Fog gave way to hazy sun, thousands of dolphins, and 11+ humpback whales.
- Bob Perry
- Aug 5
- 2 min read
2025 08–05 SB Channel
Captain Dave and the crew ran southwest into the separation zone and stopped just west of the farm on their way out. The miserable, zero visibility fog bank dissipated by the time we got to the farm. An overnight bump on the water diminished a bit as the day went on. Totals: 3500 common dolphins, 11+ humpback whales and 50 California sea lions.
Our dolphin sightings started west of the farm with groups of 20, 30, 35 and so forth. Small groups would be seen like this throughout most of the trip and larger megapods were seen with the whales on the hotspots we visited. A few sea lions were scattered here and there throughout the excursion.
On our way to the lanes, and just east of the buoy, the sharp visual powers of deck hand Aspen located 3 adult whales which turned out to be a great sighting. The whales were very social and formed a tight trio. There was quite a bit of rolling around, vocalizing and pectoral fin slapping. (See today’s photograph for an example).
Nearby we found an additional pair of whales that made a couple of close passes by the Condor Express. Before long, another pair entered the area We had a total of 7 -around us. The whales did a bit of mixing and matching: 1+3+3, 6+1, 2+4+1. As previously mentioned, dolphins, too, were all around this area.
We were attracted to another megapod of dolphins in the separation zone when we found 4 more humpback whales. They were fun to watch, and one of them laid down a full body breach pretty close to the boat. Nat Geo stuff!
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry
Note: in all fairness to Captain Dave, he had bent over to tie his shoes when Aspen, using her sharp vision, found the first whales of the day.
