Whale Watching in San Diego!

Sail on the famous 'AMERICA' - A rare opportunity is available DAILY December 27 to March 29....to sail on the luxury and historic yacht 'America' during the peak of the Whale migration. Typically available for private / corporate charter only the yacht is open to the general public for an exciting sailing experience on the ocean off San Diego in search of Whales. This is no ordinary
'whale watching' experience. The "America's Cup" is named after the magnificent 139 Ft yacht and a sail upon her is a "once in a lifetime" thrill.

From late December until early April as many as 28,000 California Gray Whales migrate past San Diego in their 10,000 mile annual migration from the Bering Sea to Baja California. As they travel South to Mexico they are in larger concentrations and seemingly closer to shore. This allows multiple sightings each time we sail. They do have their tail "kicked into gear" as they travel at about 8 knots past our viewing area. Of course they do stop to play occasionally, breaching from the water to send massive sprays of ocean in all directions. Most of our sightings can occur within 5 miles of the coastline during this earlier part of the season. As the whales return from Baja they tend to be a little further out to sea and more spread apart. As such our sails can take us as far out as 8 or 9 miles on some trips. While the whales are the target of our trips we are always entertained by the massive number of Dolphins that swim with the yacht. In counting these Dolphins they are best described as 'herds' of dolphins ....or 'acres' of dolphins. There can litterally be thousands of them in any school. Three or four different species are often seen. On one such trip we witnessed what can only be described as "a stampede of dolphins". While casually surrounding the yacht 'America' and surfing along at about 8 knots, they very suddenly increased speed 3-fold and took a sharp left turn and raced off into the distance. The wall of white water soon disappeared into the horizon. Who knows what triggered them to take off like that but it was an amazing thing to see. Sailing to the see whales and dolphins presents a fabulous day out and can often be described as having a "Picnic on the Ocean". We will provide a big cooler with soda, water & ice, we'll also have some light snacks. Our guests get to bring your own alcohol, the sandwiches for lunch etc. SO....you can see how the 'picnic' thing comes about....this magnificent yacht cruising across the ocean on a beautiful sunny day, a blanket on deck, the picnic basket with the crackers and cheese plus a nice bottle of your favorite wine. It has all the makings of a very lovely day......and somewhere along the way the whales and dolphins become a 'bonus'. The yacht "America" is very stable and very few guests ever experience any motion sickness. A trip to the ocean on board the 'America' is as much about the opportunity to sail on this amazing yacht as it is to see the whales. It is simply the whale watching season that gives the public the rare opportunity to sail aboard the America".

Sail Time: 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Departs: San Diego Maritime Museum, 1492 North Harbor Dr., San Diego, CA 92101
Boarding Time: 10:45 AM
Fee: Mon-Fri: $65 / Adults / $34 / Children 12 & under
W/ends: $85 / Adults / $44 / Children 12 & under
Includes: Soft Beverages & Snacks, History lesson of “America” and modern
“America’s Cup” & Whale watching narration. Guests are encouraged to
BYO additional beverages / food.

For sailing dates & reservations please call:
800 644-3454 or 858 922-3522
warren@americayacht.com