A whale watching expedition sailing off the coast of Laguna Beach, CA earlier this week was fortunate enough to witness the very first blue whale sighting of the season. And the group captured photos and video of the massive creature.
According to a Facebook post from the Dana Wharf Whale Watch, the sighting occurred about six miles off the coast of Laguna Beach on April 28 around 10:30 a.m., during an eight-hour whale watching adventure. The vessel’s captain, Todd Mansur estimates that the blue whale was a male approximately 60 feet in length.
“We were watching this whale feeding for several cycles when all of a sudden it began porpoising traveling from Laguna Main Beach to just north of the Dana Point Headlands at about 14 knots!” Mansur said in the post, adding: “Just WOW!”
The group also caught footage of the majestic beast breaching from the water. The business noted that last year, the first blue whale of the season wasn’t spotted until May 7, so this year’s sighting comes more than a week ahead of schedule.