Good sightings near the Bacara, including the third observation of a whale that was first identified by the Condor Express last year.
- Bob Perry
- 11 hours ago
- 1 min read
Image: an energetic humpback whale throws its tail.
2026 08–22 SB Channel
A nice congregation of mammal activity was located 7 miles offshore from The Ritz-Carlton Bacara Resort. Skies were sunny all day, and the choppy seas subsided a little bit, as compared to the previous 2 days. Sightings: 10 California sea lions, 5000 common dolphins, and 5 humpback whales.
A breach in the distance led us to an area full of dolphins and 2 juvenile humpbacks. This took place just before we arrived at the Bacara hotspot. There was an amazing abundance of dolphins everywhere we went today.
At the Bacara, we closely followed 3 additional humpback whales. One of them engaged in quite a bit of tail-throwing (See today’s photo for an example). There were 2 more nearby, one of which was juvenile and was identified by our friend Mark (Details are below),
On our way home we passed by a very relaxed raft of California sea lions.
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry
NOTE
The juvenile whale that Mark identified today was CRC-23656, and has been named “2024-2025 calf of CRC-12484”. The whale was first recorded on November 22 of last year simultaneously by our multitalented deckhand Isabel, and Mark, and our friend Susanne on board the Condor Express.
This whale was only recorded twice before today. The second time was on June 25 off Ventura. Prior to today, it had only been observed in the Santa Barbara Channel.
