Sunny skies with a little bump on the water was perfect for finding lots of humpback whales, and two species of dolphins.
- Bob Perry
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Image: a humpback whale is seen sideways surface lunge-feeding in the Santa Barbara Channel.
2026 08–18 SB Channel
Although skies remained sunny today, the ocean surface was a little bit bumpy. We experienced a moderate breeze with short interval wind chop. The water clarity remained excellent. Captain Eddy and the crew ran almost directly S and into the lanes, then turned around to locate a nice hotspot 5 miles off Goleta Bay. Sightings: 1000 common dolphins, 50 offshore bottlenose dolphins, 8 humpback whales (we closely watch 5), and 50 California sea lions.
After pushing offshore, our first encounter was with a medium sized pod of common dolphins inside the lanes. Conditions were getting very bumpy, so we did not hang around long, and started moving back towards the coast.
After a short while, we had a great encounter with a large pod of offshore bottlenose dolphins. They were boat-friendly, and we observed their usual aerial and acrobatic activities… so awesome to see.
Finally, we had an area full of birdnados, with dolphin and whale action, 5 miles off Goleta Bay. There were at least 8 whales feeding here, and 5 of them were close enough for us to watch individually. We saw evidence of vertical, as well as side, lunge-feeding on the surface. (See today’s photo for an example). They were many dozens of California sea lions feeding with the birds, dolphins, and whales. Our very talented deckhand Isabel was able to photograph and identify 2 of the whales that cooperatively showed their tail flukes. (See details below).
You never know what mother nature has in store.
Bob Perry
Note: here is the information about the 2 whales that Isabel identified.
CRC–23138
This whale has been recorded 15 times before today, 9 of them in the Santa Barbara channel. It was first identified in May, 2025 in Newport Beach California. The last sighting before today was near Santa Cruz Island on July 3 of this year. It has ranged from Santa Barbara in the N to San Diego in the S.
CRC-17806
Named “2017–2018 Calf of Chompers” has been recorded 36 times before today. The first record came from Palos Verdes in May 2018. And the most recent record before today was from March of this year down in Cabo San Lucas, BCS, Mexico. This whale has been seen 16 times in Santa Barbara, and 16 times off of Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor.
Thanks again to Isabel!
