1000 dolphins and three fin whales.
- Bob Perry
- 10 hours ago
- 2 min read
Image: one of our multitalented deck hands, Aspen, is shown retrieving a special balloon from the ocean surface. (More information in my report.) Photo courtesy of Kelly Kohls.
2026 05–29 SB Channel
Blue skies prevailed for the entire trip today. It was the “tale of 2 channels” with regards to wind: calm near the coast, and breezy offshore. Captain Dave and the crew (Aspen, Cass, and Kelly) drove directly S to the edge of the lanes where we found all the action. Sightings: 1000 common dolphins, 3 fin whales, and a balloon.
3 miles out from the Harbor we found the first of two pods of dolphins. There were about 400 animals dispersed over 1 mile of water. Subgroups of 40 or 50 animals were found here and there, but it was mostly individuals, pairs, trios. They rode our wake.
Before reaching the lanes, captain Dave slowed down a couple of times so Aspen could retrieve several floating objects, which turned out to be various pieces of a NOAA NWS weather balloon that had finally outlived its usefulness. As you can see (in the photo above) the last piece was the actual orange colored balloon itself. We generally advocate against balloons because the general public lets many of them go into the air where they are carried out and become dangerous floating garbage on the surface of the ocean. But in this case, we are making an exception!
Along the N edge of the lanes there were 3 tall spouts. The first was from a juvenile fin whale. It had long dives and was moving in random directions. Meanwhile a pair of individual fin whales surfaced near the Condor Express. We had good looks at the’duo while they were up. But they, too, had long dive times and made big moves underwater. By coincidence, towards the end of the session, all 3 whales came up close to each other simultaneously, which was a wonderful way to end our sighting.
On the way home we found a slightly larger pod of about 600 common dolphins that stretched out in a long line.
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry
