A friendly, active humpback (and its Mom) plays in the “Jacuzzi.”

2021 11-06 SB Channel

There was no wind. Seas were calm with a long-period 4ft swell. Skies were gray all day from a stratus layer. Sightings included 4 humpback whales and 400 long-beaked common dolphins. The crew also retrieved one deflated helium Mylar balloon from the ocean surface.

Our first whale encounter was with a small group of common dolphins about 9 miles offshore and east of the NOAA East Channel Buoy. The whale was a tad shy but showed good tail flukes.

Captain Dave and the crew then turned east and ran a search pattern along the edge of The Lanes. Three additional whales were spotted. A mother humpback with her calf, plus and escort whale, were watched closely. The cow-calf pair got friendly and spent some time using our jet wash as their personal Jacuzzi. The bubbles got the juvenile animated and it rolled upside down quite a few times and even did some pectoral fin slapping in the upside down position. (Please don’t try this yourself in the bathtub). It was a heart-warming encounter.

Cruising home we intersected another small pod of dolphins and watched them for a while.

You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com