Gorgeous day in The Channel
- Bob Perry
- Jul 18
- 2 min read
2025 07–18 SB Channel
The low stratus layer burned off almost immediately and the rest of the day was sunny and clear. The ocean was flat and calm. A little bit of wind picked up late in the trip. Sightings: 4000 common dolphins, 35 offshore bottlenose dolphins, and 8 humpback whales.
The common dolphin sightings today followed a similar pattern to yesterday. We first saw them near The Farm and they were not out of sight for the rest of the trip. The maximum size of a pod was about 150, and some were as small as 50 individuals.
Southwest of The Farm we made our first whale observation. It was a sub-adult and it was mixed in with, you guessed it, common dolphins. The whales today also followed a similar pattern as yesterday, except for the very last signing which I will describe later. Seven of the 8 whales we closely watched had short dive intervals during which they covered a great, random distance underwater. As yesterday, this made it challenging for Captain Dave and the crew to follow individual whales.
Eight miles off Goleta Bay we found an area with 6 whales. It was a pair plus 4 individuals. Again, dolphins were all around. Towards the end of the sighting, another dolphin species, the offshore bottlenose, came through the zone. They rode waves everywhere including our own bow, side, and stern waves. There were several instances of bottlenose surfing the bow wave created by the forward motion of a whales. (See today’s photo as an example).
Our last whale was seen on the way home and was another sub-adult. We were attracted to this location because it performed a series of tail swipes. When we got near it threw it’s mighty tail and then came immediately to the boat. It spent several minutes right up next to our hull in what Captain Dave called a “mini mugging.”
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
