A light warm breeze with sunny skies set the stage for nice whale, dolphin, and sea lion sightings .
- Bob Perry
- Aug 20
- 2 min read
2025 08–20 SB Channel
With clear skies and a warm subtropical breeze, one might think this was a “perfect“ day in the channel. It would have been so except for the 7 foot, short interval, west swell that relentlessly slowed every move we made up the coast. Once again, it was the decades of experience of our skipper, Dave, who managed to keep everyone as comfortable as possible and still achieved great sightings today: 2500 common dolphins, 4 humpback whales and 20 California sea lions. Most of the action was in a hot zone 8 to 9 miles south of Sands Beach and the Bacarra.
We watched a medium small pod of dolphins just 1 mile off Ledbetter. There were perhaps 250 animals. This was what the dolphin pods were like all day today: everywhere, but no megapods.
The first whale that the hotspot produced was a single juvenile with brilliant white pecs. It was fun to watch this animal in the clear blue water with those white flippers reflecting in the sunlight. Nearby there was a mob of about 20 California sea lions that were porpoising across the waves at a high speed. (See today’s photograph for an example).
Moving south about 400 yards, our second humpback was a very large adult. It had a pure white tail and was surrounded by dolphins. At one point a small birdnado developed. Continuing on our southwesterly heading we found two additional individual whales separated by a couple of hundred yards.
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry
Note: On Saturday, September 6, our one and only 8-hour whale watching trip of the year will take place. It is a fundraiser for the American Cetacean Society. Depending on conditions, the extra time may allow us to move further offshore and/or to stay around longer with active hotspots. The trip usually attracts veteran whale lovers from all over. It is a perfect opportunity to network with like-minded individuals. I do not know how long tickets will be available so I urge you to jump on this opportunity ASAP. Here is the link:
