Rough seas as the crew locate humpback whales with sea lions
- Bob Perry
- 11 minutes ago
- 1 min read
2025 12–27 SB Channel
Although skies were clear, and winds were moderate, the recent atmospheric river storm series that hit Santa Barbara left pretty rough seas in their wake. Total sightings for the day: 2 humpback whales and 35 California sea lions.
As you can see in the image above that shows our course, captain Eddy and the crew moved slowly along the coast to the W, then headed SE until we reached the buoy. We turned E along the edge of the lanes. The rough seas made it hard to spot anything. Towards the end of the trip, when the final turn was made to start heading N back to the Harbor, we found humpback whales and sea lions in generally the same area.
There were 2 humpback whales and both were small, perhaps sub-adult juveniles. Only 1 showed a tail fluke (once) and they averaged about 5 minutes per dive. As usual, when it is moderately windy and rough, it is marvelous to watch these beasts pounding through the waves, sending spray high into the air.
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry
