Although the story of Lily’s experience is one that will leave you wanting to join Greenpeace, and bow out on eating fish and chips, these amazing animals don’t all end up as she did. In fact, these beautiful bottom feeders are frequent flyers on our whale watching safari’s during their annual migration, and love to get up close and personal with our vessels and passengers, no strings attached! It’s not uncommon to find these 30 to 40-ton animals breaching or spy-hopping just outside of Dana Point Harbor in their effort to take a look around and get their bearings.
We have the amazing opportunity to encounter these barnacle bejeweled buddies, between the months of December through May, as they are trekking along on their annual migration. We occasional see gray whales as early as November, and as late as July, and love their visits so much that every March, Dana Point celebrates the gray whale migration with the Festival of Whales. The Dana Point Festival of Whales began nearly 50 years ago as an annual community event and now attracts nearly 100,000 visits each year. Residents and visitors celebrate migrating gray whales and other marine wildlife with ocean-themed activities and presentations emphasizing education and environmental responsibility.
So, if you’re in the mood to get comfy and cozy with these gray gals and guys, come on-board with us during one of our daily whale watching adventures, where we’ll get you as close as possible to these friendly, gentle, and oh so unique creatures. We won’t be able to get you as close as the barnacles are, but we’ll sure try our best to provide you with the most unforgettable and intimate experience out there, minus the lovely lice.
And hey, you may even have one pop up and sneak a peek at ya, or wave hello!