A Thrilling Whale Watching Experience At Dana Point

It was middle of the summer and my colleagues were making plans about the perfect getaway. As we were all brainstorming, I could not help but bring up my whale watching trip at the Dana Point. Upon hearing all the thrilling details, my colleagues were immediately enticed to experience this adventure themselves. This trip would give me the third opportunity to capture nature’s biggest beast on camera.

Before we get to the pictures, let me give you a brief summary of this memorable journey. My colleagues and I wanted to be properly dressed for this trip. This prompted us to go online and shop for some Hawaiian shirts and board shorts. Since some of these items exceeded our budget limit, we decided to look up discount codes. One of my buddies discovered a coupon that gave us 25% discount on these clothing items. Astonishingly, we are able to save around $110- just by using the right coupon.

Anyways, my colleagues and I were super excited to hire the charter boat and go watch the giant animal in its natural habitat. Our first encounter was with a blue whale that was swimming around with a pod of common dolphins. By 01:00 P.M, we spotted the same creature near the Strand beach, moving towards South Laguna. And to forget, we witnessed a smaller fin whale swimming below blue whale around 01:40 P.M. The whale surfaced quite a few times and left us awestruck and bedazzled every time.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip was when the blue whale went past us while into the opposite direction. It was the closest we ever got to this magnanimous creature. Suffice to say, it was a hair-raising moment that left everyone speechless. At 4:30 PM, we saw a different blue whale at Irvine Cove in Laguna Beach. It was the closest any whale got to the shore.

There were several moments that stood out from the rest. One time, a whale lifted its head so high that we were able to observe its massive jaw line. While on other instance, the creature came at as
head on and dove right under the boat. Suffice to say, everyone was a bit scared but it was all worth it.

Despite being completely overwhelmed by sheer size of the animal, I was able to gain my composure and click some astounding pictures. Here some of the best images of this brilliant adventure.

Around 01:00, I took my first picture of a blue whale fluking. It was a sight to behold. Seeing a 200 ton creature flaunt its massive tale and propel itself through the water was just the right start to the trip.

Fun fact: A blue whale’s tail can be as wide as a professional soccer net. This whale’s fluke created a small water fall in middle of the ocean. Although we witnessed this sight again and again, it was always as eye-striking as the first time we saw it.

The blue whale came up from the left side of the boat and I was able to capture the creature from another angle. From both angles, the enormous scale of this beast was apparent.

When the blue whale took a turn and approached the boat swimming down the port side, the watchers were able to witness it blow. The gusher of misty air and vapor was magnanimous. Not to mention, the sound it created was haunting.

There were few times that the whale got really close to the boat. Here, it surfaced close to the port side and then went past us heading to the back of the boat. I had my heart in my mouth and so did the people around me.

I managed to get plenty of head shots as the whale swam back and forth around the boat. The largest animal on planet earth made us awe with its illustrious blows.

The blue whale continued to use its giant flukes to propel itself through the waters. This is one of the better shots I got of the whale diving beneath the water.

When we were 3-4 miles offshore, I managed click the majestic giant with San Clemente in the background. You can scale the whale against the city to get an idea about the creature’s humongous size.

From 02:00 PM to 03:15 PM, there was plenty of blowing and fluking as the whale continued to surface time and time again. It came near the boats plenty of time. For some reason, it took a liking to one yellow boat in particular.

When the blue whale stayed beneath waters for a long period of time, the boats moved on. This is where we got to see one of the smaller fin whale near the San Mateo point.

The blue whale made a comeback somewhere around 03:00 PM. Here, you can see it blow with Mission Hospital of South Laguna in the background.

It continued to blow for some time and I managed to click a few pictures of this amazing spectacle. The return of the blue whale was well received by the audience.

At the latter part of the afternoon, the winds came back and started blowing the blow back over the whale, causing the water to spread even further. It seemed as if a small rainfall had begun in the ocean.

There was another comeback. The small pod of short-beaked common dolphins that we saw earlier reappeared out of nowhere. It swam around the South Laguna area.

It was a sight that made many of the visitors smile. The dolphin displayed its short bleak and other eye capturing features to pleasure of the boat riders.

I thought that we are done for the evening but I couldn’t have been more wrong. As it happens, another blue whale appeared around the Abalone Point. It reached the surface and blew with El Morro Beach to the background. It was the closest I saw any whale to the shore.

Make no mistake; this whale was not shy when it comes to displaying its magnificent features. Here, I got a chance to capture its humongous jaw line and extremely flat head. It almost looked like a sub-marine reaching the surface. You can even see the splash guards of this enormous beast.

Finally, the whale took a dive to go beneath the waters and we had to part ways. It was an extraordinary end to an extraordinary trip.