A Whale of a Trip

Giant cetaceans are the main attraction on this yachting adventure in the Sea of Cortez, but You’ll also meet sea lions, dolphins, burros—and a pastry chef

I almost feel sorry for Casey Cohan, the naturalist on board the Safari Quest. My five-year-old son simply will not leave him alone. From the time John gets up until we carry him down to bed with his eyes half shut, he follows Cohan up and down the 120-foot yacht pummeling him with a nonstop monologue about whales.

You might not expect a kindergartner to have so much to say, but with seven months of school under his belt and a new whale book from the library each week, John’s just about an expert on cetaceans. Fortunately, Cohan is a whale nut, too. He doesn’t seem to mind his constant companion.

John is the reason we’re ditching a week of school to cruise the Sea of Cortez, joining 15 other passengers on the Safari Quest for a six-day adventure. When we’re not scanning the horizon for the tell-tale spray of a whale blow, we’re zipping along in a motorboat to Isla San Jose to snorkel with sea lions, to Agua Verde for a burro ride, and to Isla Coyote to visit a tiny fishing village.

But this afternoon, we are standing at the “cetacean station” on the top deck, hunting for whales. Although John is a mini Jacques Cousteau, I am a novice. As I look to port, I’m worried that even if I see a whale, I might not realize it—and then I’d miss my chance to call out “Thar she blows!”

Cohan says conditions are excellent. The sea is calm, so a blow will stand out among the dark blue-green swells. But we’ve been searching in vain for more than an hour. Suddenly John blurts out what we’ve all been thinking: “How come we haven’t seen any whales yet?”

Cohan mumbles something but doesn’t really answer. He says that when conditions are this good and he hasn’t seen a whale, he starts to get anxious. We are all starting to get anxious that we’ll go home without a fish story to tell.

Suddenly another passenger yells, “There’s something at one o’clock.” All heads turn, eyes searching for a blow, which looks like a wisp of steam rising from a boiling pot.

Cohan grabs his binoculars and confirms the sighting. Whale, dead ahead! Word spreads even before he can announce the sighting on the PA system. Everyone on board, even the cook, rushes to the bow. Cohan tells us we’ve spotted a sperm whale. And even we landlubbers know that’s big; we’ve all heard of Moby Dick.

Soon we are side by side with the 40-foot whale, and we travel together for about five minutes, watching the sea monster cruise in the swells and listening to its blows.

Suddenly, the whale’s wrinkled back rises above the waterline. All cameras point at her, hoping to capture that classic whale-tail shot. She obliges, her flukes rising for a moment before she dives down for dinner.

We are marveling at our luck when the whale suddenly lunges out of the sea. It’s not a classic humpback breach like you see in a Pacific Life TV commercial. It’s more of a roll than a leap, but we’re still amazed.

It turns out we’ve joined a pod of sperm whales, so we pile into the 16-foot motorboat and cruise with them. All too soon, one after another, they each wave a parting shot with their tails and disappear into the depths.

But they haven’t left us alone. The food that the whales have dived down to eat has also attracted what is actually one of the world’s largest pods of dolphins, and we’re right in the middle of it. Suddenly, at least 600 graceful creatures are leaping and racing all around us.

It’s incredible to be surrounded by dolphins; but then everything on this trip has been remarkable: We’ve gone from one exciting adventure to the next. The yacht has every convenience, and the crew of nine is dedicated to making the trip super-fun. Yes, the boat looks as if it were decorated by my grandmother, and the carpet is a bit worn after 16 weeks at sea. But our cabins have hair dryers, televisions, and DVD players. The top deck lures us up with a hot tub, exercise bikes, and lounge chairs. The salon has an open bar. We even have a pastry chef on board, which, given that we are in our swimsuits all day, might not be such a good thing.

We go on at least two adventures each day. When we pull up to a deserted island, the captain yells, “It’s playtime!” We’re free to snorkel, shell the beaches, kayak, or sail. Adventurous passengers, like my young-at-heart husband and the teenagers, hit the speedboat for knee boarding, or brave a jump off the top deck—more than 30 feet high—while everyone else urges them on.

The crew is big on surprises. After a sunset hike through the desert, we come back to margaritas and appetizers served on the beach. After we’ve been snorkeling in the chilly water, the crew offers us hot chocolate with homemade whipped cream—and schnapps and Baileys for those who want their cocoa with a kick. Need a wet suit? They’ve got that, too. Plus 10 bottles of sun block and at least a million big fluffy towels.

I know we’ve really hit the jackpot when a seasoned traveler tells his mom, “This is better than the Galapagos!” Perhaps this action-packed extravaganza will make John so jaded that no other trip will ever do. But as I hear him buzzing in Cohan’s ear again, I’m pretty sure our adventure is only whetting his appetite.

For information on the Safari Quest, call American Safari Cruises at (888) 862-8881 or go to www.amsafari.com . A week’s cruise ranges from $3,995 to $5,995 per person and includes all tours, transfers, meals, wine, and cocktails. Leasing the yacht for a private cruise costs $98,795 per week.

Monterey Bay Whale Watching

You don’t have to go all the way to the Sea of Cortez for great whale watching. Many of the world’s largest cetaceans cruise right by California on their annual spring migration north to the Arctic for summer feeding, and then south in the fall as they head to warmer waters.

Where to go: One of the best places in the world to see whales is just a two-hour drive south of the East Bay. Monterey Bay has the deepest ocean canyon in North America. Much like the canyon in the Sea of Cortez, it is a food-rich environment that attracts whales and other sea creatures.

Whale watching tours: A number of companies launch whale-watching tours from No. 1 Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey. One of the best, according to the concierge at the Monterey Plaza Hotel, Lafayette Park’s sister hotel, is Monterey Bay Whale Watch.

What you might see: Trips on the company’s 70-foot Sea Wolf II are led by a marine biologist, and last longer than your typical three-hour tour: Be prepared to be at sea for about five hours. The day we went, we hit the jackpot and saw a pod of large, grey Risso’s dolphins and Pacific white-sided dolphins, plus northern right whale dolphins, which are black and don’t have a dorsal fin. We rode along with some 500 dolphins for at least three hours. But best of all was finding a pod of humpback whales, one of which came right up to our boat.

For information: Visit www.montereybaywhalewatch.com or call (831) 375-4658 for reservations. You can go to www.gowhales.com to see what was spotted the day before. If you go, be sure to wear your ski gear, because even during the summer, it’s icy cold off the Monterey coast.