Orange County’s beaches are again lighting up with bright bioluminescent waves, with the latest reports coming from Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach this week.
The sightings have been strong enough, Davey’s Locker Whale Watching & Sportfishing was running boat tours on Jan. 2 and, if it sticks around, throughout the week.
With family and friend still in town for the holiday break, it could be a chance to show them something spectacular.
The phenomenon of algae creating glowing, neon blue waves has been seen sporadically the past few years, the latest report from Long Beach last week before appearing in Orange County on Monday, Jan. 1.
Once word goes out, crowds flock to the coast to get a glimpse at the phenomenon. Out at sea, it’s a unique experience seeing the boat’s wake light up and there have been descriptions of pelicans diving into the ocean with their splash turning neon and dolphins frolicking to light up the dark sea.
“It’s just something that fills a lot of emotions in people, it is so otherworldly when you’re seeing it in person,” said Jessica Roame, education and communications manager for Newport Landing & Davey’s Locker Whale Watching.
The charter operators will launch two of their big boats, one that holds 100 people and the other 80, twice a night. The first fleet leaves at 6 p.m., the other at 8 p.m. for nearly two-hour tours out to sea.
Spots were quickly selling out Tuesday. Weather may impact tours on Wednesday, but if the bioluminescence sticks around, they will add more trips for the end of the week, Roame said.
The last time they held boat tours was in September 2023, and based on images and videos from this week, the bio glow is even stronger this time around, she said.
“From out on the water, it’s illuminating the entire time, it starts to glow the moment you start moving through it,” Roame said.
The bioluminescence is created when the dinoflagellates, tiny plankton that are red during the day, are agitated at night.
Orange County Outdoors photographer Mark Girardeau said he searched several beaches Monday night for the neon blue waves. Crescent Bay was showing some glowing waves, but the best spot was Main Beach, he said, where dolphins and pelicans were lighting up the ocean just past the surf break.
Photographer friend Patrick Coyne found more of the bioluminescence at Sunset Beach and then at the border of Newport Beach and Huntington Beach.
In a video posted on social media, he called it some of the brightest he’s seen – and he’s seen many glowing waves, spending countless nights the past few years chasing bioluminescent waves.
In the video, he showed dolphins swimming past, making the water around them glow, with him screaming “This is unbelievable!”
It’s unknown how long this latest bloom of bioluminescent algae will stick around.
“It’s hard to predict when or where these tiny plankton will bloom, or how long it will stick around,” Roame said, “which is one reason this is so cool to be happening right here within range of our boats.”
Tickets are $35, check daveyslocker.com/whale-watching-cruises for future dates.
