Massive humpback reunion expands!
- Bob Perry
- 2 minutes ago
- 2 min read
2026 03–10 SB Channel
In case you missed previous reports this week, there has been a large humpback whale reunion taking place about 8 miles off the beach as the whales return from their breeding and calving grounds in the subtropics. Today, skies were overcast and seas were mirror glass. A pair of excursions ran today, 9 AM and 12 N. Total sightings for the whole day: 4 coastal bottlenose dolphins, 32 humpback whales (we closely watched 16), and 100 California sea lions. Additionally, the crew picked up one floating, deflated, Mylar balloon from the ocean surface.
A very small pod of 4 coastal bottlenose dolphins was there to greet us as we departed the Harbor on the morning excursion. We followed them for a while and had great looks. As we started to motor SW, the crew picked up the aforementioned balloon.
On the hotspot, we watched 6 large, very active, adult humpbacks. Captain Eddy and the crew kept the boat fairly stationary so we could observe the whales all around us. There were at least 6 more spouts in the near distance. Activities observed included breaching, pectoral fin-slapping (see today’s photo for an example), and tail-throwing.
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By the time we reached the same area in the afternoon, there were at least 20 whales in the area, and we closely watched 10 of them. There were some very close breaches, chin-slaps and some rolling around/sideways swimming. It also looked like there might’ve been some sub-surface feeding going on.
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry
Note: our friend, Susanne was on board the morning trip and identified 2 of the whales by their tail patterns using happywhale.com. Here is the info she provided so you can find more about it if you wish:
HW-MN0523263
Previously seen three times, all near Cabo San Lucas, BCS, Mex. The first sighting was in 2021, and the last sighting before today was 2026, January.
CRC-15371
Previously recorded 19 times including: Oregon, Monterey Bay, Tijuana Mexico, Ensenada Mexico, and Cabo San Lucas. This is the first time it has been observed and recorded in the Santa Barbara Channel!
Thanks again Susanne.
