Sea of Cortez Cruises

Stargazing at sea has a long history tied to navigation. During ancient times, knowledge of the constellations, and the rising and setting points of numerous bright stars, played a key role helping guide sailors when they ventured out of sight of land. Today’s sailors use GPS, satellites, compasses, and other modern devices to keep them on course as they sail Earth’s oceans. Even so, it’s fun to stand near the bow of a ship, contemplate a dark, star-filled night sky, and imagine what it was like to navigate the ocean thousands of years ago.

At TravelQuest, we specialize in astronomy-themed excursions. So it’s natural that we’d create a stargazing cruise, but one with the additional attraction of whale watching. While we may not offer stargazing cruises every year, when we do, one of our favorite places to sail is the Sea of Cortez.

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A Cruise to the Stars

A stargazing cruise is one of the most enjoyable ways to see the stars. When a ship is at sea, the only light anywhere comes from the ship itself. On a stargazing cruise, the captain will dim as many of the ship’s lights as is legally permissible. On the ocean, the night sky is incredibly dark. The stars, constellations, and even the Milky Way blaze forth, much as they did in ancient times before the advent of modern lighting.

The towns in Baja California Sur are few and far between. This means the night skies over southern Baja are quite dark, and it’s even darker on the sea surrounding the peninsula. We plan to have several nights of stargazing from the ship as it plies the waters of both the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez. Of course, shipboard stargazing requires clear skies and calm seas. But the odds of success are excellent during the late winter months—our preferred sailing time to take advantage of the migrating whales.

In addition, we hope to have one or two stargazing sessions on land, weather permitting. Baja California Sur is an excellent observing locale, thanks to the peninsula’s clean, dry air and its minimal light pollution. For land-based stargazing, we’ll bring our telescope to compliment everyone’s binoculars and have a star and constellation identification session.

Experience an Amazing Night Sky

To help you make the most of the night sky portion of our whales and stars cruise, TravelQuest’s trip astronomer will prepare you beforehand by describing the stars and constellations you’ll be able to spot that evening, weather permitting, of course. The ship is in motion, so using a telescope onboard isn’t practical. Instead, we encourage everyone to bring binoculars for stargazing and, of course, to birdwatch and check out other wildlife during the cruise.

From the deck of our cruise ship, our astronomer will lead observing sessions of the spectacular night sky, outlining the constellations, identifying the bright stars, and pointing out where to aim your binoculars. Away from city lights, we see the unspoiled splendor of our Milky Way galaxy, the amazing celestial dome of stars, and many remarkable sky sights that are too dim to be seen in light-polluted city skies. We’ll be exploring the late winter night sky—in weather more conducive to shorts and short-sleeve shirts than the usually required parkas and long underwear! We might start with Orion, the Hunter, then slide our gaze south to Sirius (the brightest star in the night sky), and on to Canopus, a bright southern star. If we have clear skies to the south as we round the tip of the Baja peninsula, and if you’re willing to stargaze at 2:00 am or so, you’ll be rewarded with a glimpse of the famed Southern Cross, Alpha and Beta Centauri, and the magnificent globular cluster Omega Centauri.

Join Us for Whales and Stars

Our cruise along the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur and in the Sea of Cortez is a unique blend of whale watching and stargazing. Lindblad’s National Geographic ship is an intimate expedition vessel with a mere 50 client cabins. In addition to our TravelQuest astronomer, the ship’s staff includes an expedition leader and naturalists, a full-time doctor, an undersea specialist, and an expert photographer. The ship boasts a fleet of eight Zodiacs, used to land in places that would otherwise be inaccessible. Snorkeling gear, wet suits, kayaks, and more are available for use by everyone.

If the idea of a whale watching and stargazing vacation appeals, join us for an extraordinary voyage. Our preferred travel time is late winter, because the best time to see gray whales along the Pacific coast is between January and March. In the Sea of Cortez, humpback whales and whale sharks are present in large numbers during this time. It’s also a birder’s paradise, with an amazing variety of both land and sea birds. And in the night skies overhead, we can enjoy the magnificent constellations of winter in warm comfort. So if seeing a star-filled night sky from the waters off the southern Baja peninsula appeals, contact TravelQuest to learn about our next whales and stars cruise.