Scattered humpbacks with over 3,000 active common dolphins
- Bob Perry
- Jun 7
- 2 min read
2025 06–07 SB Channel
Captain Dave and the crew ran southwest out into the middle of The Lanes just past The Buoy. The thin marine stratus layer broke off just after 12n to provide ample sun. There was a light wind and a light bump on the water. Total sightings for the day included: 6 humpback whales and 3500 common dolphins.
All but one of the humpback whales we saw were adults today. And all but one of them were in travel mode and did not exhibit any aerial antics or friendly behavior. We did, however, have good looks and quite a few nice tail flutes throughout the trip. No birdnados were seen.
The first group of common dolphins, around 600 of them, were watched close to shore, near The Farm. Our first humpback whale was also in this area, a juvenile. The dolphins and the whale were all moving east. Not too far south we had quick looks at 2 additional individual whales that were about a mile apart. All were moving east.
Near The Buoy we found our first megapod of dolphins stretched out in a line for over a half a mile. Another whale was with them… moving en masse as were the previous whales. South of The Buoy, and into The Lanes, we found another large pod of about 700 dolphins and two more whales. The whales started out as individuals but then joined up. The newly formed pair then joined the dolphins and appeared to briefly be feeding subsurface together.
On the way home we found another line of dolphins about 500 strong.
You never know what Mother Nature has in store.
Bob Perry
