Perfectly calm seas with active humpbacks and lots of dolphins.
- Bob Perry
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Image: a very friendly humpback whale comes over to greet its fans and show off its tail flukes on today’s excursion.
2026 07–10 SB Channel
The ocean settled down today as compared to earlier this week. Skies were overcast all day with a few very small “sucker holes” of sun peeking through. The ocean was calm flat and glassy in the morning turning to a rippled surface in the afternoon. Captain Dave and the crew ran S and ended up in the separation zone. Sightings for the trip today: 13 humpback whales (we closely watched 10), 2500 common dolphins, and at least 50 California sea lions.
10:40 AM. Our first sighting consisted of a megapod of common dolphins. They were of the short beak variety (they used to be a species all their own. They are the most numerous of all the common dolphins in the world, except in our neck of the channel where we only see them once in a while). There were continual leaps everywhere, some tail-walking, lots of tail throws/slaps, and even a few calves in the mix. They were accompanied by an overhead flying squadron of elegant terns.
11:06 AM. There were 3 individual humpback whales about 7 miles S of the Harbor. One of them breached 3 times.. 2 of the times were full body. There were also some close approaches to the Condor Express.
11:35 AM. We saw a pod of about 50 common dolphins and a short distance from the boat. They were surrounded on the water by sooty shearwaters, and terns continued to fly overhead.
11:41 AM. We saw 3 humpback whales. One was very close and there were 2 in the near distance.
12:10 PM. A single humpback whale.
12:25 PM. A small pod of about 500 common dolphins. We entered the separation zone.
12:45 PM. A humpback whale put on a lengthy display of how to make salad… In other words shredding detached and floating giant kelp into little pieces… we call this “kelping.”
1:30 PM. Another humpback whale took up some kelping.
NOTE: the kelping we saw today included pectoral fins, tail flukes, and charging head full speed into the kelp. There was some upside-down swimming, some windmilling (where both pectoral fins rotate and taking turns smashing kelp. This is just like ped slabbing in a salad bar. Always astonishing to see.
1:45 PM. the last sighting of the day appeared to be a mother humpback whale with her calf. The mother also did some pec fin slapping.
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry