Beyond Whale Watching: How One California Couple Creates Deep Ocean Connections
Last Updated on January 27, 2025 by Boatsetter Team
Dave and Gisele Anderson are Dana Point owners offering educational whale and dolphin boat tours. Dave is also an award-winning documentarian known for his film “Wild Dolphins and Whales of Southern California.” We discussed 30 years of exploring the whale capital of the world, their passion for marine environments, and their mission to educate more people about marine mammals.
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Tell us about the experience you offer Guests in Southern California.
GA: We have six different vessels that offer unique experiences with marine life. Our tagline is “experience the connection” because we have a threefold mission. First, we want to connect personally with our guests – recognizing them by name and keeping our experiences intimate so people can get to know our crew. Second, we encourage groups to disconnect from their phones and be present in nature together. Third, we facilitate a meaningful connection with the animals.
Each vessel serves a different purpose. Our first boat, Dolphin Safari, was designed to be low to the water with spy nets so people could lie suspended over the animals. The Manute’a is our most unique vessel – it’s the only boat in the world with underwater viewing pods. We have bulletproof glass underneath the water where dolphins come right up to the windows. Sometimes they’ll bring their babies over to look at us! We also have two smaller zodiacs for close-to-water experiences, a luxury motor yacht for upscale trips, and our newest boat, the Hoku Nai’a, for larger groups up to 149 passengers.
The way you describe it, it seems like this goes beyond just whale watching as entertainment. There’s clearly a passion here. When did you and Captain Dave discover your love for marine environments?
GA: I grew up in Rhode Island near the beach and always loved being on the ocean. I remember doing a fifth-grade research paper on Jacques Cousteau. Dave got his first boat at sixteen, and marine biology was his favorite class in high school—actually, he says it was probably the only class he got an A in. As we’ve gotten older, we’ve leaned more into facilitating that connection experience, because we believe nature is incredibly healing for people.
Speaking of healing – what unique properties do you think being on the water has?
GA: The ocean has unique advantages due to negative ions from moving water and wind. Stanford did a meta-study showing the vast medical, psychological, and social benefits of being in nature. Negative ions have been linked to physical healing—reducing migraines, boosting natural killer cells, and lowering stress hormones. During the COVID-19 pandemic when we were shut down, just getting out on the water helped remind me everything would be OK. The dolphins were still out there playing, the whales were still migrating—it helped put things in perspective.
I understand you and Captain Dave founded the first whale rescue group. Could you tell me about that?
GA: In 2005, we saw a humpback whale wrapped in fishing gear and discovered there was no local rescue team available. We learned that nearly 1,000 dolphins and whales die in nets and gear every day globally. Some countries have nets 30 miles long with bycatch rates up to 92%. We started educating every guest about this issue and took action by starting a local rescue team, buying specialized equipment, and a rescue boat. We also support other initiatives—from local marine mammal centers to digging wells in Uganda.
Here’s a fun one – what’s your favorite whale species? Don’t worry, we won’t tell the others!
GA: I love them all, but I have a special affection for gray whales, though that wasn’t always the case. I used to think of them as unengaging, just migrating past without stopping. But then we visited San Ignacio Lagoon in Mexico where they breed. There we had an incredible experience with a mother gray whale who wanted us to touch her and her baby – they were so gentle despite their massive size. The mother was 45 feet long, pushing her 16-foot baby toward our small boat so we could interact. I even got to rub her tongue! Now sometimes gray whales will come up to our catamaran here and rub against it, though nothing compares to the lagoon experience.
Last question, and this has been wonderful – what do you want people to take away from your story?
GA: I want people to come experience the connection. If I could bring that to the world, I would. I think if everyone had that kind of experience – connecting with our team and these animals – it could be life-changing. For many people, it is, and that’s the best gift we get to go home with.
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Dave and Gisele Anderson are Dana Point owners offering educational whale and dolphin boat tours. Dave is also an award-winning documentarian known for his film “Wild Dolphins and Whales of Southern California. We discussed 30 years of exploring the whale capital of the world, their passion for marine environments, and their mission to educate more people about marine mammals.
