A relaxed tour of the humpback whale population… and more

Image: for size reference purposes… A humpback whale makes a close pass by the bow of the Condor Express.

2026 07–14 SB Channel

There was a little shift in the weather today: although the ocean was calm in the morning, the wind picked up offshore and things became a little bit bumpy. There was a light haze filtering an otherwise sunny sky. Total sightings: 9 humpback whales,1500 common dolphins, and 20 California sea lions.

We saw a small pod of offshore bottlenose dolphins for the first time in a couple of weeks. There were 6 of them, including a mother with her calf. They were all pretty shy as compared to their usual friendly and acrobatic behavior.

Moving S, we found a group of 4 humpback whales. All of them were juveniles and they were moving SW. One of them did a couple of quick surface lunges. Common dolphins were all around in small groups all day.

Upon arriving in the lanes, we observed 4 individual whales. They all appeared to be feeding sub-surface and would pop up from time to time in random locations. We moved NW and immediately were attracted to another juvenile whale because it was busy throwing its tail. It continued to drift close to the Condor Express (See today’s photograph). Among the tail throws, there was one right off the bow. Common dolphins were present.

You never know what mother nature has in store.

Bob Perry

condorexpressphotos.com