1st Gray Whale Sighted Off Dana Point On 'Gray Friday' 2020

DANA POINT, CA — Dana Point whale watchers got a priceless treat this year: the first Gray Whale of 2020. Black Friday Weekend, when others were online shopping or donning masks to get the best Black Friday and Small Saturday sales, was one of the best weekends to search for the elusive Gray Whale.

According to spokeswoman Donna Kalez, the first Gray Whale of the season was spotted just off the San Clemente coastline by Capt. Dave's Dolphin Safari, one of two whale watching tours from Dana Point, the Dolphin and Whale Watching Capital of the Word.

Dana Wharf Whale Watching captain Steve Burkholdet relocated the whale off of San Onofre.

It's that time of year to spot the enormous leviathans, according to Kalez.

"Gray whales are currently on their southbound migration and will pass by the Dana Point San Clemente Coast daily through February," she said.

Those who venture on whale watching tours rarely return to shore disappointed. Captains and crew point out sea life as they tour the sparkling coastlines of Orange County from San Clemente to Newport Beach. Dana Point achieved the trademark for the Dolphin and Whale Watching Capitol of the world in 2019, and is currently in the running to be the lone Whale Heritage Site in the United States.

There are more dolphins per square mile off the coast of Dana Point than there are anywhere else in the world, according to the whale watching experts.

February is when whale watcher will see the return of the California Gray Whale.

"It's an exciting time to be Whale Watching in Dana Point," she said! And the dolphins did not disappoint, either.

Learn more at www.danawharf.com