PHOTOS: The "one-in-a-million" white dolphin sighting in Monterey Bay.

It wasn't a unicorn or a Loch Ness Monster or Sasquatch.

But it was close.

A boat belonging to Monterey Bay Whale Watch of Fisherman's Wharf, one of the longest-tenured operations of the area, was cruising around on a relatively standard Sunday voyage.

MBWW naturalist Melissa Galieti was directing passengers' attention toward several gray whales and a cluster of long-beak common dolphins when a pod of Risso's dolphins appeared nearby.

As the boat steered toward the group of some 200, passengers spotted one particularly incredible baby dolphin among them.

"As far as we could tell it was completely white," Galieti says.

Galieti, a San Diego State-trained marine biologist and accomplished amateur photographer, started talking faster and more excitedly while reaching for her camera. The boatful of passengers began to buzz.

"I was excited and they were feeding off my excitement," she says. "It's not something you see all the time."

Which is a little like saying Michael Jackson was an OK performer.

When pressed to put the discovery in context, Galieti takes a second.

"It's like finding that four-leaf clover," she says. "A one-in-a-million type thing. It really is."

The resulting pictures have touched off a similar frenzy among ocean advocates and animal lovers nationwide.

Monterey Bay Whale Watch staffers believe it's the same white calf they glimpsed ever so briefly in August.

For her part, Galieti wants to look the creature in the eye, albeit less Captain Ahab-like than Jacques Cousteau.

"Red eyes mean it's an albino," she says, "which I think is most likely. If it has blue eyes, it would be leucisitic, which means it has some pigmentation somewhere on its body, but it seems to be completely white.

"Either way it's super rare."

Some white dolphins have been captured and placed in captivity in Japan because of their rarity. Since Risso's don't cross oceans, the odds are this little miracle will remain safer along protected American coasts.

As far as spotting it again—cue the chase for the little Moby!—Galieti says the strategy is simple: "We can't do anything in particular other than keep our eyes peeled."

And take care of our oceans.

To track sighting updates, view photos and make reservations to hop aboard a boat, visit the Monterey Bay Whale Watch website or peek at their Facebook page.