Birdnados, plenty of hot whale action, and an ever-present mob…of sea lions.
- Bob Perry
- May 25
- 2 min read
2025 05–25 SB Channel
Captain Eddy and the crew ran west, ending up about 8 miles off Isla Vista. Skies were sunny and clear, winds were light and variable. The bump that we experienced yesterday had subsided quite a bit. Sightings for the day included: 6+ humpback whales and 300 California sea lions.
The trip out towards Isla Vista was rather uneventful, but once we got there we found the area flush with birds, sea lions, and lots of whales. Our first encounter was with the same mother/calf pair that we saw yesterday. The Mom was in a large birdnado vertically lunge feeding, while the calf mostly played around on the surface rolling, swimming upside down, etc. Soon a pair of adults was attracted to the action and we had a group of four. The three adults got busy feeding. Eventually, they took interest in the Condor Express and we had a lengthy mugging session. Fans on the boat got plenty of selfies.
Close by we encountered a single adult that eventually joined the feeding. We moved over to visit another humpback that had been vigorously throwing its tail around in the distance. The tail action stopped before we got to it, but we did follow it and (surprise surprise) it led us back to the rest of the whales. The ever active calf did some powerful tail throwing (see today’s photo for an example) and then it breached eight times close to the boat. The session ended and it was time to leave when mom came close to the boat and let loose with an absolute monster tail throw.
Captain Eddy then turned north and we followed the coast all the way back to The Harbor. Everyone got a wonderful tour of the coastline and it’s famous architectural elements.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
