Oregon Pelagic Tours

05/06/2026

Holland America repositioning cruise 🚢 - April 2026 Tim Shelmerdine Ed Corey Leisyka Namitz Russ Namitz

05/05/2026

Some photos from our “birds, wine and cheese” tour. We started in Corsica, and are in the mountains now. Today was amazing, as we got very good looks at all our Corsican endemics: Corsican Nuthatch, Corsican Finch, Marmora Warbler, Moltoni’s Warbler and while not an endemic, great views of Lammergeier (Bearded Vulture). Amazing food and wine at lunches and dinners. Sorry, birding friends, no great bird photos.

05/03/2026

04/28/2026

Marine mammals as well as pelagic birds are always a highlight on a Holland America "repositioning" cruise off the West Coast (San Diego to Vancouver, BC, April 2026).

Featured below is an adult Pomarine Jaeger and a pod of Dall's Porpoises.

04/27/2026

Just 1 of a number of Laysan Albatrosses on our spring 2026 "repositioning" cruise aboard the Eurodam ship of Holland America. Russ Namitz Tim ShelmerdineEd CoreyLeisyka Namitz

01/15/2026

Oregon Pelagic Tours wishes everyone a 2026 filled with good times, adventures and great birds. We had a difficult 2025, but are excited about the possibilities for the upcoming year. Those who periodically visit our website will have seen that the 2026 pelagic schedule has been published.
I'd like to highlight a couple of trips. Our spring repositioning cruise will be on the Eurodam from April 20 to April 24. This trip starts in San Diego and ends in Vancouver, B.C. It is already almost halfway filled. The 2027 dates are also set.
We are again excited to offer an All-Women Pelagic -- boat crew, guides and passengers. This trip will go out from Garibaldi on Sunday, August 16, with Skipper Tamara at the helm.
Lastly, we had a special request for a pelagic to Lane County waters. Because of the distance, this will have to be a 10-hour trip. It will need around 22 committed birders to run. We are waiting to confirm the date with the charter.
Oregon Pelagic Tours looks forward to providing birders with opportunities to see albatross, shearwaters and other seabirds, and marine mammals. We hope you will join us in 2026.

Send a message to learn more

12/17/2025

The Year 2025 in Review
We have just come off the most frustrating year since Oregon Pelagic Tours began operations in 2015. On the calendar, we had a repostioning cruise and 10 pelagic trips scheduled, 11 with an attempt to reschedule. Two (Ilwaco in April and a Newport intro trip in July) failed to garner sufficient sign-up to run. Our Garibaldi boat had mechanical issues and forced us to cancel the All-Womens pelagic in August, its make-up date in September, and our September Garibaldi trip. Lastly the weather, always a consideration, prevented both our October Newport trips and our December trip from going out. Thus the only trips that made it out were August 30 (Newport), September 21 (Newport), and October 5 (Garibaldi). Fortunately, our Spring Repositioning Cruise onboard the Zaandam was well attended and so OPT started the year well, however a success rate of 33% does not bode well for profitablity.

Despite the difficult year in 2025, we are looking forward to a better 2026! Our 2026 Pelagic Schedule will be online before Christmas.

Send a message to learn more

10/20/2025

UPDATE FROM MAY 2025 REPO CRUISE: Josh McInnes at the Oceanic Research Alliance California Current Killer Whale Study.

“I matched the adult male killer whale you encountered offshore Fort Bragg California as OCX068. This is only the second time he has ever been documented. We first encountered him in 2023 near the Davidson SeaMount, where he was travelling with two other females.

The two females that you encountered with him have not been documented, and we gave them new photo-IDs. OCX079 and OCX080.

We believe these whales belong to a far offshore population of oceanic killer whales that specialize in hunting marine mammals.

Thanks again for sharing with us!”

09/08/2025

Let's start with the good news. On August 30, our Newport pelagic experienced the calmest sea conditions we are likely to see this year. Waves 1 to 2 feet, and light winds. (For seabirds very lights winds are not actually a positive, but so it goes.) We had two albatross species, and read the band on a Laysan Albatross. We have submitted that information anmd look forward to finding out where it is from. This trip also had South Polar Skua, three shearwater species, Long-tailed and Pomarine Jaegers, and even a couple of Tufted Puffins along with the usual suspects.

Also in the good news column: Our 9/14, 9/21, and 10/5 trips are full, and the 10/12 trip has only two more spots available. The December trip has decent sign-up, and I am sure we will with fill it, or come close. The only trip lagging behind is 10/25, but we still have time to get enough people to run it.

Now for the bad news: our 9/7 Garibaldi trip had to cancel due to engine problems on our boat. We had people coming from out of state, so there were a lot of disappointed people. Hopefully, the issue is resolved and our 9/14 All-Women pelagic will have no problems.

Send a message to learn more

07/12/2025

Interested in a short nearshore trip? Garibaldi Charters has been offering 2 1/2 to 3 hour tours down to Three Arch Rocks off Oceanside. This is an excellent opportunithy to se puffins, and usually some other birds and marine mammals as well. An Oregon Pelagic Tours guide (or two) will be along to point out sightings. On August 24, they will be offering both a morning and an afternoon trip. Come out for a short boat and a fun wildlife experience!

Send a message to learn more