Excellent conditions in The Channel with 10 humpbacks and 7000 common dolphins.
- Bob Perry
- Jun 27
- 2 min read
2025 06–27 SB Channel
Captain Dave and his crew ran southwest past The Buoy, circled to the east, then eventually headed north back to The Harbor. Conditions were next to perfect. There was mostly a high stratus layer, things opened up for a half an hour of sun at 12 noon. Sightings for the day included 7000 common dolphins and 10+ humpback whales.
At the very start of our southwest trek, we encountered a fast moving group of about 300 dolphins when we were still well north of The Farm. There were a couple of small birdnados here as well. Next we watched a larger pod southwest of The Farm and groups of dolphins, large and small, would be seen the rest of the day. We’ve had several weeks of dolphin joy.
Near The Buoy we found our first whales. We watched a very active single adult with 2 more in the area. The active one caught our attention because of its repetitive breaching, which did not stop when we got close. It also lobbed its tail, rolled on its side, and slapped its huge petal flipper on the water. (See today’s photograph for an example). We spent about 45 minutes with this very active individual.
Eventually we moved southeast of The Buoy and, in the middle of lots and lots of dolphins, we saw a total of 6 more whales. They were all in “travel mode” and moving East. A couple of nice tail flutes were spotted.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
