15 humpback whales including a mother with her calf that we saw frequently.

Image: an adult female humpback whale in the background along with two happy common dolphins in the front. Photo taken from today’s trip.

2026 07–02 SB Channel

The skies today were mostly overcast with patches of sun. Seas were calm and a light breeze wafted across the surface. There were a few spots of action here and there as we proceeded out to the main event which was directly S of the Harbor and in the separation zone. Total sightings: 15 humpback whales (we closely watched 11), 2000 common dolphins, and 10 California sea lions.

After a nice quick look at the platform Charlie (a.k.a. “C”), we quickly located a small pod of 400 dolphins. It was like being at the West Coast surfing championships…no wave (created by the boat) went unridden. The “surfers“ included lots of little calves riding waves with their mothers. 

Around 11:25 AM we got into whale territory. We were looking at whales, near and far, for the rest of the trip, until we turned to go home. This first group included a mother humpback (see below for more information), with a little calf. A third whale came and went. At first, these 3 whales were in “travel mode,” although the mom was a very regular tail fluker. We watched the 2 together for a long time. We would see the pair again. Today, travel mode paid off and the pair joined several dolphin and bird hotspots, or small birdnados, and went about feeding sub-surface.

Shortly thereafter, another humpback swam past us heading for a small birdnado. They continue to be scattered dolphins throughout the day. 10 California sea lions were observed. At this point we were in the lanes, and a cargo container vessel named Doris Ocean, was moving slowly W. The captain had a quick conversation with our captain Dave who pointed out the abundant whales, near and far, in this area. We did not have time to spend with each and every whale, but there were 4 near us that we did watch.

After many miles of travel and many whale observations, low and behold the original mother humpback with her calf was seen again.

You never know what mother nature has in store.

Bob Perry

marinebiophotography.com

NOTE:

Our talented deckhand Isabel photographed the mother referenced above and using her skills with happywhale.com I was able to identify her. I will give you her identification number so you can look the information up yourself, and of course if you have photographs of whale tails you can upload them yourself and join the citizen science program.

CRC-15062

This humpback was first recorded in March 2009. And her last record came from August 2024. There are 11 sightings of this whale, and she’s never been seen before with a calf so we did not even know she was a female. She has arranged as far north of San Francisco and was seen three times at Cabo San Lucas, BCS, Mexico. There were three previous records of from the Santa Barbara Channel. Thanks again Isabel.