More chunky seas, dynamic humpbacks, thousands of dolphins and more.
- Bob Perry
- Jun 18
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 19
2025 06–18 SB Channel
We seem to be in a period of relatively strong winds and rough seas. Captain Eddy and the crew reported a 4 to 5 foot chop from the west along with 15 kts or more of wind on top of it. Skies were sunny. Sightings for the trip included: 5000 common dolphins, 10+ humpback whales, 25 California sea lions and 1 Ocean sunfish (Mola mola).
An old strategy used on windy, bumpy days is to run west along the coast and then finally make the turn and go offshore at a southeasterly angle for a slightly smoother ride. Eddy and the crew encountered about 100 common dolphins along the shoreline. They were spread out along the route and were traveling west. We finally made the turn to the south/southeast off of Hope Ranch.
About 6 miles offshore there was a larger pod of about 300 dolphins. A little bit of feeding was going on with an active birdnado. We also spent time watching a very cooperative Ocean sunfish (Mola mola) here, prior to the arrival of the whales.
There was initially a single whale that we got a couple of quick looks and it fluked up a few times. There was also a mother humpback with her calf. The pair alternated between slow travel and logging on the surface, and drifted close to the boat at one point for some great looks. We continued south.
We were attracted to some nearby breaching and located another pair of humpback whales. The 2 switched to tail throwing. By the time we got on a scene they were rolling around with big pectoral fin slapping. (See today’s photo for an example). They took a break and spent quite a bit of time mugging the Condor Express. They were “equal opportunity” muggers and moved along both sides, under the bow, and then spent time enjoying the “Jacuzzi action” of our jet wash astern.
To the east we observed another large pod of dolphins, perhaps 200 more. Also 2 single humpbacks came together and they, too, mugged us for quite a while. We broke away for some time with a legitimate megapotd of at least 4000 dolphins…probably the largest megapod we’ve had so far this season. These dolphins were in travel mode and led us to a trio of additional whales. Great looks were had by all!
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
