Magic whale encounter
- Bob Perry
- Jul 14
- 2 min read
2025 07-14 SB Channel
For the third day in a row, the Santa Barbara Channel maintained a stunning mirror glass surface all day long. The water clarity remained crystal which enhanced every sighting. Totals for the day included: 4000 common dolphins and 10+ humpback whales.
Captain Eddy reported that it was a “sleepy day” under overcast skies. Both the dolphins and the whales were mostly in slow travel mode spending a lot of time on the surface…making wildlife watching very easy and effortless. Common dolphins were scattered throughout the area, as they have been for at least the last week. Some were megapods and others were just a few hundred strong. The first pod was just shoreward of The Farm. About 6 miles south of The Mesa, amidst the dolphins, we watched the first 5 whales: slow travel with long surface intervals as described above. A few miles later, a single whale. Then this happened:
It was 45 minutes of joy with a pair of adult whales, ending because we had to leave…we were out of time. Captain Eddy said it was the best two-whale mugging he has ever seen. At one point a spy-hopping whale accidentally and gently scraped the bow. There was additional spy-hopping all around the boat, one whale at a time and together. (See today’s image for an example). We observed rolling around and whales looking up at passengers while upside down. At one point a humpback was right next to the boat so the people could look right into its eyes. It was almost spiritual especially when the whale anointed its fans by blasting spout spray all over them. A blessed event?
Eddy had a hard time separating the Condor from the duo when it was time to leave. But being a clever and talented captain, he slowly maneuvered the boat and it’s 2 whale “appendages” into a nearby kelp paddy. When the pair began to frolic, he was able to slowly motor away and leave them to their spa session.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
