Big swells, high winds, bright sun. More drama with humpback whales and thousands of dolphins

Image: a humpback whale is shown moving through the challenging seas that we experienced today

The skies were sunny and bright all day. But, oh boy, did NOAA ever get the forecast wrong. They, and other weather websites, had predicted wind less than 5 kn all day. What we found was more like 20 kn. It was a dramatic environment to set the stage for all of the wonderful sightings we had. Total sightings for the trip: 4500 common dolphins, 8 humpback whales (we closely watched 6), and 7 ocean sunfish (Mola mola).

The molas were our first wildlife stop. There were 2 groups separated by 50 yards. A group of 4, and a group of 3.. The first group dove quickly, the second hung around just under the surface with the tip of their dorsals in the air.

Five minutes later we encountered the first of several megapods of dolphins that we would see today. We spent some time circling around to be sure we saw all aspects of the pod, they saw us.

Around 11:05 AM Our first whale. It was a small animal and it spent the entire time traveling W, into the on-coming seas. (This would become a recurring theme later in the trip). There was another humpback about 15 minutes later. It had beautiful white pectoral flippers and it kicked-up its fluke so we could photograph it for ID purposes. The water was clear so you could see the white petrol underwater and follow the animal on its journey.

11:50 AM. Another megapod!

11:55 AM. Another whale.

1205 PM. Another megapod with lots of sooty shearwaters.

12:10 PM. A quick look at another single whale.

12:40 PM  we came into a zone with 4 individual whales. For reference purposes, we were now inside the southbound shipping lane. The spot was also full of dolphins and a few sea lions. One of the whales fluked-up for ID purposes. 

Most of the time the animals were forging ahead into the swells and oncoming seas. This is such an amazing sight to see. The swell lifts the head of the animal into the air, spray goes everywhere and then comes to spout which the wind carries high into the sky.

You never know what mother nature has in store.

Bob Perry

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