El Niño begins to create semi tropical conditions. We had a great day with humpback whales, Minke whale, and lots of dolphins… Plus lightning over Santa Rosa Island.
Image: our old friend Scarlet, a female humpback, in the Santa Barbara Channel.
2026 09–08 SB Channel
El Niño is picking up steam Today the sky was full of tropical clouds, the water temperature was warm, and the surface was glass. A light breeze picked up later in the trip. Water clarity remains excellent. Sightings for today: 1 Minke whale, 2 humpback whales and 1500 common dolphins.
In the afternoon a fast moving storm coming from the S began with an excellent view of lightning over the top of Santa Rosa Island. The storm chased us back to the Harbor where we were able to dock safely before the rain hit us.
A primary food source for our local baleen whales is the northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax). Under normal conditions and water temperatures, large aggregations of these fish attract predators such as marine birds, dolphins, sea lions, and… whales. The unusually warm water that I mentioned above (71F to 72F) seems to have chased the anchovies out of our area as they seek colder water. Their usual hot spots are not valid at the present time, and our captains and crew must use other methods, and be resourceful as Captain Eddy was today.
When we were 6 miles S of Hope Ranch we had a wonderful time with a friendly Minke whale. It came close to the boat several times and also surfaced quite near our bow. Everyone got a great looks. It had an unusual dorsal fin that was folded over. I believe our multi-talented deck hand, Isabel, will turn some photos in to make an official record of this animal. As we were moving along with the Minke, several groups of common dolphins passed by going in the opposite direction.
Eddy took us farther offshore and ended up in the separation zone adjacent to the W end of beautiful Santa Cruz Island. We found 2 adult female humpback whales here. One of them was our old friend, Scarlet. (See today’s photograph). As she often does, Scarlet mugged us for over an hour during which time the 2 whales did a series of spy-hopping and bubble blasting. Several hundred additional common dolphins came through the area during our whale time. At this time when we saw lightning over Santa Rosa (mentioned above) and Captain Eddy decided it was time to leave.
On the way home there were several additional pods of common dolphins to round out the day.
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry
