Mobulas, Cetaceans, and Orcas - Sea of Cortez
Cabo San Lucas
Description
Orcas? Really? Yes and with a lot more to this adventure than mobula rays and orcas.
From January onwards and with the help of our spotter airplane, we see blue whales, fin-back and humpback whales in the southern Sea of Cortez.
By April we often observe solitary and often heavily pregnant whale sharks. We always see and are usually able to get in the water with huge pods of dolphins, enormous aggregations of mobula rays that can number in the tens of thousands at night.
As the season progresses and the water warms up, we typically start seeing pilot whales and cow nose rays. Of course the star of the show is the orcas (killer whales) and unique behaviour in which they chose to interact with our snorkelers and swimmers.
Interact with the whales and the mobulas
We aren’t talking about whale watching but rather orcas that choose to come in and interact in-water with our guests on the whales’ own terms. Orcas are highly intelligent and curious apex predators and the interaction is friggin amazing and occurred on 78% of our 2022 liveaboard expeditions.
Accommodation is onboard either our 116-ft expedition yacht or 45-ft sailing catamaran and you can have a fine time onboard watching all the action from your yacht. But for those who are comfortable in the water and have at least a moderate level of fitness, you can’t beat heading out in one of our fast boats to spend hours at a time with the animals.
Interaction is always respectful and on the animals own terms. You can expect to be in the water with the rays, any whale sharks that swim by, dolphins, inquisitive and interactive orcas and possibly the fin back whales.
There is nowhere other than the chilly waters of Norway where orcas routinely interact with humans like this. That’s Baja!!
Gallant Lady
Imagine a 116 foot yacht that accommodates small groups of 12 divers in 6 large suites. Our beautiful Gallant Lady combines the luxury of a yacht with the thoughtful design of a dive deck built for divers. The yacht features a main lounge and dining room with wrap-around view, large water level platform, sky lounge, sun deck with a hot tub and even a crow’s nest. With 1700 horsepower Caterpillar engines and hydraulic stabilizers, the Lady can speed you wherever you want to go in great comfort.
*Pricing varies depending on the season
Key Points
Max: Up to 12 persons
Duration: 8 d
Guide language: Spanish, English
What's Included
- 7 nights accommodation in the Gallant Lady
- 3 gourmet meals per day, snacks between meals.
- All guests can comfortably fit on our 32-foot, highspeed ‘zodiak style’ skiff. With twin 250 hp engines, we are able to speed around in excess of 35 mph to get you in the right place at just the right time, onto the large squadrons of mobulas and orcas. We’ll go out for a few hours, splash in the water, come back, have lunch, and repeat in the afternoon! Probability of splashing with orcas is very, very good.
Itinerary
Day 1
Welcome Aboard! The office is located right in the harbour in downtown Cabo San Lucas and is your home away from home. We encourage you to fly in early and allow us to arrange for some local diving. Your trip includes a complimentary Backscatter lesson. Our photo pro’s will coach you on how to get that perfect underwater images, help set up, service or repair your camera gear, assist with camera rentals. You are welcome to drop your bags off and checkin whenever it’s most convenient. We ask that you please be at the office by 4 pm for the pre-boarding health check. This trip is predominantly focused on snorkelling and freediving, however if you would like to dive you will need to bring your own gear. We have full rental gear available and can get you suited and booted. Enjoy a nice evening walk, arriving back at the office by 7pm for the safety video and boarding the boat at 7:30pm. Settle into your cabin before enjoying a delicious dinner as we cruise towards the Sea of Cortez.
Days 2-7
Aerial Support! We have our own spotter airplane with 2-person crew, flying up to 2 missions a day / 6 days a week. Our new Citabria is the perfect plane for this mission, flying as low as an ultralight for enhanced observation, with speed to scout north to Loreto national park and south to Cabo, providing the best coverage. Our pilot and naturalist/observer specialize in finding orcas and are the very best in the business. They have one goal in mind: to maximize your encounters with the animals. You might have heard that the best place to find the mobulas is in the triangle between Espiritu Santo, Carpenter Rock on the west side of Cerralvo, and Las Ventanas on Baja and, well, this might have been true in the days before our spotter aircraft. Our Citabria aircraft working in tandem with our expedition yacht and high speed RHIB changes the calculus on this completely. We are finding animals like never before and will take you to where a mama blue whale and calf might be waiting for you, or humpback whales, whale sharks, cow nose rays, hundreds of dolphins and hopefully orcas. Be patient, as it might take ten splashes for the mobulas and orcas to allow snorkelers and freedivers into the middle of the pack, but you’ll be rewarded with truly spectacular encounters. Your day might start with a dive or snorkel with typical RHIB missions heading out at 11 am after the local Corumuel wind lies down making it easier to critter spot. Our RHIB, or high-speed skiff, carries 12 guests, so everyone is welcome onboard at the same time. After a delicious lunch on deck, we’ll head back out on the water in the afternoon. We will keep our support boat running as late as anyone wants up until dusk. You will get plenty of time in the water. The Gallant Lady is always close by. Take a break whenever you want and relax on the sundeck with a good book or soaking in the hot tub. We also have kayaks and stand-up paddleboards. In the evening, you’ll have the chance to see the mobula rays in a different light. Literally. There will be the opportunity to go snorkeling at night in a calm, protected bay, where we will suspend lights off the bottom of the boat to attract swarms of mobulas. The mobulas come in to feed on the plankton exposed by the lights, providing a spectacular show against the inky ocean. If you’re a certified diver with your own gear, we can also arrange for you to go night diving.
Day 8
Wave Goodbye! Sadly, it’s the end of your trip. After a final breakfast we’ll disembark the boat in Cabo at 8:30am
What's Not Included
Recommendations
Our family of four (kids 9 & 11) had a great wonderful experience snorkeling with GLUUP in Cabo Pulmo.
Jesse Visciglia
October 2024
It was unbelievably great! It was totally worth it!
Tina Hinz
October 2024
My experience has been very positive—simply the best dives of my life. The treatment from the staff (sales team, guides, captains, etc.) was excellent, and I’m very happy. I would definitely do it again without hesitation.
gutiño
October 2024
