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Dana Pride Whale Watch Trip - March 29, 2003 - by Pat Basler - Bite's On!
On March 29th my wife, Susan and I went on a whale watch trip on Dana Wharf's new boat, the Dana Pride. After that trip I can understand why the boat is named the Pride. First a little statistical info. The boat was built in 2002. It is the newest boat on the coast in it's class. It is 95 foot long and has a 25 foot beam. The captain is Tommy White, The second captain is Stuart Sheldon The deck hand is Matt, and the cook is George Clough, who by the way has been cooking on boats for nearly thirty years. The boat is currently in whale watch mode until the end of April and then switches to it's fishing schedule. It is a coastal boat designed for 3/4 trips and let me tell you it is one hell of a boat. The deck space is huge, the walkways are wide and the bait tanks are enormous.
The wheelhouse was something I would love to be working in. Great visibilty and all of the latest electronics. I went down into the galley and seating area and was impressed. Being a former cook myself I was impressed with the set-up behind the counter. Everything was arranged for easy access by the cook. George the cook told me that they can seat 55 comfortably in the seating area!
Now for the trip, we had approximately 70 people on the boat and it was comfortable. We lucked out with the weather because we were in the second day of a Santa Ana and the swell the day before had blown flat. It was close to eighty degrees.We left the harbor at 10 in the morning and right in front of the harbor mouth inmaybe sixty foot of water was a northbound juvenile whale. He ended up being the whole show for the two hour trip as he was just lazily moving up the coast. It was like having a personal show. All of the people on the boat had a great time watching the whale move. He looked like he was feeding quite a bit, hence the slow movements. We followed him to a point in Laguna Beach and then had to return to the harbor.
The captain Tommy did a great job tracking and narrating the trip. All of the crew were very courteous and helpful.
Overall I would have to put this boat in a class by itself with what they have done. The design is perfect in all regards and I am going to look forward to fishing this boat at the end of April. For all of you that enjoy whale watching, head out on this boat now as this is peak migration northbound for the Grey whales.
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