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Frequently Asked Questions

Our Pacific Offshore Expeditions are not your typical whale watching trip, which makes them all the more special and successful! Here's some answers to your questions.

What should I bring? Is anything provided?

We are providing you with a seat and an experience.  Water, food, clothing are all on you to plan. It's strongly suggested you go "light" on consuming food and beverages throughout the day. You don't want to be in a position to have to use the bathroom often, or be generating a lot of trash from consuming a variety of foods. You can bring a small lunch container/soft sided cooler.

2

Is there a bathroom on board the boat?

The Zodiac boat "Tern" has a small electric flush toilet in the privacy of an enclosed space. Marine toilets are sensitive so please remember, no wet wipes or towels go down the toilet! Only our specially formulated toilet paper.

3

Am I going to get wet? 

Well, we don't want anyone to get wet but the ocean is going to make the final decision. Our trips are scheduled (and at times cancelled) to reduce the risk of a soaking. But please be prepared that you could get sprayed. If you are carrying electronics or camera equipment it's important that you plan to protect them from water. The Zodiac is an open boat with no interior cabin. However, it is a very seaworthy and capable craft which is designed for open ocean operation. 


Whether you end up getting wet or not, you'll be happy if you're wearing clothing that is protective in nature and preferably a waterproof outer layer. 

4

When is the best time to see Killer Whales? Humpbacks?

We only operate Killer Whale Quests when we have a good chance of seeing them. Our calendar has Killer Whale trips online between the last week in August and the second week in June. Any date within that range theoretically has equal chances of seeing them as long as the weather is nice.

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Humpback Whales are great from April through November, but can be seen any week of the year in the Channel Islands.

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Can I fly my drone from the boat? 

Flying a drone from a boat is more challenging than you might imagine. That's because the boat is always drifting, which means when launching a drone, you have to immediately fly your aircraft away from the boat without hesitation. When recovering a drone, you have to dynamically fly it into the hands of someone to catch it for you, or even harder, catch it yourself. All of this is happening as the boat is pitching and rolling by 5 to 10 degrees. The majority of people cannot execute these maneuvers without significant practice. For this reason, we don't allow passengers to fly drones on public trips, as it presents significant risk of injury or inconvenience to other passengers. If you would like to privately charter one of our boats to focus on drone flying, we are totally fine with that! Please bring someone who can assist you in hand launching and catching your drone. 

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©2026 by Pacific Offshore Expeditions. 

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