For the past week a pod of orcas has been spotted off Long Beach’s coast to the delight of whale watchers everywhere.
Dan Salas, who has owned whale watching company Harbor Breeze Cruises for the past 25 years, said while orcas are usually spotted two to three times a year, they haven’t been seen as often the past couple years.
And sightings of orcas for four or five days consecutively is extremely rare, Salas said.
The pod is a family of six to eight orcas, or killer whales, that have been traveling together in this area because of the nice weather and an abundance of squid, dolphins and sea lions, their primary food sources, Salas said.
While it’s unknown how long the orcas will be in the area, it is the start of gray whale season, which usually begins around Christmas and goes until May.
Harbor Breeze Cruises sends out boats twice a day, one at noon and another at 3 p.m. Tours can take around two and a half hours. The company partnered with the Aquarium of the Pacific so naturalists from the Aquarium accompany all tours to educate and inform guests about what they’re seeing.
If you go, here’s what to know:
- Nothing is guaranteed. The crew will do their best to take the boat to locations most likely to see marine life and spend time circling to give passengers the best chance, but there is no way to have certainty anything will be spotted.
- Layer, layer, layer! It gets colder out on the water than at shore, and due to the speed of the boat it’s also windy — which means hats or glasses could be at risk of flying off.
- When you’re out on water, here’s what to look for: tails, splashing, blows (when a marine animal goes to the surface and exhales) and flocks of birds in one area — scavengers often go after the same food sources as marine animals and will gather in the same areas.
- Park at the Aquarium parking structure and get a discounted rate of $8 with validation from the Harbor Breeze Cruise ticket booth.
- A small snack bar and drinks (water, soda and beer) are available on board.
- Walk-up pricing for winter gray whale and dolphin trips are: $45 for adults on weekdays, $50 on weekends, senior tickets age 62 and up are priced at $40, tickets for children from ages 3 to11 are $30. Purchase online in advance for discounted prices here.
For more information click here.
