whale watching season? (San Diego: law, shoppers, safe)

[bloom]

When are the best whale watching times of year?

[Snort]

You just need to google "whale watching season san diego" to get results. Late December through late March for the San Diego area.
By the way, if you miss the coastal whales this year, there's always Walmart where the season never ends. Some even ride around in motorized carts! Just be sure to keep a safe distance away from their blowholes!

[Lil Jhwk]

Originally Posted by Snort

You just need to google "whale watching season san diego" to get results. Late December through late March for the San Diego area.
By the way, if you miss the coastal whales this year, there's always Walmart where the season never ends. Some even ride around in motorized carts! Just be sure to keep a safe distance away from their blowholes!

OH MY GOODNESS! Deep down it was kinda horrible but i couldn't stop laughing.

[Snort]

Actually, I just came back to edit my post, but you quoted it and it's written in the annals of city data history forevermore.
Apologies to Walmart shoppers planet-wide. Doh! Did it again!

[tande1n5]

... I have a buddy that calls the scooters "Eat-n-go's." Seriously, though, I went whale watching last weekend on Hornblower because I had company in town. We didn't see anything, as we were apparently between migrations. From what they said, despite the fact that the season goes all the way thru late March, there are two definite peaks in the season that are in January and March, with February typically being a dead zone. Either way it was fun just to go for the ride, and since we didn't have any luck we were able to get "whale checks" to come back again for free over the next year, so definitely worth a look.

[luvSD]

Whale watching season is from December to March but life is not that simple. I've been whale watching a few times and well - it's not as dramatic as what they show on TV. The whales were far away so that they look like they were half and inch high off the water. Just enough for you to say "Oh, there's a whale!" yet you couldn't take a photo of it because the tail would be gone by the time the camera snaps.

Another problem is sea sickness. The whale watching operations in SD do not run huge cruise ships so there tends to be a lot of rocking and bumping while at sea. If you go with a party of 6, chances are that one person will be sick and vomiting like no tomorrow; and a second person might feel nauseous. The remaining few might enjoy the half-inch tall whales at the distance.

On the good side: if you dont' see whales then you get your money back (or get a free trip for next time). Often these whale watching people radio to each other to disclose whale locations - so, there is a good chance that you WILL see whales.

Not entirely sure, but I believe that there is a law that prohibits boats from chasing or pursueing dolphins and whales. So don't expect to be side-by-side to a whale unless the whale happens to choose to visit you.

In summary, I think whale watching is something you've got to do at least once. But after that - you minuse welll spend your money on a boat ride that offers a brunch buffet.

Ou, yes, I should mention that I have a friend who surfs and he says he sees dolphins every other day. He see's them so often that he doesn't even talk about it anymore, no different than someone seeing a pigeon in NY. He has seen a whale up close once and he said that it was very scary because they are SO big and you feel vulnerable with nothing but a wet suit and a board and you can't even swim so well compared to them.

[Encinitan]

There most certainly are rules and laws protecting migrating whales and preventing boats from getting too close. I'm all for animal rights, but man, back in the 70s, they'd run those whale watching boats right on top of the whales. We'd get sprayed and splashed by whale tails every time we went. Those were the good ole days!!

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Whales are out there year round it just depends on what kind you want to see.

The Walmart poke was classic