 8:00am tomorrow morning. Until tomorrow...

Adios,

Captain Greg