Nature enthusiasts from across the country on Thursday hopped on board a full-day boating adventure in the hopes of getting an up-close encounter with the largest animal on Earth -- the blue whale.
The excursion with the tour company Gone Whale Watching capitalizes on what has become a flourishing blue whale season off the coast of San Diego. It's what makes the May through July months boat captain Domenic Biagini's favorite time of year, and what drives tourists to book this once-in-a-lifetime excursion a year in advance.
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WATCH HERE"I'm not gonna get rich doing this, I'll tell you that right now. I don't know if I'll ever own a home in San Diego but this is like the richest life to live," Biagini said. "These are all my best friends; I've got my dog in the back and we're gonna go look at whales for the day with people that are as excited as we are to go see these animals."
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SIGN UP Biagini and his crew have done this excursion dozens of times in his 6 years since founding the whale watching tour company. The business has grown exponentially thanks to his incredible drone footage that gives viewers at home a chance to get up close with these majestic creatures.
His photography even captured the attention of nature documentarians with BBC Nature, who most recently produced NBC's "The Americas," an up-close look at species in North and South America narrated by Tom Hanks and scored by composer Hans Zimmer.
The production company told Biagini they had a hard time capturing blue whales in the past. That's because the blue whale, despite its 90-foot length and up to 150-ton weight, is not easy to spot. The creature comes up for air only every about 8 minutes and does not breach like other species. Instead, the sign of a blue whale in the area is typically its blow, which can reach up to 30 feet into the air, and its fluke as it dives back down for food.
"From a filming standpoint, it takes so much patience," he said. "The way to get these amazing images is not to try to force it. As a photographer, you just have to wait and wait and wait and track and observe in the most respectful manner possible."
The persistence paid off. Biagini and his team captured a moment of blue whales, known to be solitary creatures, socializing in a way that had never before been captured on video.
"You'll hear Tom Hanks kind of saying, 'In a world-first filming spectacle,' you know, 'a new behavior never seen from blue whales before...,'" Biagini said. "They were kind of racing and rolling and, you know, kind of almost rubbing on each other pirouetting, barrel rolling and even breaching.
"We captured all of this with the drone and it's really spectacular."
Biagini's first goal, though, is to provide his whale-watching customers the best experience possible. Hailing from Chicago, he was a tourist himself once so he knows what a rare opportunity it is for guests.
"This is a bucket list for most people," Biagini said. "This is the largest animal to ever live. It's bigger than any dinosaur, I mean, a blue whale weighs 33 times more than a T-Rex."
50 years ago, the blue whale was nearly extinct off the coast of California. Hunting had made it impossible for blue whales to thrive. But a worldwide ban in the late 1960s turned the tide for these majestic creatures and by 2014, population numbers had nearly recovered. Now, blue whale sightings are possible year after year.
These marine mammals are gathering off the coast of San Diego to forage for food while on their migration north from Mexico from about June to early October. There is no guarantee how long they will hang around the San Diego coastline but researchers do know they're here for food, so as long as the supply is there, the whales will be there.
Gone Whale Watching's blue whale-specific tours, which last eight hours, are booked for the next month, but Biagini said there is a chance to encounter blue whales along with other large creatures of the sea on their everyday excursions, which last more than two hours.
NBC's The Americas is streaming on Peacock.Biagini’s footage can be seen in episode 9 titled “The West Coast.”
