Our California Whale Watching Adventure

When in California, one must go whale watching, amirite? A couple weeks ago, while vacationing in the Los Angeles, California surrounding area, my family and I did just that. Let me tell you, being out on the water, surrounded by so many humpback whales was such a cool, unique, and surreal experience. Being a Pacific Coast and whale watching first-timer, everything about the adventure exceeded my wildest expectations and suffice to say, I had an absolute blast!

First things first, we booked our whale watching tour through Channel Island Sportfishing in Oxnard, California (a quick five minute drive from our Airbnb). They took us out on the Ranger 85, a very spacious charter with front and back standing room and an indoor kitchen with booth seating. There were drinks, snacks, and bathrooms, along with plenty of space to move about without being crammed in with other passengers. For a 3-hour cruise, the amenities were perfect.

Leaving the harbor on our way out to the Pacific Ocean, we first encountered a bunch of California sea lions. They’re so fun to watch with the way they swim, play with each other, and pull themselves up onto docks and shores to lay around. There were so many of them on one of the docks it looked like a horizontal Leaning Tower of Pisa (of course an exaggeration but you see the point).

Out on the ocean, the waves were crazy. If you’re someone who gets seasick easily, whale watching is not the excursion for you. The charter rocked and rolled the entire duration of the tour. When standing, there were times you really had to hold on for fear of falling down (or over haha). Even my aunt Lisa, our resident fisherwoman and lover of boats and lakes, got sick and heaved overboard. Chum bait!

Before our first whale sighting, while heading further to sea, we came across a large mega pod of common dolphins. I’ve been on dolphin tours before and what a shame that I’ll never have a better dolphin experience again; there were hundreds of dolphins bobbing around us. The captain said they hadn’t seen the mega pod for awhile, so it was awesome they made an appearance.

After about 40-45 minutes of cruising, the whale spotter pointed out our first whale off the bow of the charter. We saw its spout, then watched it dive up ahead, flashing us the first whale tale of the day. I’m not sure how many of the ~30 people aboard had been whale watching before, but we were all mesmerized like it was the first time, I can tell you that much. The captain made a joke about whale tales and said the sight (and joke) never gets old.

All of a sudden, just like that, there were all the whales. While we only saw humpback whales (would have LOVED to see an orca), the whales we did see were so interactive, spending a lot of time up and around and under our charter. We saw lone whales, whale couples, and even one group of three whales, so you know what that means (I’ll give you a hint, it takes three to tango winky face). Sea creatures are hard to photograph, but I’ve got a short video of a couple whales posted on my Instagram page, so make sure to check that out.

Of course, leave it to me to be the one to “speak whale” like Dory from Finding Nemo. I had everyone laughing as I said “wHeRe ArEeee yOuuuu?” and “cOmE bAcKkkk!”. The young guy from the charter said the whales always come when someone calls them, so I took one for the team. A bit later, while standing on the back of the charter, a couple whales popped right up and they were so close you could hear their whale sounds super clearly. As they swam away, one of the whales did a final dive, flashing us our best whale tail of the tour. So cool!

Between the spouts, sounds, whale tales, and waves (when a whale turns to its side and sticks its arm up out of the water), I was in awe. It’s crazy to think such big, beautiful creatures exist in the world. I couldn’t get enough, running circles around the front and back of the charter to take it all in. It was cold and cloudy, but the adrenaline of seeing whales all around us kept me warm and happy!

In the last hour of our adventure, out of nowhere, we saw a couple whales breach the surface (something we all wanted to see, but understood we might not experience). A bunch of us in the front of the charter were looking out over the horizon (“heads on a swivel” per our captain’s orders) when the first whale breached. It wasn’t right up by the boat, rather a little further out, but we could see it clearly. As it came down, we saw the water crash around it, then the other whale did the same thing with even more force. Nobody got pictures or videos, which is okay, because some things you just have to be there to see. Literally amazing!

Eventually we had to say goodbye and head back to the harbor, the saddest part. We saw a few more distant spouts along the return journey, then came up upon the mega pod of common dolphins again. How cool to see them not once but twice! We also saw more California sea lions in open water.

For my first whale watching tour, I have no complaints. It’s something I’d highly recommend and something I can’t wait to do again someday. Between the California sea lions, common dolphins, and humpback whales, there were so many sights to see. The charter crew was great — humor, communication, knowledge, and friendliness all top tier. The captain said he didn’t think they’d be able to one-up the previous day’s tour but it just so happened to be true. Maybe they tell that to every tour, but somehow I believe he wasn’t lying. Up close and far away, whale watching was one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in a long time. If you get the chance, do it!

Enjoy!

JB