Newport Coastal Adventure

Welcome to our Facebook page! For daily reports of our encounters, visit the Trip Log here: http://www.ultimatewhaleadventure.com/triplog/ Incredible stampede of Delphinus delphis (Short-Beaked Common Dolphin) this afternoon! This mom and calf jumped in perfect synchronization.

January has been amazing, and there’s no end in sight to warm weather and great encounters! We kept the ball rolling this morning with super smooth seas and something special. This mother Gray Whale and her newborn calf were on their way to Mexico. Come late April, they will pass by us again, going north to Alaska! From now through May, the Gray Whale activity will be nearly constant, with potential for Fin and Humpback Whale sightings, too. Video by Delaney Trowbridge Photography

Whales don’t always do what they are supposed to do! Case in point, on Saturday we saw these two large Humpbacks traveling up the coast at a consistent speed and direction all day. By mid-December, the narrative is that whales are supposed to swim southward to the tropics for winter. Apparently this pair has other plans, which was just fine with us! Hopefully we will have a smattering of Humpback sightings continue for either weeks or months to come. Video by Mark Girardeau

A family of Killer Whales off Newport Beach this afternoon! Passengers aboard our 1:30pm trip got SUPER LUCKY to encounter this rarely seen apex predator. This pod was originally spotted about 3 miles from Laguna Beach at 115pm today by Capt. Tommy White of Dana Wharf Whale Watch. By sunset, they had traveled 8 miles west of Newport. They were not in a hurry and perhaps were foraging, as they made long dives in an irregular pattern.

What a day we had spending two trips with a pair of Fin Whales! One of these whales is well known as "Flukey", who frequently shows her tail when diving. Fin Whales virtually never show their tails in this way; it was a rare treat to see the beautiful snowy white underside of her flukes!

For the first time since 2016, we've spotted a SPERM WHALE off Newport Beach! A large male Sperm Whale was detected this morning by NCA crew with assistance from Eric Martin on a scouting trip. Then, Capt. Rich was able to arrive with passengers from our 10am departure to witness this rare and endangered animal. This is the second day in a row of sightings, and the whale was last seen trending closer towards Newport Beach at sunset!

More captures of the beautiful white dolphin we sighted this morning of Laguna Beach! This is an *almost* albino Risso's Dolphin, more accurately described as leucistic. It was seen among 40 other dolphins and was playing with a much darker buddy the whole time. Photos by Capt. Ryan . . . .... . . CBS News Fox News NBC News Stu News Laguna ABC7 National Geographic Visit Newport Beach Visit Laguna Beach BuzzFeed Yahoo News See more

Rare All White Dolphin seen today off Laguna Beach! This morning we encountered a pod of about 40 Risso’s Dolphins about 3 miles from shore. Very quickly we realized one was not like the others! An Albino/leucistic dolphin was sticking out like a sore thumb amidst its darker family and friends.

Incredible Gray Whale watching on our 5pm trip today. A trio of migrating whales came over to the Zodiac multiple times to say hello to passengers. And all this happened just one mile from Newport Harbor!

Gray Whale migration magic continues as we wrap up the month of March. Yesterday we encountered nine whales in one pod! Video by Mark Girardeau

A breach, finally! Gray Whales are not as inclined to jump when compared with their Humpback cousins. Up until yesterday we hadn't documented a single Gray Whale breach all season! But since March is the peak month for migration, it was only a matter of time before Delaney Trowbridge Photography got a shot like this one.

Friday's encounter was unlike any other we've had before with Gray Whales. Our All Day Trip (8 hours long) came across two "friendlies" that circled our motionless boat for well over an hour. These sorts of encounters typically only happen off the coast of Baja California, where whales spend the winter and are known to socialize with small boats. For our passengers and crew though, it was the trip of a lifetime to experience off Orange County! Drone footage by Delaney Trowbridge Photography

The influx of anchovies to our coastline recently has got our dolphins REALLY excited. In this video from last week schools of fish were being thrown into the air by our super hungry locals. Filmed by Capt. Ryan

We just got off the water this evening with THE MOST FRIENDLY WHALE! Over 20 minutes of a curious Humpback investigating our Zodiac off Newport Beach.

The ocean was so calm this weekend, it was ideal conditions for filming whales from the air. This footage of 3 Gray Whales migrating south along Laguna Beach was taken from our boat by a crewmember's drone. With each passing day we are seeing more and more whales, and it's only going to keep getting better! Thanks Delaney Trowbridge Photography for this awesome video.

Have you heard about "Patches"? This dolphin really stands out from the others! We got to see him this week off Newport.

Presenting the "Flicka Waltz"! Yes, this humpback whale was non-stop with a performance yesterday afternoon. Breaching, tail throwing, tail flapping and making unique flicks with his tail, for which the whale is named "Flicka". It was a wonderful experience to behold for our private charter customers celebrating a birthday! We also saw 2 additional humpback whales and several thousand common dolphin. (Video by Capt. Ryan)

A surprise breach right behind our boat yesterday during our All Day Whale Watching trip with Pacific Offshore Expeditions. In total we saw 4 Humpback Whales and over 2,000 Common Dolphin. These 8 hour trips always have high chances of encountering whales, and include a stop at Catalina Island for lunch. (Thanks to our passenger Donna for capturing this video with lightning reflexes.)

Welcome back to our old friend "Chief" the Humpback Whale! Capt. Ryan took this video on today's 3:30pm private charter of the beautifully patterned tail of one of our favorite whales. First documented in 2017 off Newport, we haven't seen our old friend since last year. This evening we also saw 3 other Humpback Whales: "Twitch", "Flicka", and "Bolt."

We're so excited to share incredible footage from this week. A pod of three Humpback Whales filmed in the clearest, calmest ocean we've seen in a long time. Breaching, kelping, fluking, checking out the boat: it was amazing! Video by our deckhand @Delaney Trowbridge Photography

People often ask, when’s the best time of day to watch whales? The answer is that statistically, over the course of a year, there is no best time over another. But in the last few days the late afternoons have been on for humpbacks! (Photo by Delaney Trowbridge Photography )

WOW!?! Humpback whale breach fest this afternoon off Laguna Beach. Three whales joined together and had a party! (Great photo by our deckhand Erica.)

More fun with giant Fin Whales this weekend. It's rare to see the belly of a whale like this the surface but we got to see several barrel rolls, head lunges, and even a spyhop from this exuberant whale!

The result of this morning's trip was encounters with a Fin, Minke, and Bryde's Whale! Capt. Ryan documented the first two species with his drone, showing the awesome viewing conditions passengers expereinced on this calm and sunny day.

Last weekend @Mark Girardeau captured this beautiful stampede of short beaked common dolphins in glassy water and sunny skies! We're hoping the next few days might provide opportunity for more encounters like this.

Who doesn't love the sound of a whale's spout? Two Humpbacks near sunset yesterday evening was the highlight of our weekkend.

Further proof that Dolphins are the clowns of the sea! Passenger video showing a Bottlenose swimming upside down, riding the bow of our Zodiac and clearly enjoying a different perspective! (From Mila S)

Our little dolphin is all grown up!! This is "Pinky" the Common Dolphin. And we have been tracking him/her since our first sighting when it was a calf on December 29th 2016. Just this weekend we saw "Pinky" again for the first time in over a year. While typically it's impossible to differentiate between individual Common Dolphin, this very rare Common Dolphin is easily identifiable and will be important for years to come, as we document its movements and life history! (Photos by Mark Girardeau and Taylor Thorne. HappyWhale tracking page: https://happywhale.com/individual/26712 )

Ongoing Humpback action along the Newport Coast today with fresh photos from our trips by Kristin Campbell Photography!

3....2....1..... we have lift off!" This humpback whale rocket launched over two dozen times in the windy conditions off Newport today! This particular whale has been very found of our locals waters this summer, and we have seen it the last 7 days in a row. (Photo by Kristin Campbell Photography from our 2:15pm trip today)

This spectacular moment happened Sunday morning off Laguna Beach on our 9am tour. FIVE Bottlenose Dolphins in the air at one time! (Photo by our deckhand Mark G)

What is unique about this whale's head? The extra ridges along the sides of the snout identify it as a Bryde's Whale, also known as the "tropical whale" because of its preference for warm waters. When we see one off the coast of Newport Beach, we know that temperatures are warming up! Drone video captured by Kristin on yesterday's trip. #whalewatching #newportbeach

Blue Whales this Weekend! Yesterday we encountered this magnificent Blue Whale on our 1130am trip. And the day before, another Blue during our 5pm Adventure. (Documented via drone by Mark Girardeau)