Community Corner

VIDEO: Dolphins and Whales Like O.C. Has Never Seen 'em

Whale-watching Dave Anderson bought himself a drone camera and now presents us this. Prepare to ooh and aw, especially at the three-minute mark.

Captain Dave Anderson – who regularly captures creatures at sea on videotape from his sight-seeing vessels in a more, let’s say, homemade style – has just released a unique look at stampeding dolphins and a whale family.

The Dana Point-based Capt. Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari crew used a camera-outfitted drone (make that two drones, one hit a boat antenna and sank into the ocean, Anderson says at the end of the five-minute video) to get the aerial shots of the mammal sea life.

"This is the most beautiful and compelling five-minute video I have ever put together. I learned so much about these whales and dolphins from this drone footage that it feels like I have entered a new dimension,” Anderson said in an email.

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“I have not been this excited about a new technology since we built our underwater viewing pods on our whale watching boat. Drones are going to change how we view the animal world.”

The dolphins were shot just of Dana Point and the whale footage – we dare you not to ooh and aw over the mama gray whale and her calf – was shot just off San Clemente.

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About losing the first drone and fruitlessly trying to dive after it in the chilly January waters, Anderson said he has learned to put flotation devices on his equipment now.

"I get so nervous every flight over the water now, after the accident, my hands start shaking," Anderson said. "My wife says no more drones if I lose this one. But she said that before I lost the other one. Now that she's seen what it can do, I think she's just as hooked as I am.”


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