First Fin Whales of the year!
- Bob Perry
- Jul 19
- 2 min read
2025 07–19 SB Channel
The morning low stratus layer broke up right away and the day was sunny thereafter. We had, at most, a light breeze and a light swell in the afternoon. Conditions were ideal for locating and watching wildlife in The Channel. Sightings for the day included: 5000 Common dolphins, 22* Humpback whales, and 2 Fin whales.
The common dolphin report for the day repeats a pattern which has been observed throughout the week. We are saw dolphins everywhere we went in The Channel. Mostly there were small to medium sized pods. Today there were 2 megapods in the mix. But some groups were as small as 50 individuals. They came by the boat, rode our wake, and great looks were had every time.
The whale action took place in The Lanes and the Separation Zone. There were at least 12 individuals, doing the same thing as yesterday. During their downtime, which probably included sub-surface feeding, they covered great distances and random directions, which made it difficult for us to stay with them. There were a couple of close passes by the Condor Express purely at random due to whales coming up next to the boat after a dive.
Captain Dave ran a tour along the steep and beautiful sea cliffs of Santa Cruz Island and ended up taking the Condor Express into the world famous Painted Cave. This is always a uniquely wonderful experience.
*As we headed home from The Cave, we found 10 more humpbacks. In all probability they were the same group that we saw on our way over to the island earlier. I placed an asterisk next to the official count.
A first for the season! Deckhand Isabel spotted 2 giant fin whales, the second largest animal to ever live on the planet. One was close to the boat and the other was more distant. The distant whale was making a series of aggressive high-speed charges through a pod of dolphins, perhaps chasing an anchovy school.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
