We have been on a great streak from January 2nd to January 24th, with 9 trips in a row encountering Killer Whales.
As everyone knows, during this time period we had strong winds called "Santa Anas" which fanned many wildfires, and no rain. This weather was an anomaly which allowed our local waters to be free of storm systems and quelled the typical westerly wind that is a "show stopper" for reaching the outer islands. The result was, lots of Killer Whale Quests ran as scheduled and we had great success.
Those conditions will very likely not continue for the rest of Winter and into Spring. We will have much higher rates of trip cancellation going forward as we enter a stormy and windy season. Not to worry! We don't plan on going out in stormy or rough weather, that remains a fact. But what you need to plan on is only a 50% chance of your trip actually going out.
Recently we've had folks flying in from out of state and/or making expensive local accommodations feel very disappointed that we had to cancel trips because of weather. I appreciate people from far and wide having an interest in our trips. What we are doing is special, but there's a reason it's special. These waters surrounding the Channel Islands are ROUGH AND NASTY the majority of the days in each month. Nobody has done before what we are doing because it's challenging, it requires risk taking, and it's a lot of work having to cancel and reschedule people all the time.
Please keep all of the above in mind when booking a Killer Whale Quest. Our success rate is high, but that's because we have to be very discerning with weather conditions. We know what it takes to be successful. This trip can't operate like a normal whale watching trip. Instead, you buy your tickets, and you take your chances. Of course reschedules and refunds are offered if it doesn't work out. But quite a few people have flown in from out of state, booked hotels, booked back to back trips with us, and both trips end up getting cancelled because of weather.
By the way, defining adverse weather is just as much about wind speed as it is storm systems. It might be sunny with no rain in the forecast, but if it's blowing 15-25 knots at the islands we cannot go. You have to be looking at the National Weather Service Marine Weather Forecast, not the weather app on your iPhone to get an idea of conditions.
We will do our best to call off a trip with as much notice as possible. But if the weather is forcing a cancellation, many times we will cancel within 24 hours of departure time. We will make every effort to cancel before 12 hours of departure.
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