Some great sightings along the coastline.
- Bob Perry
- Mar 6
- 2 min read
2026 04–06 SB Channel
Captain Eddy and the crew put together 2 trips today, at 9 AM and 12 N. Skies were sunny, and the surface was mostly glassy until late in the second trip when a gentle breeze wafted through the zone. However, once again we experienced a W bump from overnight winds offshore. The bump diminished a bit towards the end of the afternoon excursion. Total sightings for the day: 15 Pacific white-sided dolphins, 3 gray whales, 200 common dolphins, and 1 humpback whale.
It’s been quite a while since we have ob7 Pacific white-sided dolphins. They are more common in our region during the winter, but usually farther offshore. Old timers often call them “Lags,” which is a play on their scientific name Lagenorhynchus. Today we found them just a few miles off Ledbetter Beach. (See today’s photo for an example).
Our last sighting of the morning trip was a pair of Nbd, adult, gray whales off Isla Vista. We watched them for a while as they moved directly into the oncoming bump. It was hard to stay with them.
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The afternoon trip also had dolphins somewhat close to the Harbor. We encountered a spread-out group of at least 200 common dolphins off of Henry’s Beach. Because they were spread-out, we observed them for quite a while as we moved W in search of larger species.
Isla Vista produced another gray whale. It was a rather challenging beast. Not only did it have a long downtime, but when it came up, it took 2 quick breaths and had a very low spout. Nonetheless, everybody got a look.
When we turned around to head back home, we found a single, juvenile, humpback whale about 2 miles S of our previous location.
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry
