HAPPY NEW YEAR!
28th ANNUAL NEW YEAR'S DAY PELAGIC TRIP
Aboard GRANDE from Point Loma Sportfishing
Sponsored By: The SDFO - San Diego Field Ornithologists
January 1 8:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Boarding Time: 7:20 a.m.
THIS TRIP IS IN PLANNING - ALL INFORMATION THAT FOLLOWS IS FROM THE PREVIOUS TRIP - THE 2013 TRIP INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE IN NOVEMBER 2012
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| Tom Blackman |
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| Don "Cool Dude" Hastings |
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On Jan 1, 1983, Stan Walens and two of his out-of-town friends took a two-hour whale watching trip. A whale was not sighted on the first trip, so they got to go on a second trip for free. The crew thought it was so funny that Stan and friends were looking for birds instead of whales that they invited them back on for the 3rd trip of the day for free, resulting in an entire day at sea.
Stan reported his adventures to the San Diego Field Ornithologists and the next year (Jan 1, 1984) the club rented a boat and 35 members took the first annual SDFO New Year's Day Pelagic. Don and Marjorie Hastings were among those first riders, and have not missed a New Year's Day pelagic since.
After the first few years, Stan began to invite Don and Marjorie to come aboard without paying. Stan recollects, "They always helped on the trips by throwing popcorn chum. Throughout the year they both selflessly and tirelessly paid for and maintained the only functioning birder-communication network going at a time when most birders in that day and age didn't share information about rare birds. Inviting them aboard was a small way of thanking them for their contributions to the birding community. Marjorie was a lovely connecting force in the San Diego birding world."
Once again the San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) will continue the tradition, hosting their annual 5.5 hour NEW YEAR'S DAY seabirding and whale pelagic trip, this year aboard the boat used by Buena Vista Audubon and the San Diego Audubon for their pelagic trip: Grande. As usual, we will sail on New Year's Morning, January 1, 2012. You do not need to be a member of the SDFO to join us - in fact, you're invited! Last year's trip was under magnificent blue skies.
On our way out of San Diego harbor we'll motor slowly by the live bait tank barges and the lounging sea lions, hundreds of Brandt's cormorants, several species of gulls, and dozens of shorebirds, egrets and herons. On our way out of the harbor we'll check for oystercatchers amongst the cobbles of Ballast Point or on the Zuniga Jetty. Will the Long-tailed Duck be back this season? We'll find out!
At sea we expect to see 2-3 species of dolphins (Bottlenose, Common, Pacific White-sided, Risso's), whales (Gray? Fin? Minke? Humpback?) and numerous seabirds including storm-petrels, fulmars, shearwaters, auklets, murrelets and jaegers. Last year's highlights included 3 Short-tailed Shearwaters and a Black-legged Kittiwake.
Jan 1, 2009 trip report and photos.
Jan 1, 2010 trip report and photos.
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| California Gray Whale by Tom Blackman |
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Check-in Time: 7:00 - 7:15 a.m.
Boarding Time: 7:20 a.m.
On-Board Orientation: 7:40 a.m.
GATES CLOSED AND LOCKED: 7:45 a.m. sharp
Return: 1:30 p.m.
REGISTRATION:
THIS TRIP IS IN PLANNING - ALL INFORMATION THAT FOLLOWS IS FROM THE PREVIOUS TRIP - THE 2013 TRIP INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE IN NOVEMBER 2012
EARLY-BIRD REGISTRATION is $35 through Dec 12.
Registration is $45 after Dec 12. This trip has sold out for the past 10 years.
Late Registration is $55 after Dec 26.
RESERVATIONS: Telephone Point Loma Sportfishing (the landing) seven days a week at (619) 223-1627.
Tell them to wish to make a reservation for a birding trip on Grande.
$10 SDFO MEMBER REBATE: Current and new SDFO members with dues paid in full for 2012 will receive a $10 cash rebate at the dock before boarding Grande. SDFO will have a list of 2012 paid-in-full members at the dock. To be eligible for the $10 rebate, you must request the refund in person at the dock before the trip departs and be a current paid-through-2012 SDFO member. No rebate will be issued on behalf of others or if you cancel or don't show up at the dock. Once we are aboard Grande, the rebate program is concluded. Rebates will not be made after boarding, or by mail, or in any other way than showing up, in person, at the dock, before we board.
Only paid-in-full through 2012 SDFO members are entitled to a $10 rebate, one of the many benefits of membership in the SDFO. An excuse of "the check is in the mail" will not be sufficient to qualify for the rebate. Alternatively, you may waive the $10 rebate and know that the $10 went to a worth cause: the SDFO. SDFO Membership information.
IMPORTANT DETAILS: Click for IMPORTANT INFORMATION about the boat, the landing, driving directions, maps, lodging, weather, refund and cancellation policies, on-board facilities, meals and snacks,
HOW TO PREPARE: Click for tips on how to prepare, what to wear, what to bring and when to arrive.
EXPECTED SPECIES: What we see depends on the season, the itinerary and how far from shore we venture. Learn more about what species we will probably see and what species might be seen.
CANCELLATION POLICY: Trips on this website are sponsored by different organizations using different boats departing from different landings and harbors. As such, policies vary from trip to trip. Prior to registering, please familiarize yourself the Grande and Point Loma Sportfishing's policies regarding reservations, cancellations, refunds and substitutions as well as reviewing driving directions, check-in times, procedures and equipment allowed on the boats.
AGE: This trip is appropriate for children 7 years and older.
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| Leucistic Black-vented Shearwater; Don and Marjorie Hastings Jan 1, 2009; Hannah Loly |
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| Flesh-footed Shearwater 15 Dec 2010 Nine Mile Bank San Diego (c) Matthew Binns |
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IMPORTANT DEPARTURE AND BOARDING DETAILS
LANDING LOCATION: We will board Grande from Point Loma Sportfishing Landing, 1403 Scott Street at the corner of Emerson in San Diego 92106.
GOOGLE MAP OF THE LANDING: Map and driving directions
DRIVING DIRECTIONS TO THE LANDING: http://www.pointlomasportfishing.com/pg/map.php
PARKING: There is a large parking at Point Loma Sportfishing for $6 a day. Enter the lot using the Emerson & Scott entrance and you'll be right at the landing 100 feet inside the parking gate so you can drop off your gear then seek permanent parking. Free parking is available on the residential streets around the harbor (for day trips) but can be very limited on weekends. If the Fisherman's Landing parking lot is full, you'll be directed to a lighted off-site self-serve pre-pay parking lot about a block away that has always had space (bring exact change of $6 per day in folding money for the lockbox).
PHOTO I.D. and BOARDING PASS REQUIRED: All passengers departing Fisherman's Landing and Point Loma Sportfishing must complete the manifest and present photo identification and obtain a boarding pass prior to passing through the Coast Guard security gates. This is mandatory procedure per U.S. Homeland Security.
GEAR UNLOADING: You may pull into the Fisherman's Landing parking lot, unload your gear directly in front of Point Loma Sportfishing and then park in the lot, the overflow lot or seek on-street parking. You're not charged if you depart the lot in less than 30 minutes.
START YOUR DAY STRESS-FREE: We recommend that you arrive at the landing at least 30 minutes prior to boarding time to allow plenty of time to find the landing, unload or transport gear, obtain a boarding pass at the Point Loma Sportfishing ticket window, sign the manifest, use Point Loma Sportfishing's restroom, visit with friends and board Grande with the group. Gates are closed and locked once the group boards. All trips depart on-time without waiting for late-comers. More tips and hints on our trip preparation page.
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Best viewed full screen by clicking the icon near the lower
right hand corner of the video (beneath the "You" in YouTube).
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| Guy McCaskie shares some pelagic birding advice with Mark J Billings Jan 1, 2010 |
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| Van Remsen, Guy McCaskie, Jon Dunn, John Luther |
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| Black-footed Albatross offshore downtown San Diego 7 Mar 2010 San Diego Bird Festival Pelagic (c) Matt Sadowski |
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| (c) Todd McGrath and Jon Feenstra |
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| R. Guy McCaskie and Paul E. Lehman a long, long time ago |
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