All three species of marine mammals seen today mugged the boat.

Image: Two very friendly humpback whales

2025 08–15 SB Channel

Captain Eddy and the crew ran south, past the farm, and ended up in the lanes where most of the action was today. Skies were overcast with a dash of drizzle in the morning. Winds were light, and the swell was small. Total sightings for the day: 500 common dolphins, 7 humpback whales and 1 “special” California sea lion.

There were far fewer common dolphins today but, like the whales, all today’s mammals were very friendly to the boat! We found our first pod of about 100 individuals south of the buoy. Nearby we watched 2 juvenile whales. The whales zigzagged around a bit, appeared to be feeding subsurface, and made several very close passes to the boat. A third whale came in for a short visit, then left the area. With the departure of whale number three, the original pair mugged the boat for a while.

We moved a short distance and found 4 additional whales. Two of them took off and we stayed with the other pair. It was one adult with a juvenile. They showed good tail flues and mugged the boat. (See today’s photo for an example).

Curiously, with this last very friendly pair of whales, there was a very small, juvenile, California sea lion. It would not leave the whales or the boat. So let’s just say it joined the interspecies mugging of the Condor Express.

You never know what mother nature has in store.

Bob Perry

condorexpressphotos.com

Note: it is very unusual to have 3 species of marine mammals, seen on a single trip, mug the boat.